Let's see: our daughter Michu flew into Portland from Dallas, Texas, to visit us. Staying with her sister Biftu at Biftu's Portland apartment, either one of both of them were to come to Corvallis, either before or after Christmas.
Finally, Michu came to Corvallis on Friday -- just after Kathe left to visit a friend for the weekend in Forest Grove, near Portland. I was running errands all afternoon, and arrived home just before I had to leave for work (night shift) to find Michu there, displeased that she would only see me for a few minutes, and even more distressed that she wouldn't see Kathe at all (Waldy and Tes, both living with us, hadn't heard that Kathe was going out of town, because neither Kathe nor I had seen them all day).
Yesterday, I spent a little more time with Michu and Tes, and then they took a bus to Portland together. There they will spend a couple of days with Biftu and at least some time with Kathe, and then Kathe will pick up Tes on her way out of town and bring him home to Corvallis.
And the cell phones? We've been using them a lot: mine, Kathe's, Michu's, calling one another with the latest updates.
We could have done pretty much everything we did over the last few days with ordinary stationary phones, but contacts which were immediate would have taken hours to make. All of us were spared a lot of anxiety thanks to being able to talk whenever we wished, wherever we were.
I could learn to love these little things.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Saturday, December 30, 2006
TV Commercials Are Better Than Ever
These are mostly from a thread at Making Light. Others are ones I found myself, either by hunting around with half-remembered keywords or just stumbled across at YouTube.
There's some real creativity going into the things these days. Sometimes even for a [WARNING: Intense] worthwhile cause.
And there are also some real treasures from the old days out there.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Beauty is where you find it."\\
There's some real creativity going into the things these days. Sometimes even for a [WARNING: Intense] worthwhile cause.
And there are also some real treasures from the old days out there.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Beauty is where you find it."\\
Friday, December 29, 2006
The Ford Solution
The recent death of former President Gerald Ford remind sme that I never did offer to the public my solution to the looming political crisis of George W. Bush's impeachment.
Obviously, Bush has committed high crimes and misdemeanors sufficient to be impeached and removed from office. Just as obviously, Vice President Cheney has been involved in modst of them, as well as offenses of his own. But impeaching both of them would make Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi President, and many would view this as simply a Democratic power grab.
We will pass over in silence the irony of Republicans accusing anyone of stealing the Presidency.
Seriously, though, there is an alternative scenario for replacing a corrupt and incompetent President and Vice President. Let us call it the Ford Solution:
1) Cheney resigns.
2) Bush nominates a new Vice President, who is approved by Congress. This needs to be a person who has not been a member of the Administration, nor an advisor to it, but who is of sufficient public stature as to be acceptable as President. This person should be a Republican, so that there be no accusations of Bush being removed for purely political reasons. It should be a person who is not seen as likely to run for another term as President, to avoid the appearance of seeking an unfair advantage for either party in the 2008 election.
3) Bush resigns, and the appointed Vice President becomes President. The new President might or might not pardon Bush and Cheney. We could argue for decades over whether that would be the right thing to do, but what's most important is that we get rid of Bush and his entire crew and replace them with someone who is minimally acceptable in the job.
Aside from persuading the pigheaded, reality-denying Bush crew to go along with this scheme, the hardest part of it would be finding an acceptable new President to hold the office until 2009. To my way of thinking, there is really only one person, flawed though he is, who is really auited to this role:
Former President George Herbert Walker Bush.
I never thought I would endorse the gun-running, drug-running, dogleg-crooked CIA-spook bastard for another day in the Oval Office, but let's face it: he's smarter and more honest than Junior, he can't run in 2008 even if he wanted to, he's a prominent Republican who has never been so much as consulted by Bush or his people...he's the best possible choice.
God help us.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "The best is often enemy of the good."\\
Obviously, Bush has committed high crimes and misdemeanors sufficient to be impeached and removed from office. Just as obviously, Vice President Cheney has been involved in modst of them, as well as offenses of his own. But impeaching both of them would make Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi President, and many would view this as simply a Democratic power grab.
We will pass over in silence the irony of Republicans accusing anyone of stealing the Presidency.
Seriously, though, there is an alternative scenario for replacing a corrupt and incompetent President and Vice President. Let us call it the Ford Solution:
1) Cheney resigns.
2) Bush nominates a new Vice President, who is approved by Congress. This needs to be a person who has not been a member of the Administration, nor an advisor to it, but who is of sufficient public stature as to be acceptable as President. This person should be a Republican, so that there be no accusations of Bush being removed for purely political reasons. It should be a person who is not seen as likely to run for another term as President, to avoid the appearance of seeking an unfair advantage for either party in the 2008 election.
3) Bush resigns, and the appointed Vice President becomes President. The new President might or might not pardon Bush and Cheney. We could argue for decades over whether that would be the right thing to do, but what's most important is that we get rid of Bush and his entire crew and replace them with someone who is minimally acceptable in the job.
Aside from persuading the pigheaded, reality-denying Bush crew to go along with this scheme, the hardest part of it would be finding an acceptable new President to hold the office until 2009. To my way of thinking, there is really only one person, flawed though he is, who is really auited to this role:
Former President George Herbert Walker Bush.
I never thought I would endorse the gun-running, drug-running, dogleg-crooked CIA-spook bastard for another day in the Oval Office, but let's face it: he's smarter and more honest than Junior, he can't run in 2008 even if he wanted to, he's a prominent Republican who has never been so much as consulted by Bush or his people...he's the best possible choice.
God help us.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "The best is often enemy of the good."\\
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Forest Fires, Ocean Temperatures, and Kathe
Kathe sent me this:http://www.newsday.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-wildfires-climate,0,4582282.story?coll=sns-ap-science-headlines
"This article seems to say that ocean temperatures drive fires, while the one in the GT seems to sy the opposite. I'm with Newsday; the oceans are a lot larger than the forests. But I admit, that's a superficial opinion."
On the other hand, the oceans are only a little bit cooler or warmer than the atmosphere, while a forest fire is a LOT warmer. Dunno.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Time will tell -- but are you sure you want it to?"\\
"This article seems to say that ocean temperatures drive fires, while the one in the GT seems to sy the opposite. I'm with Newsday; the oceans are a lot larger than the forests. But I admit, that's a superficial opinion."
On the other hand, the oceans are only a little bit cooler or warmer than the atmosphere, while a forest fire is a LOT warmer. Dunno.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Time will tell -- but are you sure you want it to?"\\
Monday, December 25, 2006
Contact Light, 2006
Contact Light, 2006 Year-End Edition, from John M. Burt and the Burt Family
960 SW Jefferson Avenue, Corvallis, Oregon 97333 USA (541) 753-6094 john_m_burt@hotmail.com // katheburt@hotmail.com
This is a Blackberry House publication
Note: The first words spoken from the Lunar surface, even before "The Eagle has landed", were "Contact light," meaning that a light in the cockpit indicated that the legs of the lander had touched down. This publication exists to maintain contact, and hopes to spread light.
Well, that was different. No two years are alike, of course, that's part of their charm. This one could have been more charming, though.
Last things first, the December windstorms that left literally millions without electricity across the Pacific Northwest did indeed take out our power, but only for a few hours. Kathe was visiting a friend in Portland that night, and their power was out for longer. but they were only inconvenienced, not harmed.
By the way: Also left without electricity for at least part of the time were: daughter Biftu (Asnakech) in Portland, daughter Sarah in Portland, son Jake and daughter-in-law Claire in Lakewood (Washington), brother David in Seattle, brother Tom in Corvallis, John's parents in Monroe (Oregon), aunt Anne and uncle Wes in Corvallis, cousins Mike and Jen in Corvallis, and a couple million other folks.
Some brittle ailanthus branches broke off, as they usually do, but none of our trees blew down. Altogether it was a minor incident., not worthy of mentioning in this letter, except that it happened so recently. As for the rest of the year....
John's grandfather died. He was John's mother's father (John’s father's parents died a long time ago), 92 years old and married 73 years to Grandma. It wasn't unexpected, it wasn't untimely, and there isn't a lot to regret at the end of a life like his. On the other hand . . . Grandpa died.
Waldy turned 18 this year, and has worked at his first job. Interestingly, it's the same as John's first job: washing dishes at Darrell's Fine Food on North 9th Street. Same location, too. Late update: he has just traded up to washing dishes at a classier place.
After years of ill-health, Tesfaye has had a major improvement in his condition and we have every reason to expect that he will do well in the future.
Biftu continues to live and work in Portland. Michu (aka Mestowet) continues to live and work in Dallas, Texas. We’re looking forward to seeing them both this Christmas.
John flunked out of nursing school but is taking steps to get back in the program and/or back on the horse. Unfortunately, the nursing school program is fairly inflexible: Nursing 101 in Fall term, Nursing 102 in Winter, Nursing 103 in Spring, so he has to wait until Spring term of 2007 to re-take Nursing 103. On the advice of the faculty, he'll audit Nursing 102 to help get up to speed, and then make his plea to be allowed to take Nursing 103 for credit. In the immortal words of Bullwinkle J. Moose, "This time for sure!"
When the kids were little, we referred to prostheses as "robot" parts, as in, "he has no arm, so the doctor gave him a robot arm." They were greatly amused when I referred to Kathe's numerous gold crowns and gold-framed tooth as "robot teeth". A few years ago she acquired new hip joints which set off metal detectors, and in November she added "robot eyes" when her lenses, impaired by cataracts and light-refracting wrinkles, were replaced. She'll still need glasses, but her new lenses are a definite improvement over the old ones. When they put the new lens in her left eye, she was greatly impressed by how much more light it let in, but she was accustomed to it by the time she'd recovered enough for surgery on the right. As of this writing, she still doesn't have a new eyeglass prescription because her eyes have not yet completely healed and thus her vision is still improving slowly, but she can already see well enough, using an old pair of glasses, to read and drive and otherwise carry out what nurses call "the ADLs" (Activities of Daily Life).
And speaking of hip joints, John's father didn't have a very good time with his broken hip, but he continues to recover, literally one step at a time.
On the bright side, also seen recently at John's parents' place is a new baby. John's cousin Mike and his wife Jen, who have lived in an apartment in the barn off and on, are by all reports really enjoying parenthood, as well they should.
Last year, much of the roof was replaced with a new set of shingles that ought to last for decades. This summer, much of what remained was replaced. Once again, Kathe's son Jake did most of the work. It's such a pleasure and a comfort to hear the rain falling and not having to worry (much) about where it might be leaking.
I reckon those are the highlights of the year. For more details, try John's blog: http://john_m_burt.blogspot.com
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "God bless us all -- no exceptions."\\
960 SW Jefferson Avenue, Corvallis, Oregon 97333 USA (541) 753-6094 john_m_burt@hotmail.com // katheburt@hotmail.com
This is a Blackberry House publication
Note: The first words spoken from the Lunar surface, even before "The Eagle has landed", were "Contact light," meaning that a light in the cockpit indicated that the legs of the lander had touched down. This publication exists to maintain contact, and hopes to spread light.
Well, that was different. No two years are alike, of course, that's part of their charm. This one could have been more charming, though.
Last things first, the December windstorms that left literally millions without electricity across the Pacific Northwest did indeed take out our power, but only for a few hours. Kathe was visiting a friend in Portland that night, and their power was out for longer. but they were only inconvenienced, not harmed.
By the way: Also left without electricity for at least part of the time were: daughter Biftu (Asnakech) in Portland, daughter Sarah in Portland, son Jake and daughter-in-law Claire in Lakewood (Washington), brother David in Seattle, brother Tom in Corvallis, John's parents in Monroe (Oregon), aunt Anne and uncle Wes in Corvallis, cousins Mike and Jen in Corvallis, and a couple million other folks.
Some brittle ailanthus branches broke off, as they usually do, but none of our trees blew down. Altogether it was a minor incident., not worthy of mentioning in this letter, except that it happened so recently. As for the rest of the year....
John's grandfather died. He was John's mother's father (John’s father's parents died a long time ago), 92 years old and married 73 years to Grandma. It wasn't unexpected, it wasn't untimely, and there isn't a lot to regret at the end of a life like his. On the other hand . . . Grandpa died.
Waldy turned 18 this year, and has worked at his first job. Interestingly, it's the same as John's first job: washing dishes at Darrell's Fine Food on North 9th Street. Same location, too. Late update: he has just traded up to washing dishes at a classier place.
After years of ill-health, Tesfaye has had a major improvement in his condition and we have every reason to expect that he will do well in the future.
Biftu continues to live and work in Portland. Michu (aka Mestowet) continues to live and work in Dallas, Texas. We’re looking forward to seeing them both this Christmas.
John flunked out of nursing school but is taking steps to get back in the program and/or back on the horse. Unfortunately, the nursing school program is fairly inflexible: Nursing 101 in Fall term, Nursing 102 in Winter, Nursing 103 in Spring, so he has to wait until Spring term of 2007 to re-take Nursing 103. On the advice of the faculty, he'll audit Nursing 102 to help get up to speed, and then make his plea to be allowed to take Nursing 103 for credit. In the immortal words of Bullwinkle J. Moose, "This time for sure!"
When the kids were little, we referred to prostheses as "robot" parts, as in, "he has no arm, so the doctor gave him a robot arm." They were greatly amused when I referred to Kathe's numerous gold crowns and gold-framed tooth as "robot teeth". A few years ago she acquired new hip joints which set off metal detectors, and in November she added "robot eyes" when her lenses, impaired by cataracts and light-refracting wrinkles, were replaced. She'll still need glasses, but her new lenses are a definite improvement over the old ones. When they put the new lens in her left eye, she was greatly impressed by how much more light it let in, but she was accustomed to it by the time she'd recovered enough for surgery on the right. As of this writing, she still doesn't have a new eyeglass prescription because her eyes have not yet completely healed and thus her vision is still improving slowly, but she can already see well enough, using an old pair of glasses, to read and drive and otherwise carry out what nurses call "the ADLs" (Activities of Daily Life).
And speaking of hip joints, John's father didn't have a very good time with his broken hip, but he continues to recover, literally one step at a time.
On the bright side, also seen recently at John's parents' place is a new baby. John's cousin Mike and his wife Jen, who have lived in an apartment in the barn off and on, are by all reports really enjoying parenthood, as well they should.
Last year, much of the roof was replaced with a new set of shingles that ought to last for decades. This summer, much of what remained was replaced. Once again, Kathe's son Jake did most of the work. It's such a pleasure and a comfort to hear the rain falling and not having to worry (much) about where it might be leaking.
I reckon those are the highlights of the year. For more details, try John's blog: http://john_m_burt.blogspot.com
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "God bless us all -- no exceptions."\\
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Corporal's Boots
They're empty.
Thousands of empty boots.
More every day.
Anyone you know?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Speak up."\\
Thousands of empty boots.
More every day.
Anyone you know?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Speak up."\\
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
No Rats Left
A family member left his rats with us, and they lived for years in a cage on our coffee table. It was a nice enough home, I hope, with enough room for four rats, and they had one another for company, which is good for rats. And eventually the began to die of old age.
First Ratzilla,
then Bob,
then Chewbacca (who was going to get a post called "One Rat Left", but I didn't want to write such a post on the same day that my grandfather died),
and last of all, Horatio (who was named on account of a truly bizarre botched quote, when his previous owner saw him diving into a yogurt tub and cried, "Once more into the yogurt, Horatio!").
So, now we don't have any rats, and the cage is empty, sitting in a back corner until we decide what to do with it (probably store it in anticipation of more rats one of these days).
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Rats live on no evil star."\\
First Ratzilla,
then Bob,
then Chewbacca (who was going to get a post called "One Rat Left", but I didn't want to write such a post on the same day that my grandfather died),
and last of all, Horatio (who was named on account of a truly bizarre botched quote, when his previous owner saw him diving into a yogurt tub and cried, "Once more into the yogurt, Horatio!").
So, now we don't have any rats, and the cage is empty, sitting in a back corner until we decide what to do with it (probably store it in anticipation of more rats one of these days).
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Rats live on no evil star."\\
Monday, December 18, 2006
This is Inconveniently True
"The new Congress must take real action to solve the climate crisis immediately."
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "The veracity of a statement does not depend on its being convenient."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "The veracity of a statement does not depend on its being convenient."\\
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Save the Internet!
Or anyway, save Net Neutrality.
Or anyway, watch this cute video, "Independence Day", on YouTube.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "[message delayed because Eight-Ball didn't pay for premium delivery]"\\
Or anyway, watch this cute video, "Independence Day", on YouTube.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "[message delayed because Eight-Ball didn't pay for premium delivery]"\\
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Most communicable diseases can be prevented, but the resources to do this aren't available in much of the world. UNICEF does what it can, but they could do more if the U.S. Congress would be good enough to fulfill its obligations to the organization. Petition here for the new Congress to show more gumption than the last one.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "He who saves his neighbor from a communicable disease saves himself. That's why they're called 'communicable', duh."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "He who saves his neighbor from a communicable disease saves himself. That's why they're called 'communicable', duh."\\
Friday, December 15, 2006
No Trees Fell On Us
during last night's storm, although one big tree did fall on the utility wires next door. Power was out in most of Corvallis for several hours, but it did come back eventually. I was going to make this post last night, actually, but Internet access and cable TV were not restored as quickly as power.
I use incense in my massage prtactice, and some people bring their own incense, usually in the form of scented candles. So, that was what we used for light last night. Tesfaye liked the Christmassy smell his room acquired from a big red potted candle, so he's keeping it for now.
The most unusual part of the evening, actually, for me personally, was that I went to bed at eleven. I haven't been to bed so early in years. But not only did I find myself going splah onto the bed at 2300 hours, but I didn't wake up until a full eight hours had passed. Amazing.
Seriously, I used to absolutely have to have six hours or I was no use the next day. And then one day I noticed that I was routinely getting only three or four. Working night shifts, I sometimes didn't bother trying to get any sleep during the day. Only last night it was eight. Guess a deficit finally caught up with me. Or maybe it was those scented candles.
The only casualty was the rat Horatio, and I doubt if that had anything to do with the storm. He was very old.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Where were you when the lights went out?"\\
I use incense in my massage prtactice, and some people bring their own incense, usually in the form of scented candles. So, that was what we used for light last night. Tesfaye liked the Christmassy smell his room acquired from a big red potted candle, so he's keeping it for now.
The most unusual part of the evening, actually, for me personally, was that I went to bed at eleven. I haven't been to bed so early in years. But not only did I find myself going splah onto the bed at 2300 hours, but I didn't wake up until a full eight hours had passed. Amazing.
Seriously, I used to absolutely have to have six hours or I was no use the next day. And then one day I noticed that I was routinely getting only three or four. Working night shifts, I sometimes didn't bother trying to get any sleep during the day. Only last night it was eight. Guess a deficit finally caught up with me. Or maybe it was those scented candles.
The only casualty was the rat Horatio, and I doubt if that had anything to do with the storm. He was very old.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Where were you when the lights went out?"\\
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Dear Rabbi Bogomilsky
Instead of asking for a menorah to "balance" the Christmas trees displayed at Sea-Tac Airport, why not do what the Christians did centuries ago: embrace the Yule tree.
After all, the tree is pure Nordic paganism, without the slightest Christian element except when Christian families go out of their way to make it so.
The "Hanukkah bush" doesn't have to be just a dumb joke: make the Yule tree a Jewish symbol.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Why the Sheol not?"\\
After all, the tree is pure Nordic paganism, without the slightest Christian element except when Christian families go out of their way to make it so.
The "Hanukkah bush" doesn't have to be just a dumb joke: make the Yule tree a Jewish symbol.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Why the Sheol not?"\\
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The Iraq War Memorial
Here's an idea: put it on the White House Lawn
It's close to my own idea, which is that the Iraq War Memorial should be a bullet-pocked wall in the Rose Garden, and the wooden post erected in front of it.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "John, I thought you were against capital punishment."\\
It's close to my own idea, which is that the Iraq War Memorial should be a bullet-pocked wall in the Rose Garden, and the wooden post erected in front of it.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "John, I thought you were against capital punishment."\\
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Sign the Save Darfur Petition
It's not much, but it's more than you were going to do about it today otherwise:
http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6099
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Every little bit...is more than none."\\
http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6099
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Every little bit...is more than none."\\
Monday, December 11, 2006
No More Crooked Florida Elections
Haven't we had enough of those?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15883.htm
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I know I have."\\
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15883.htm
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I know I have."\\
Thursday, December 07, 2006
My Grandfather Died
My mother sent me this e-mail this morning:
Good Morning,
Charles Alfred Cook passed into God's glory about 5:30 this morning.
Love to all,
George & Dorothy Burt
Charles Alfred Cook, born 26 Nov 1914 in Madison, Lake Co., SD. He
was the son of 2. Floyd Alfred
Cook and 3. Ada Elsie Swarts.
He married (1) Dessie Zoe Allen 20 May 1933 in Bakersfield, Kern Co.,
CA. She was born 18 Mar
1918 in Grey, Beaver Co., OK. She was the daughter of Jessiman
Alonzo Allen and Eva Grace Miller.
------------------------------
OBITUARY FORM INFORMATION
NAME: Charles Alfred Cook AGE: 92 DATE OF DEATH: December 7,
2006
RESIDENCE: Vista, CA since ____ [1980's?]
DATE OF BIRTH: 26 Nov 1914 PLACE: Madison, SD
PARENTS NAMES: Floyd and Ada [Swarts] Cook
CAUSE OF DEATH: Cancer
NO SERVICE PLANNED
MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS to: ___________
FUNERAL HOME:
FAMILY CONTACT: Pat Varner 760-521-8054
CAREER: shipyard worker in WWII, Carpenter/builder
MILITARY: none
HE MARRIED DESSIE ZOE ALLEN ON 20 May 1933 in Bakersfield, CA
MARRIED: 73 years
SURVIVORS:
wife, Zoe Cook
CHILDREN:
Charlene Guzman of Daly City, CA
Pat Varner of Vista, CA
Dorothy Burt of Monroe, OR
Kate Henderson of Hurricane, UT
Sandra Weitzel of Durham, NC
Charles Alfred Cook Jr. of Yreka, CA
Alec Cook of El Cajon, CA
SIBLINGS:
David Cook of Riverside, CA
Marilee Ottemann of Whittier, CA
Don Cook of Huntington Beach, CA
NO. of Grandchildren: 16
NO of gt-grandchildren: 24
NO of gt-gt-grandchildren: 1
ADDITIONAL: Outstanding man who met every challenge life gave him
with gentle competence and love.
Good Morning,
Charles Alfred Cook passed into God's glory about 5:30 this morning.
Love to all,
George & Dorothy Burt
Charles Alfred Cook, born 26 Nov 1914 in Madison, Lake Co., SD. He
was the son of 2. Floyd Alfred
Cook and 3. Ada Elsie Swarts.
He married (1) Dessie Zoe Allen 20 May 1933 in Bakersfield, Kern Co.,
CA. She was born 18 Mar
1918 in Grey, Beaver Co., OK. She was the daughter of Jessiman
Alonzo Allen and Eva Grace Miller.
------------------------------
OBITUARY FORM INFORMATION
NAME: Charles Alfred Cook AGE: 92 DATE OF DEATH: December 7,
2006
RESIDENCE: Vista, CA since ____ [1980's?]
DATE OF BIRTH: 26 Nov 1914 PLACE: Madison, SD
PARENTS NAMES: Floyd and Ada [Swarts] Cook
CAUSE OF DEATH: Cancer
NO SERVICE PLANNED
MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS to: ___________
FUNERAL HOME:
FAMILY CONTACT: Pat Varner 760-521-8054
CAREER: shipyard worker in WWII, Carpenter/builder
MILITARY: none
HE MARRIED DESSIE ZOE ALLEN ON 20 May 1933 in Bakersfield, CA
MARRIED: 73 years
SURVIVORS:
wife, Zoe Cook
CHILDREN:
Charlene Guzman of Daly City, CA
Pat Varner of Vista, CA
Dorothy Burt of Monroe, OR
Kate Henderson of Hurricane, UT
Sandra Weitzel of Durham, NC
Charles Alfred Cook Jr. of Yreka, CA
Alec Cook of El Cajon, CA
SIBLINGS:
David Cook of Riverside, CA
Marilee Ottemann of Whittier, CA
Don Cook of Huntington Beach, CA
NO. of Grandchildren: 16
NO of gt-grandchildren: 24
NO of gt-gt-grandchildren: 1
ADDITIONAL: Outstanding man who met every challenge life gave him
with gentle competence and love.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Sectarian Religious Violence in American Cities -- Always at Low Prices
Please write Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott a little Christmas note to say that you don't think it's a good idea for Wal-Mart to be selling the video game "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" to our kids.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You do know that heathen fortune-telling devices like me will be first against the wall when the Tribulation Force marches into town, don't you?"\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You do know that heathen fortune-telling devices like me will be first against the wall when the Tribulation Force marches into town, don't you?"\\
Monday, December 04, 2006
Do You Want The Terrorists to Win?
Your 'Do You Want the Terrorists to Win' Score: 100%
You are a terrorist-loving, Bush-bashing, "blame America first"-crowd traitor. You are in league with evil-doers who hate our freedoms. By all counts you are a liberal, and as such cleary desire the terrorists to succeed and impose their harsh theocratic restrictions on us all. You are fit to be hung for treason! Luckily George Bush is tapping your internet connection and is now aware of your thought-crime. Have a nice day.... in Guantanamo!
Do You Want the Terrorists to Win?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "My results are more reliable."\\
Two Rats Left
Bob died the other day. Ratzilla died a couple of weeks ago, and I could have sworn I wrote a post about him, but I don't find one on my blog. Now only Chewbacca and Horatio are left in the cage on the living room coffee table.
I had to ask Kathe for those names. I couldn't remember them, although at least I recognize them and can now remember which is Chewie and which Horatio. That's embarrassing, but really none of us love these rats the way we did previous generations of rats.
We didn't seek them out -- they were dumped on us by Kathe's son Justin when he broke up with his girlfriend and soon after stopped speaking to us (we still don't know what that's about, becuase he won't tell us) -- and we've been busy a lot of the time, but really I don't know why we never seemed to enjoy the company of these rats the way we did with others in the past.
Maybe it's the same thing that seems to have permanently drained our ability to plan and prepare more than the most basic meals. Dunno.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You will know when you care enough to go find out."\\
I had to ask Kathe for those names. I couldn't remember them, although at least I recognize them and can now remember which is Chewie and which Horatio. That's embarrassing, but really none of us love these rats the way we did previous generations of rats.
We didn't seek them out -- they were dumped on us by Kathe's son Justin when he broke up with his girlfriend and soon after stopped speaking to us (we still don't know what that's about, becuase he won't tell us) -- and we've been busy a lot of the time, but really I don't know why we never seemed to enjoy the company of these rats the way we did with others in the past.
Maybe it's the same thing that seems to have permanently drained our ability to plan and prepare more than the most basic meals. Dunno.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You will know when you care enough to go find out."\\
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Things People E-Mail to Me
An art car festival:
http://www.artcarfest.com/vehicles/index.html
The Rapture Index:
http://www.raptureready.com/rap2.html
What an ant colony's nest looks like:
http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=display-figures&name=i1536-2442-4-21-1-f01
http://www.artcarfest.com/vehicles/index.html
The Rapture Index:
http://www.raptureready.com/rap2.html
What an ant colony's nest looks like:
http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=display-figures&name=i1536-2442-4-21-1-f01
Saturday, December 02, 2006
John Baez's Crackpot Index
Jake sent this to me:
A simple method for rating potentially revolutionary
contributions to physics:
1. A -5 point starting credit.
2. 1 point for every statement that is widely agreed on to be false.
3. 2 points for every statement that is clearly vacuous.
4. 3 points for every statement that is logically inconsistent.
5. 5 points for each such statement that is adhered to despite
careful correction.
6. 5 points for using a thought experiment that contradicts the
results of a widely accepted real experiment.
7. 5 points for each word in all capital letters (except for those
with defective keyboards).
8. 5 points for each mention of "Einstien", "Hawkins" or "Feynmann".
9. 10 points for each claim that quantum mechanics is fundamentally
misguided (without good evidence).
10. 10 points for pointing out that you have gone to school, as if
this were evidence of sanity.
11. 10 points for beginning the description of your theory by saying
how long you have been working on it.
12. 10 points for mailing your theory to someone you don't know
personally and asking them not to tell anyone else about it, for
fear that your ideas will be stolen.
13. 10 points for offering prize money to anyone who proves and/or
finds any flaws in your theory.
14. 10 points for each new term you invent and use without properly
defining it.
15. 10 points for each statement along the lines of "I'm not good at
math, but my theory is conceptually right, so all I need is for
someone to express it in terms of equations".
16. 10 points for arguing that a current well-established theory is
"only a theory", as if this were somehow a point against it.
17. 10 points for arguing that while a current well-established theory
predicts phenomena correctly, it doesn't explain "why" they occur,
or fails to provide a "mechanism".
18. 10 points for each favorable comparison of yourself to Einstein,
or claim that special or general relativity are fundamentally
misguided (without good evidence).
19. 10 points for claiming that your work is on the cutting edge of a
"paradigm shift".
20. 20 points for emailing me and complaining about the crackpot
index. (E.g., saying that it "suppresses original thinkers" or
saying that I misspelled "Einstein" in item 8.)
21. 20 points for suggesting that you deserve a Nobel prize.
22. 20 points for each favorable comparison of yourself to Newton or
claim that classical mechanics is fundamentally misguided (without
good evidence).
23. 20 points for every use of science fiction works or myths as if
they were fact.
24. 20 points for defending yourself by bringing up (real or imagined)
ridicule accorded to your past theories.
25. 20 points for naming something after yourself. (E.g., talking
about the "The Evans Field Equation" when your name happens to be
Evans.)
26. 20 points for talking about how great your theory is, but never
actually explaining it.
27. 20 points for each use of the phrase "hidebound reactionary".
28. 20 points for each use of the phrase "self-appointed defender of
the orthodoxy".
29. 30 points for suggesting that a famous figure secretly disbelieved
in a theory which he or she publicly supported. (E.g., that
Feynman was a closet opponent of special relativity, as deduced by
reading between the lines in his freshman physics textbooks.)
30. 30 points for suggesting that Einstein, in his later years, was
groping his way towards the ideas you now advocate.
31. 30 points for claiming that your theories were developed by an
extraterrestrial civilization (without good evidence).
32. 30 points for allusions to a delay in your work while you spent
time in an asylum, or references to the psychiatrist who tried to
talk you out of your theory.
33. 40 points for comparing those who argue against your ideas to
Nazis, stormtroopers, or brownshirts.
34. 40 points for claiming that the "scientific establishment" is
engaged in a "conspiracy" to prevent your work from gaining its
well-deserved fame, or suchlike.
35. 40 points for comparing yourself to Galileo, suggesting that a
modern-day Inquisition is hard at work on your case, and so on.
36. 40 points for claiming that when your theory is finally
appreciated, present-day science will be seen for the sham it
truly is. (30 more points for fantasizing about show trials in
which scientists who mocked your theories will be forced to recant.)
37. 50 points for claiming you have a revolutionary theory but giving
no concrete testable predictions.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Sorry, answer suppressed by the scientific establishment."\\
A simple method for rating potentially revolutionary
contributions to physics:
1. A -5 point starting credit.
2. 1 point for every statement that is widely agreed on to be false.
3. 2 points for every statement that is clearly vacuous.
4. 3 points for every statement that is logically inconsistent.
5. 5 points for each such statement that is adhered to despite
careful correction.
6. 5 points for using a thought experiment that contradicts the
results of a widely accepted real experiment.
7. 5 points for each word in all capital letters (except for those
with defective keyboards).
8. 5 points for each mention of "Einstien", "Hawkins" or "Feynmann".
9. 10 points for each claim that quantum mechanics is fundamentally
misguided (without good evidence).
10. 10 points for pointing out that you have gone to school, as if
this were evidence of sanity.
11. 10 points for beginning the description of your theory by saying
how long you have been working on it.
12. 10 points for mailing your theory to someone you don't know
personally and asking them not to tell anyone else about it, for
fear that your ideas will be stolen.
13. 10 points for offering prize money to anyone who proves and/or
finds any flaws in your theory.
14. 10 points for each new term you invent and use without properly
defining it.
15. 10 points for each statement along the lines of "I'm not good at
math, but my theory is conceptually right, so all I need is for
someone to express it in terms of equations".
16. 10 points for arguing that a current well-established theory is
"only a theory", as if this were somehow a point against it.
17. 10 points for arguing that while a current well-established theory
predicts phenomena correctly, it doesn't explain "why" they occur,
or fails to provide a "mechanism".
18. 10 points for each favorable comparison of yourself to Einstein,
or claim that special or general relativity are fundamentally
misguided (without good evidence).
19. 10 points for claiming that your work is on the cutting edge of a
"paradigm shift".
20. 20 points for emailing me and complaining about the crackpot
index. (E.g., saying that it "suppresses original thinkers" or
saying that I misspelled "Einstein" in item 8.)
21. 20 points for suggesting that you deserve a Nobel prize.
22. 20 points for each favorable comparison of yourself to Newton or
claim that classical mechanics is fundamentally misguided (without
good evidence).
23. 20 points for every use of science fiction works or myths as if
they were fact.
24. 20 points for defending yourself by bringing up (real or imagined)
ridicule accorded to your past theories.
25. 20 points for naming something after yourself. (E.g., talking
about the "The Evans Field Equation" when your name happens to be
Evans.)
26. 20 points for talking about how great your theory is, but never
actually explaining it.
27. 20 points for each use of the phrase "hidebound reactionary".
28. 20 points for each use of the phrase "self-appointed defender of
the orthodoxy".
29. 30 points for suggesting that a famous figure secretly disbelieved
in a theory which he or she publicly supported. (E.g., that
Feynman was a closet opponent of special relativity, as deduced by
reading between the lines in his freshman physics textbooks.)
30. 30 points for suggesting that Einstein, in his later years, was
groping his way towards the ideas you now advocate.
31. 30 points for claiming that your theories were developed by an
extraterrestrial civilization (without good evidence).
32. 30 points for allusions to a delay in your work while you spent
time in an asylum, or references to the psychiatrist who tried to
talk you out of your theory.
33. 40 points for comparing those who argue against your ideas to
Nazis, stormtroopers, or brownshirts.
34. 40 points for claiming that the "scientific establishment" is
engaged in a "conspiracy" to prevent your work from gaining its
well-deserved fame, or suchlike.
35. 40 points for comparing yourself to Galileo, suggesting that a
modern-day Inquisition is hard at work on your case, and so on.
36. 40 points for claiming that when your theory is finally
appreciated, present-day science will be seen for the sham it
truly is. (30 more points for fantasizing about show trials in
which scientists who mocked your theories will be forced to recant.)
37. 50 points for claiming you have a revolutionary theory but giving
no concrete testable predictions.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Sorry, answer suppressed by the scientific establishment."\\
Friday, December 01, 2006
A Worse Appointment Than Rumsfeld's
Given the Bush Administration's track record when it comes to appointing people to office, what kind of person would you expect Bush to put in charge of Federal family planning programs?
A) Someone who hasn't worked in family planning since before the birth control pill was introduced.
B) Someone who has never worked in family planning.
C) Someone who is actively hostile to birth control, espouses weird crackpot notions about reproductive health and says that distributing birth control supplies (what he's now in charge of) is "demaning to women".
You guessed it, Eric Keroak is a "C" student! Now we can look forward to his doing a heckuva job on the nation's genitalia.
Or we could try to prevent his taking the job.
You never know. After all, that election thing seems to have helped some.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Please, I'm not that kind of ball."\\
A) Someone who hasn't worked in family planning since before the birth control pill was introduced.
B) Someone who has never worked in family planning.
C) Someone who is actively hostile to birth control, espouses weird crackpot notions about reproductive health and says that distributing birth control supplies (what he's now in charge of) is "demaning to women".
You guessed it, Eric Keroak is a "C" student! Now we can look forward to his doing a heckuva job on the nation's genitalia.
Or we could try to prevent his taking the job.
You never know. After all, that election thing seems to have helped some.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Please, I'm not that kind of ball."\\
Kathe's Other Eye
Kathe sent me this:
So, this morning I had the second eye operated on. 1.5 hours prepping for operation, .5 hours recovering, 5 minutes actual duration of operation. I'd been told I could get a video of the operation but I forgot to bring a video tape, so I looked it up on youtube. Here's the link -- no, wait a minute, none of you actually want to watch, right? One commenter said "I'm gonna have my eyes hacked out by diseased parrots, so I'll never have to do this." But believe me, it's preferable to having the operation performed by sick birds. For one thing, they'd probably take longer.
So anyway, here's how it's done: The bad old lens is rendered into bits by ultrasound (the machine goes grungitta, grungitta) and then the bits are vaccuumed out. Then the new lens is put into the empty place thus generated. I have the impression that the lens orients itself over a couple of hours (ie, the surgeon doesn't have to). Eye is patched for six hours, and a couple more if double vision is present after six. Drops are put into the eye on an increasingly complicated schedule for -- um, weeks anyway -- or "until they're gone." Oh btw, the incision is described as "self-sealing" and today the surgeon actually said "The incision is sealing itself just fine."
During the operation, the eye to be operated on is paralized and entirely put to sleep, can't close lid, can't see anything. The other eye is under a drape. The body, as a whole, is so "relaxed" that movement is not possible, or at any rate, would be very difficult. The mouth is entirely able to ask questions. The "relaxing" substance is said to induce some amnesia, but I don't believe I have forgotten any part of it. I did forget that I had had the IV removed, when I was in the recovery room, but I think that's because my hand (where it had been inserted) felt pretty much the same after it was removed.
My previously operated eye is doing fine, vision improved at a decreasing rate for about the first week. Operated eye lets in a lot more light. I was dazzled at first, but I seem to be getting used to it. Oh, and speaking of dazzled, the glare from the *very* powerful dilation of the iris which lasts a couple of days, prevents one from really appreciating the improvement at first.
I hope you're all actually interested in all this. I have known several people who have had this surgery, but all they ever said was, "yes, I can see much better now."
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Seeing is believing."\\
So, this morning I had the second eye operated on. 1.5 hours prepping for operation, .5 hours recovering, 5 minutes actual duration of operation. I'd been told I could get a video of the operation but I forgot to bring a video tape, so I looked it up on youtube. Here's the link -- no, wait a minute, none of you actually want to watch, right? One commenter said "I'm gonna have my eyes hacked out by diseased parrots, so I'll never have to do this." But believe me, it's preferable to having the operation performed by sick birds. For one thing, they'd probably take longer.
So anyway, here's how it's done: The bad old lens is rendered into bits by ultrasound (the machine goes grungitta, grungitta) and then the bits are vaccuumed out. Then the new lens is put into the empty place thus generated. I have the impression that the lens orients itself over a couple of hours (ie, the surgeon doesn't have to). Eye is patched for six hours, and a couple more if double vision is present after six. Drops are put into the eye on an increasingly complicated schedule for -- um, weeks anyway -- or "until they're gone." Oh btw, the incision is described as "self-sealing" and today the surgeon actually said "The incision is sealing itself just fine."
During the operation, the eye to be operated on is paralized and entirely put to sleep, can't close lid, can't see anything. The other eye is under a drape. The body, as a whole, is so "relaxed" that movement is not possible, or at any rate, would be very difficult. The mouth is entirely able to ask questions. The "relaxing" substance is said to induce some amnesia, but I don't believe I have forgotten any part of it. I did forget that I had had the IV removed, when I was in the recovery room, but I think that's because my hand (where it had been inserted) felt pretty much the same after it was removed.
My previously operated eye is doing fine, vision improved at a decreasing rate for about the first week. Operated eye lets in a lot more light. I was dazzled at first, but I seem to be getting used to it. Oh, and speaking of dazzled, the glare from the *very* powerful dilation of the iris which lasts a couple of days, prevents one from really appreciating the improvement at first.
I hope you're all actually interested in all this. I have known several people who have had this surgery, but all they ever said was, "yes, I can see much better now."
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Seeing is believing."\\
Thursday, November 30, 2006
I Know a Hero
Not very well, but I have taken my family to his restaurant a time or two.
Alem Gebrehiwot suspected Mulu Derbew was being viciously exploited by her employers, even when she doubted it could be so. He pursued the case and won her a visa to stay in the U.S.
Thank you, Alem. Thank you very much.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Djegna."\\
Alem Gebrehiwot suspected Mulu Derbew was being viciously exploited by her employers, even when she doubted it could be so. He pursued the case and won her a visa to stay in the U.S.
Thank you, Alem. Thank you very much.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Djegna."\\
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Housing
I think every NBC station should carry Linda Ellerbee's special report "Building on Faith: Making Poverty Housing History".
Don't you think your local affiliate should run it also?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I wonder whatever became of my box?"\\
Don't you think your local affiliate should run it also?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I wonder whatever became of my box?"\\
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Robot Eyes
When the kids were little, we referred to prostheses as "robot" parts, as in, "he has no arm, so the doctor gave him a robot arm." They were greatly amused when I referred to Kathe's numerous gold crowns and gold-framed tooth as "robot teeth". Since then she has acquired artificial hips as well, and as of Tuesday morning we can add the lens of her right eye to the list (the old one had cataracts, and light-refracting wrinkles). When she's recovered, they'll do the other eye.
She's still seeing double, so the extent of the improvement isn't yet known, but already she's noticed the increased brightness of the image in her right eye. Stands to reason, since she's had the window washers in. Still, so far all appears to be well.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "The eye is a window at the other end from the sole."\\
She's still seeing double, so the extent of the improvement isn't yet known, but already she's noticed the increased brightness of the image in her right eye. Stands to reason, since she's had the window washers in. Still, so far all appears to be well.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "The eye is a window at the other end from the sole."\\
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Darn Those Democrats!
Republicans kept warning us that voting for Democrats would lead to inflation, and sure enopugh, they were right.
Just look at how the price of gasoline has moved over the last three weeks, and how the momentum sudenly reversed the moment the election was over.
Darn Democrats....
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Sarcasm, like schadenfreude, should be indulged in with moderation."\\
Just look at how the price of gasoline has moved over the last three weeks, and how the momentum sudenly reversed the moment the election was over.
Darn Democrats....
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Sarcasm, like schadenfreude, should be indulged in with moderation."\\
Snowflakes
The Downtown Corvallis Association or whoever it is has replaced the light-up toy soldiers and wrapped gifts they used to hang from lampposts this time of year with big white snowflakes.
They're pretty enough, in a slick, sterile sort of way. Which is not always a bad thing: there is a place for sterile beauty in the world, just as there is for sterile people (some of the nicest people I know never had any children).
They remind me of the ads I used to see in the Wards catalog for a complete set of blue ornaments and blue lights to hang on your flocked artificial Christmas tree. Those were nice, too, in their own way, and I actually did admire them.
I just never wanted to have such a thing in my own living room.
I wonder what they did with the toy soldiers, though?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "To know the fate of a superfluous soldier, ask Tommy Atkins."\\
They're pretty enough, in a slick, sterile sort of way. Which is not always a bad thing: there is a place for sterile beauty in the world, just as there is for sterile people (some of the nicest people I know never had any children).
They remind me of the ads I used to see in the Wards catalog for a complete set of blue ornaments and blue lights to hang on your flocked artificial Christmas tree. Those were nice, too, in their own way, and I actually did admire them.
I just never wanted to have such a thing in my own living room.
I wonder what they did with the toy soldiers, though?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "To know the fate of a superfluous soldier, ask Tommy Atkins."\\
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
What's My Accent?
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio. | |
| The Inland North | |
| The Northeast | |
| Philadelphia | |
| Boston | |
| The West | |
| The South | |
| North Central | |
| What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes | |
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Ye're oot o'yer minds!"\\
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
First Things First
Before anything else, we need to make sure that we've seen the last of electoral fraud of the Blackwell / Harris / Diebold school.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Enough is bloody well enough".\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Enough is bloody well enough".\\
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Save Democracy, Make $250,000
An incentive for the Democrats, and one for the Republicans, what could be more fair?
Just provide evidence of electoral fraud.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Will they provide witnesses with protection, too?"\\
Just provide evidence of electoral fraud.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Will they provide witnesses with protection, too?"\\
Monday, November 06, 2006
The Return of the Unitarian Jihad
I can't imagine how this happened, but for some reason one Shannon, otherwise known as Sister Shotgun of Love and Mercy, posted a comment on my post from April of last year about the Unitarian Jihad.
Heh. I must remember to resume using my Jihadi name, "Brother Legging Chain of Patience".
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Just call me Ball of the Spikes of Wisdom."\\
Heh. I must remember to resume using my Jihadi name, "Brother Legging Chain of Patience".
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Just call me Ball of the Spikes of Wisdom."\\
Friday, November 03, 2006
Right to Vote
If you are a U.S. citizen, either naturalized or native, and have not been explicitly deprived of the right to vote as a consequence of a criminal conviction, you are entitled to vote on Tuesday.
Even if you have failed to register, you can demand a provisional ballot and register later.
You also have a right to demand proof that your vote has been counted.
If you have any difficulty in exercising your right to vote, call the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Laws Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683).
//;The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Inanimate objects aren't eligible to vote -- what's your excuse?"\\
Even if you have failed to register, you can demand a provisional ballot and register later.
You also have a right to demand proof that your vote has been counted.
If you have any difficulty in exercising your right to vote, call the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Laws Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683).
//;The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Inanimate objects aren't eligible to vote -- what's your excuse?"\\
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Don't Use Improper Language
Here's a radical idea: What if the news media, when discussing medical matters, used normal medical terminology, rather than quack jargon invented by political hacks?
Maybe you'd like to suggest this idea to the media?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Choose your words wisely, since you may have to eat them."\\
Maybe you'd like to suggest this idea to the media?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Choose your words wisely, since you may have to eat them."\\
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Nullius in Verba
1) The check is in the mail.
2) I love you.
3) I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you.
4) I'm from the Republican Party, and I'm here to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your government.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Nil desperandum."\\
2) I love you.
3) I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you.
4) I'm from the Republican Party, and I'm here to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your government.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Nil desperandum."\\
Monday, October 30, 2006
Barbara Cubin, What A Class Act
After a debate which, incredibly enough, included Libertarian candidate Thomas Rankin, Representative Barbara Cubin (R-WY) was heard to say to Rankin (a wheelchair user), "If you weren't sitting in that chair, I'd slap you across the face".
The worst part about this is that she doubtless thought that to say she was refraining from assaulting him because of his physical limitations made her seem more classy, not less.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "'If you were the Democratic candidate, I'd actually care what you said.'"\\
The worst part about this is that she doubtless thought that to say she was refraining from assaulting him because of his physical limitations made her seem more classy, not less.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "'If you were the Democratic candidate, I'd actually care what you said.'"\\
Saturday, October 28, 2006
A Minor Disaster
It really was only a minor disaster, but only if you keep in mind that I'm not using the word "disaster" for comic effect.
Someone flushed the upstairs toilet and walked away from it, not bothering to make sure that it wasn't stopped up or running through.
Disastrously, it was. Both.
Water poured out onto the bathroom floor. Spread into the hallway. Would have headed down the long upstairs hall except that there was a doorjamb in the way. Ditto for the doorway into Tes' room. It pooled up nice and deep, and then it started leaking down into the pantry.
Now there are newspapers on the floor upstairs, and down. The kitchen is full of stuff pulled out of the pantry to dry. Some things will have to be carefully cleaned, others will have to be thrown out. A lot of stuff is going to have to be put somewhere else, because the cardboard boxes it was stored in are soggy and delaminating.
Oh, well. Could be worse. I have this sudden image of George W. Bush yanking the plunger out of my hand shrieking "Do you want the toilet to win? Stay the course!"
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "When you get a chance, could you soak a sponge in bleach water and wipe me off?"\\
Someone flushed the upstairs toilet and walked away from it, not bothering to make sure that it wasn't stopped up or running through.
Disastrously, it was. Both.
Water poured out onto the bathroom floor. Spread into the hallway. Would have headed down the long upstairs hall except that there was a doorjamb in the way. Ditto for the doorway into Tes' room. It pooled up nice and deep, and then it started leaking down into the pantry.
Now there are newspapers on the floor upstairs, and down. The kitchen is full of stuff pulled out of the pantry to dry. Some things will have to be carefully cleaned, others will have to be thrown out. A lot of stuff is going to have to be put somewhere else, because the cardboard boxes it was stored in are soggy and delaminating.
Oh, well. Could be worse. I have this sudden image of George W. Bush yanking the plunger out of my hand shrieking "Do you want the toilet to win? Stay the course!"
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "When you get a chance, could you soak a sponge in bleach water and wipe me off?"\\
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Hoo Boy
Well, that was fun.
These days, a normal weekend is a fairly busy time for me: All 40 hours of my caregiver job are squeezed into three 12-hour night shifts and four hours on Monday afternoon.
This week, I was on the go from 7:00AM Friday until 9:00 AM Tuesday, a total of 72 hours.
Ouch.
Oh, well. Even divided between two weeks, it still means a whole bunch of overtime.
And it was all necessary. As I often say, there is a great satisfaction in knowing that you're doing a job that absolutely has to be done.
But I'm glad it's over.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Touch wood."\\
These days, a normal weekend is a fairly busy time for me: All 40 hours of my caregiver job are squeezed into three 12-hour night shifts and four hours on Monday afternoon.
This week, I was on the go from 7:00AM Friday until 9:00 AM Tuesday, a total of 72 hours.
Ouch.
Oh, well. Even divided between two weeks, it still means a whole bunch of overtime.
And it was all necessary. As I often say, there is a great satisfaction in knowing that you're doing a job that absolutely has to be done.
But I'm glad it's over.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Touch wood."\\
Monday, October 23, 2006
I'm Tired of Oregon Ballot Measure 43*
*For which, I note, I am no longer Google's number one link. Ah, fleeting fame.
Of course, I'm tired of just about everything, after working 60 hours this weekend, doing emergency fill-ins in my home-caregiver job. But hey, they were nice people, and they needed somebody, and as I've said many times before, there's a profound satisfaction in knowing that you're doing a job that absolutely has to be done.
I wish I was getting more massage business, though.
And I wish the election would be over.
It's over for me already -- I voted on Saturday at the kitchen table, in the new Oregon ritual of democracy. My ballot and Kathe's came in the mail, though Tes and Waldy's didn't. If they don't come in today's mail, I'll need to go down to the Courthouse and try to sort it out.
That reminds me: somebody said the other day that she strongly disapproved of voting by mail, and I didn't have time to ask her why. I'll be seeing her later today, and I must remember to bring the subject up again.
Anyway, about Ballot Measure 43: I was strongly impressed by an article in yesterday's Oregonian. The content is well summed up by two of the subheads: "I'm sorry there wasn't a law in place that forced me to tell my parents" and "It was not having an abortion that changed my position. It was being beaten for it."
Here we have one woman still trying to push off responsibility for her decisions onto Daddy (Big Daddy Oregon, in this case), and one who lays out in the starkest possible terms the consequences of indulging our moral vanity by putting the poisoned Band-Aid of Measure 43 over the festering wound of our dysfunctional culture.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I was going to call that a grotesque metaphor, but really it's more rococo."\\
Of course, I'm tired of just about everything, after working 60 hours this weekend, doing emergency fill-ins in my home-caregiver job. But hey, they were nice people, and they needed somebody, and as I've said many times before, there's a profound satisfaction in knowing that you're doing a job that absolutely has to be done.
I wish I was getting more massage business, though.
And I wish the election would be over.
It's over for me already -- I voted on Saturday at the kitchen table, in the new Oregon ritual of democracy. My ballot and Kathe's came in the mail, though Tes and Waldy's didn't. If they don't come in today's mail, I'll need to go down to the Courthouse and try to sort it out.
That reminds me: somebody said the other day that she strongly disapproved of voting by mail, and I didn't have time to ask her why. I'll be seeing her later today, and I must remember to bring the subject up again.
Anyway, about Ballot Measure 43: I was strongly impressed by an article in yesterday's Oregonian. The content is well summed up by two of the subheads: "I'm sorry there wasn't a law in place that forced me to tell my parents" and "It was not having an abortion that changed my position. It was being beaten for it."
Here we have one woman still trying to push off responsibility for her decisions onto Daddy (Big Daddy Oregon, in this case), and one who lays out in the starkest possible terms the consequences of indulging our moral vanity by putting the poisoned Band-Aid of Measure 43 over the festering wound of our dysfunctional culture.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I was going to call that a grotesque metaphor, but really it's more rococo."\\
Stephen King is Scared
of George W. Bush and his gang of incompetent crooks.
But he's come up with something better than pulling the covers over his head: a chain of pre-election Halloween telephoning parties (actually held on the 28th & 29th, so you can still bob for puffer fish with your friends on the big night itself).
Sign up for one in your area.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "It isn't only Republicans who like to jump out and say "Boo!"\\
But he's come up with something better than pulling the covers over his head: a chain of pre-election Halloween telephoning parties (actually held on the 28th & 29th, so you can still bob for puffer fish with your friends on the big night itself).
Sign up for one in your area.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "It isn't only Republicans who like to jump out and say "Boo!"\\
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Rob Brading Is Not Gay Enough for Karen Minnis
Karen Minnis (R-Wood Village), Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, doesn't like having to run against Rob Brading, and it shows in the kind of attack ads she's running.
Minnis wants voters to know that Brading was Executive Director of the Fund For Human Dignity, and that staff resigned citing ethical issues. Sounds pretty bad, huh?
Then it turns out that the "ethical" question was whether a heterosexual should be appointed to run a gay rights group.
I think it's hilarious that Karen Minnis, of all people, would attack Rob Brading for not being gay enough.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Maybe she's afraid she isn't woman enough for him."\\
Minnis wants voters to know that Brading was Executive Director of the Fund For Human Dignity, and that staff resigned citing ethical issues. Sounds pretty bad, huh?
Then it turns out that the "ethical" question was whether a heterosexual should be appointed to run a gay rights group.
I think it's hilarious that Karen Minnis, of all people, would attack Rob Brading for not being gay enough.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Maybe she's afraid she isn't woman enough for him."\\
Monday, October 16, 2006
Kathe Says
Kathe says: Our indoor-outdoor exchange program is now in its busiest season, because the leaves are falling prfusely, and there's nothing like fallen leaves for getting tracked into the house. Not even winter mud makes such a change in our indoor environment. Between sweepings, it gets so the leaves are almost as thick inside as they are outside. Tomorrow: Waldy to see Eloise at the Juvenile Department [we hope just to say goodbye, since he turned 18 on the 4th], Tes to Grandpa and Grandma's place to help move books, John and Kathe go shopping, and the Big Event! Raking! What fun!
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Whee."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Whee."\\
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Oregon Ballot Measure 43, The Nightmare Continues
I'm glad to see that more and more voices are coming out against Measure 43.
And I still wonder what I did to become Google's leading authority on the damned thing.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Ask again later."\\
And I still wonder what I did to become Google's leading authority on the damned thing.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Ask again later."\\
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Wrong Question
Condoleezza Rice, in an interview on a Detroit radio talk show, made the mistake of asking the wrong question:
Does anybody really believe that somebody would have walked into my office and said, oh, by the way, there's a chance of a major attack against the United States and I would have said, well, I'm really not interested in that information?
The reason this is the wrong question is because the answer is yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes."\\
Does anybody really believe that somebody would have walked into my office and said, oh, by the way, there's a chance of a major attack against the United States and I would have said, well, I'm really not interested in that information?
The reason this is the wrong question is because the answer is yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes."\\
Friday, October 13, 2006
A Letter From Jake
Kathe's son Jake sent this message to a few people:
First they said there was no radioactivity, now they say "trace amounts". I don't buy it. For sure Kim Jong Il is dangerous, but I think the test was a fake, and the US is lying because it fits Bush's need to continue terrorizing the US population into supporting his power trip.
Here's what I think happened: Crazy Kim Jong Il demanded a successful test. His people know that they could not do it, but needed to find a way to avoid a bullet in the head. So they stacked up a few thousand pounds of TNT in a mine shaft and blew it up. Crazy Kim has no idea at all what's going on, and all his people will lie to him, lest they end up in a camp or dead...
There was no nuclear test.
I say...could be. Really, though, considering how shamefully Bush alternately ignored and provoked Kim, would Bush really benefit from a successful North Korean nuclear test? Or would a failed test cause people to laugh it off and turn their attention elsewhere?
On the other hand, we now know that Iraqi nuclear scientists faked progress toward a nuclear bomb in order to keep their heads, so Maybe Kim and the Party elite are taking a leaf from them. It's possible.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "My cousin thinks so, too."\\
First they said there was no radioactivity, now they say "trace amounts". I don't buy it. For sure Kim Jong Il is dangerous, but I think the test was a fake, and the US is lying because it fits Bush's need to continue terrorizing the US population into supporting his power trip.
Here's what I think happened: Crazy Kim Jong Il demanded a successful test. His people know that they could not do it, but needed to find a way to avoid a bullet in the head. So they stacked up a few thousand pounds of TNT in a mine shaft and blew it up. Crazy Kim has no idea at all what's going on, and all his people will lie to him, lest they end up in a camp or dead...
There was no nuclear test.
I say...could be. Really, though, considering how shamefully Bush alternately ignored and provoked Kim, would Bush really benefit from a successful North Korean nuclear test? Or would a failed test cause people to laugh it off and turn their attention elsewhere?
On the other hand, we now know that Iraqi nuclear scientists faked progress toward a nuclear bomb in order to keep their heads, so Maybe Kim and the Party elite are taking a leaf from them. It's possible.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "My cousin thinks so, too."\\
Thursday, October 12, 2006
A Letter From Kathe
My wife sent this e-m,ail out to our nearest and dearest:
We just had our regularly scheduled accident down at the corner of 9th and Jefferson. Those of you who have lived here, and some who have not, will recall that we have one of these every week or two.
This one however really caused me to think. They all cause me to think "what idiots!" But this time, the person running the stop sign came from the south. To provide context, 9th is a through street for its entire length of several miles, except at the south end. At Jefferson there's a stop sign, and then two blocks later, 9th comes to an end at the railroad tracks. So people coming from the north have been on a through street, where they didn't have to stop except at traffic lights, and there aren't very many of them. It's easy to see how they might fall into the mistaken idea that traffic on 9th just doesn't have to stop. It's less easy to see how people coming from the south could get this idea.
Moreover, it looked as though the car *had* stopped, and then just driven into the traffic on Jefferson, where it T-boned a vehicle which totally wasn't expecting any trouble, because, y'know, the other car *stopped.*
Next thing you know, I'm thinking dark thoughts about the end of civilization in the US. As follows: It looks as though the driver thought that stopping was some kind of ceremonial requirement, having no connection with real things, and in particular, real consequences. I can see him now, arguing that he's not at fault, because he stopped, didn't he, at the stop sign. I have frequently observed people with new drivers licenses (obviously new, because of their age) making illegal turns and stops, and failing to honor a pedestrian's right-of-way. It's like, having passed the test on which they were required to demonstrate that they knew these things, they were thereafter exempt from having to deal with them in real life. And we've all heard students say, no, they don't know that, yes they had it last year, or last term, but that was then, they don't know it now, why should they?
I think, thanks to "teaching to the test," we've raised a whole generation of people who think that instruction, of any kind, is simply irrelevant to their lives. Even if it's instruction in what they are actually expected to actually do. They just never involve themselves with the actual content of the instruction.
They do instruction differently in other countries. It's remarkably difficult to find out the details because no one writing about education in this country is at all interested in how other folks do it, but when you do, you're apt to think "but that's not right." And then, almost immediately "but it seems to work better than our way."
So I guess what I'm saying is that our failure to do instruction right is affecting, not just how our High school grads compare with those of other countries, but the continued existence of what we thought was our civilization, our anyway our little variation on it. I think, in short, that the US took a wrong turn, some while back, in primary education, and as a result, we're gonna die out. And rightly so.
And what do *you* think?
I think...could be.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Me, too."\\
We just had our regularly scheduled accident down at the corner of 9th and Jefferson. Those of you who have lived here, and some who have not, will recall that we have one of these every week or two.
This one however really caused me to think. They all cause me to think "what idiots!" But this time, the person running the stop sign came from the south. To provide context, 9th is a through street for its entire length of several miles, except at the south end. At Jefferson there's a stop sign, and then two blocks later, 9th comes to an end at the railroad tracks. So people coming from the north have been on a through street, where they didn't have to stop except at traffic lights, and there aren't very many of them. It's easy to see how they might fall into the mistaken idea that traffic on 9th just doesn't have to stop. It's less easy to see how people coming from the south could get this idea.
Moreover, it looked as though the car *had* stopped, and then just driven into the traffic on Jefferson, where it T-boned a vehicle which totally wasn't expecting any trouble, because, y'know, the other car *stopped.*
Next thing you know, I'm thinking dark thoughts about the end of civilization in the US. As follows: It looks as though the driver thought that stopping was some kind of ceremonial requirement, having no connection with real things, and in particular, real consequences. I can see him now, arguing that he's not at fault, because he stopped, didn't he, at the stop sign. I have frequently observed people with new drivers licenses (obviously new, because of their age) making illegal turns and stops, and failing to honor a pedestrian's right-of-way. It's like, having passed the test on which they were required to demonstrate that they knew these things, they were thereafter exempt from having to deal with them in real life. And we've all heard students say, no, they don't know that, yes they had it last year, or last term, but that was then, they don't know it now, why should they?
I think, thanks to "teaching to the test," we've raised a whole generation of people who think that instruction, of any kind, is simply irrelevant to their lives. Even if it's instruction in what they are actually expected to actually do. They just never involve themselves with the actual content of the instruction.
They do instruction differently in other countries. It's remarkably difficult to find out the details because no one writing about education in this country is at all interested in how other folks do it, but when you do, you're apt to think "but that's not right." And then, almost immediately "but it seems to work better than our way."
So I guess what I'm saying is that our failure to do instruction right is affecting, not just how our High school grads compare with those of other countries, but the continued existence of what we thought was our civilization, our anyway our little variation on it. I think, in short, that the US took a wrong turn, some while back, in primary education, and as a result, we're gonna die out. And rightly so.
And what do *you* think?
I think...could be.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Me, too."\\
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are
The witch isn't actually dead, but let's us little folks all come out and kick her in the shins.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "That's a weird metaphor, John."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "On second thought, make that a queer metaphor."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "That's a weird metaphor, John."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "On second thought, make that a queer metaphor."\\
The Return of Ma Bell
Those of us who are old enough to remember the great Bell System monopoly don't care for the idea of the resurgent trust taking control of the Internet.
For those who aren't old enough, see The President's Analyst. It's a work of fiction, but it accurately portrays what it felt like back then.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Those were not good times."\\
For those who aren't old enough, see The President's Analyst. It's a work of fiction, but it accurately portrays what it felt like back then.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Those were not good times."\\
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The Values Voters Were Right: Character Counts
I admit it, I have clearly underestimated the importance of the personal character and integrity of officeholders in a republic.
It turns out, Washington and Lincoln and FDR really were extraordinary, and extraordinarily good.
Because if a cheap little hood like George W. Bush can set himself up as dictator, dismissing Congress and the courts with a wave of his signing hand, and they (and the people) just roll over for him, then clearly a real leader, facing a real crisis, could have made himself Emperor without even trying.
I knew that we who loved democracy were carrying some deadwood, but apparently it's a substantial portion of the population.
The country I loved never really existed, did it?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook unclear."\\
It turns out, Washington and Lincoln and FDR really were extraordinary, and extraordinarily good.
Because if a cheap little hood like George W. Bush can set himself up as dictator, dismissing Congress and the courts with a wave of his signing hand, and they (and the people) just roll over for him, then clearly a real leader, facing a real crisis, could have made himself Emperor without even trying.
I knew that we who loved democracy were carrying some deadwood, but apparently it's a substantial portion of the population.
The country I loved never really existed, did it?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook unclear."\\
Monday, October 09, 2006
Watching Bush Fade
For several weeks, I have had occasion to join a certain elderly couple at their Sunday breakfast.
The lady of the house begins breakfast every day with a spoken grace, which always includes thanks for the day, intercessions on behalf of family members and a word on behalf of the state of the world.
At first, she regularly called for protection and support for President* Bush. Later, I heard her ask for "wisdom" to be granted to him "to see the way to peace". Most recently, she bluntly asked God to "help us make an end to this terrible, foolish war".
I had heard previously about Bush's support slipping, but now I've seen him losing a constituent with my own eyes.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Seeing is believing."\\
The lady of the house begins breakfast every day with a spoken grace, which always includes thanks for the day, intercessions on behalf of family members and a word on behalf of the state of the world.
At first, she regularly called for protection and support for President* Bush. Later, I heard her ask for "wisdom" to be granted to him "to see the way to peace". Most recently, she bluntly asked God to "help us make an end to this terrible, foolish war".
I had heard previously about Bush's support slipping, but now I've seen him losing a constituent with my own eyes.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Seeing is believing."\\
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Old Joke
Something Kathe sent me awhile back:
Catholicism represents the victory of Peter’s theology over Paul’s.
Protestantism represents the victory of Paul’s theology over Peter’s.
Fundamentalism represents the victory of Paul’s theology over Jesus’.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Please define 'joke'."\\
Catholicism represents the victory of Peter’s theology over Paul’s.
Protestantism represents the victory of Paul’s theology over Peter’s.
Fundamentalism represents the victory of Paul’s theology over Jesus’.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Please define 'joke'."\\
Friday, October 06, 2006
Armbands For Peace
One more small, seemingly futile gesture you can make to exercise your right (while you still have it) to express your feelings (while you still have them).
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Couldn't hurt."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Couldn't hurt."\\
Thursday, October 05, 2006
"Oregon Ballot Measure 43"
Man, this is weird. Why on Earth should the first post I made on Measure 43 back in September become one of the most popular hits for the topic on Google?
Who, me? Nobody ever comes to my blog, and now all of a sudden I'm a Google bomb? Weird.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Enjoy it while it lasts."\\
Who, me? Nobody ever comes to my blog, and now all of a sudden I'm a Google bomb? Weird.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Enjoy it while it lasts."\\
Why Not The Beast?
A Presidential candidate who lets us know where he stands: Zod!
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "There comes a time when you've been down so long it looks like up."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "There comes a time when you've been down so long it looks like up."\\
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Happy Birthday, Waldy!
"Waldy! Good morning! Happy birthday! Are you ready to go down to the Courthouse and register to vote?"
"I can't be American until I've had my coffee."
That's understandable. It takes more than that for a lot of people to contemplate America these days.
But, there's one more registered voter today. Maybe he'll help change the situation.
And sometimes I look at him and remember why I tried to talk Kathe into sending out a birth announcement that read "Walden Kelley Burt. 4 October 1988. Let the stars beware."
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Every little bit helps."
"I can't be American until I've had my coffee."
That's understandable. It takes more than that for a lot of people to contemplate America these days.
But, there's one more registered voter today. Maybe he'll help change the situation.
And sometimes I look at him and remember why I tried to talk Kathe into sending out a birth announcement that read "Walden Kelley Burt. 4 October 1988. Let the stars beware."
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Every little bit helps."
Governor Bush Made Texas Number One
* #1 in the Emission of Ozone Causing Air Pollution Chemicals
* #1 in Toxic Chemical releases into the Air
* #1 in use of Deep Well Injectors as method of Waste Disposal
* #1 in counties listed in top 20 of Emitting Cancer Causing Chemicals
* #1 in Total Number of Hazardous Waste Incinerators
* #1 in Environmental Justice Title 6 complaints
* #1 in production of Cancer causing Benzene & Vinyl Chloride
* #1 Largest Sludge Dump in Country
And then he moved on to a new job....
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook hazy -- *cough*!"\\
* #1 in Toxic Chemical releases into the Air
* #1 in use of Deep Well Injectors as method of Waste Disposal
* #1 in counties listed in top 20 of Emitting Cancer Causing Chemicals
* #1 in Total Number of Hazardous Waste Incinerators
* #1 in Environmental Justice Title 6 complaints
* #1 in production of Cancer causing Benzene & Vinyl Chloride
* #1 Largest Sludge Dump in Country
And then he moved on to a new job....
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook hazy -- *cough*!"\\
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Dear Darlene
To: Darlene Hawley, member of the 16th Street Neighborhood Association
Subject: Mark Furley
Darlene, I was as upset as anyone when I learned that our neighbor Mark Furley was making inappropriate sexual advances to underage persons at the community center. But I'm even more concerned about the possibility that some of the board members of the Neighborhood Association may have known about Mark's activities and helped cover for him.
I'm asking you to please call for an investigation at the Association's next meeting, because anyone who helped Mark hide his behavior is as guilty as Mark himself.
Thank you.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "As below, so above."\\
Subject: Mark Furley
Darlene, I was as upset as anyone when I learned that our neighbor Mark Furley was making inappropriate sexual advances to underage persons at the community center. But I'm even more concerned about the possibility that some of the board members of the Neighborhood Association may have known about Mark's activities and helped cover for him.
I'm asking you to please call for an investigation at the Association's next meeting, because anyone who helped Mark hide his behavior is as guilty as Mark himself.
Thank you.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "As below, so above."\\
This is Bad
Habeas corpus, no.
Torture, yes.
Unspeakable, yes.
God's mercy, no.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook very bleak."\\
Torture, yes.
Unspeakable, yes.
God's mercy, no.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook very bleak."\\
Access Does Indeed Equal Life
Or rather, life equals having access to things, in as much as if you're dead, you have no access to anything.
But in this case, we're talking about ready access to complete and unbiased information about HIV and how to avoid it. Young women in developing countries have an especially hard time with that sort of access, even though it's especially important for them, given their rate of HIV infection.
Big surprise: the policies of George W. Bush are making the situation worse, not better.
Please sign this petition. Bush will never see it. He probably won't even hear about it. If he did, the pigheaded bastard wouldn't change his policy. But at least you'll be on record in saying he ought to. And many other people, including those around him, will see it, and be aware of their shame in not doing even as little as you and I did by signing this futile petition.
It might help.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "That's the ticket: look on the bright side."\\
But in this case, we're talking about ready access to complete and unbiased information about HIV and how to avoid it. Young women in developing countries have an especially hard time with that sort of access, even though it's especially important for them, given their rate of HIV infection.
Big surprise: the policies of George W. Bush are making the situation worse, not better.
Please sign this petition. Bush will never see it. He probably won't even hear about it. If he did, the pigheaded bastard wouldn't change his policy. But at least you'll be on record in saying he ought to. And many other people, including those around him, will see it, and be aware of their shame in not doing even as little as you and I did by signing this futile petition.
It might help.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "That's the ticket: look on the bright side."\\
Monday, October 02, 2006
Not Showing At A Theater Near You
Iraq For Sale is a film you ought to see. It won't be showing at any of the usual venues, but it probably will be showing somewhere quite nearby -- maybe even at your place.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Sticky carpet optional."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Sticky carpet optional."\\
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Let's Raise the Minimum Wage
The argument against raising the minimum wage makes perfect sense: employers will eliminate entry-level jobs, prices will go up, and working people will be worse off than before.
It all makes perfect sense, but nobody can cite a state, city or nation, in any decade of history, where it actually happened. Instead, for some reason that nonsensical minimum wage thingy makes life better for everyone. Weird.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Go with what works."\\
It all makes perfect sense, but nobody can cite a state, city or nation, in any decade of history, where it actually happened. Instead, for some reason that nonsensical minimum wage thingy makes life better for everyone. Weird.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Go with what works."\\
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Who's In Charge?
I'm copying this from many sources, but I first saw it at Arthur D. Hlavaty's LiveJournal.
The Republicans:
They put an Arabian Horse Judge in charge of disaster management.
They put oil company lobbyists in charge of our energy policy.
They put Dubai in charge of our port security.
And they put a child predator in charge of the Committee for Missing and Exploited Children.
Who will you put in charge in November?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Inanimate objects aren't eligible to vote. What's your excuse?"\\
The Republicans:
They put an Arabian Horse Judge in charge of disaster management.
They put oil company lobbyists in charge of our energy policy.
They put Dubai in charge of our port security.
And they put a child predator in charge of the Committee for Missing and Exploited Children.
Who will you put in charge in November?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Inanimate objects aren't eligible to vote. What's your excuse?"\\
Friday, September 29, 2006
He Spits On You, Too
We already knew that Senator George Allen symbolically spits on African Americans in various ways, but it's news to me that he spits on women.
Literally.
Apparently he does this by preference, for his personal enjoyment.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Ewww."\\
Literally.
Apparently he does this by preference, for his personal enjoyment.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Ewww."\\
Thursday, September 28, 2006
This is Bad
Habeas corpus, no.
Torture, yes.
Unspeakable, yes.
God's mercy, no.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook very bleak."\\
Torture, yes.
Unspeakable, yes.
God's mercy, no.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook very bleak."\\
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Back to School
My plan for returning to nursing school is to audit Nursing 102 in the Winter term, and use the grade from that to apply for re-admission to Nursing 103 in the Spring term (103 is the class I flunked out of last year). That leaves only one other class for me to take this term: Writing 227, Technical Writing.
I tried to get into the section of the course that's being taught at LBCC's Benton Center, here in Corvallis, so that I wouldn't have to make the longish commute to the main campus (located between Corvallis and Albany). Alas, anxiety over returning to school induced a nasty case of self-sabotaging procrastination, and I didn't register in time.
So, I'll have to take another section, at the main campus. An annoying commute, but that's life. It also meant that I had to buy a textbook at the main campus's bookstore, and that is an extremely annoying process.
For some reason, LBCC has decided that it needs to operate under security measures that make your shopping experience feel a lot like being processed at the county jail.
Thank FSM that I'm done with the bookstore for the term, though. You can count on it that if I find myself on campus without a pen, I'll drive back to Corvallis rather than buy one there.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Geez, all that driving? At least get a bus pass."\\
I tried to get into the section of the course that's being taught at LBCC's Benton Center, here in Corvallis, so that I wouldn't have to make the longish commute to the main campus (located between Corvallis and Albany). Alas, anxiety over returning to school induced a nasty case of self-sabotaging procrastination, and I didn't register in time.
So, I'll have to take another section, at the main campus. An annoying commute, but that's life. It also meant that I had to buy a textbook at the main campus's bookstore, and that is an extremely annoying process.
For some reason, LBCC has decided that it needs to operate under security measures that make your shopping experience feel a lot like being processed at the county jail.
Thank FSM that I'm done with the bookstore for the term, though. You can count on it that if I find myself on campus without a pen, I'll drive back to Corvallis rather than buy one there.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Geez, all that driving? At least get a bus pass."\\
Friday, September 22, 2006
"Donut Hole"? Gee, What a Cute Name
Cute enough to bankrupt thousands, if not millions, of retirees. But hey, it's privatized, and that means it's much cheaper and more efficient than any government scheme could possibly be, right?
And if it's not...nobody actually cares, do they?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "'Gitmo' is a cute name, too."\\
And if it's not...nobody actually cares, do they?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "'Gitmo' is a cute name, too."\\
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Still Voting No On 43
For some reason, I actually had some comments on my blog. Gee whiz, I never get any comments. Wonder what's up with that?
Anyway,there have been some interesting comments, and the liveliest discussion I've seen here in a long time, so I'm delighted.
As for the substance of the matter (whether the government should force doctors to notify a teenager's parents before she has an abortion), my opinion remains unchanged: any young person who feels she simply can't speak with her parents about something as serious as having an abortion must have her reasons, and I don't think it's the state's business to second-guess her.
The recent colorful incident in which the parents of a 19-year-old adult kidnapped her and tried to force her to have an abortion (allegedly because the father of the fetus was African American) is a perfect example of the kind of parents I am afraid of.
So, one more time, here's my opinion: No woman, under or over 18, should be forced to carry a pregnancy to term, or to have an abortion, or to undergo any other form of medical treatment against her will. And for good measure, though it hasn't come up yet,* no man should be forced to have a vasectomy or to donate sperm.
* In case you were wondering why government control over men's sexual function doesn't seem to be a hot issue, you can start your investigation by asking Twisty.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes, where did all those people come from?"\\
Anyway,there have been some interesting comments, and the liveliest discussion I've seen here in a long time, so I'm delighted.
As for the substance of the matter (whether the government should force doctors to notify a teenager's parents before she has an abortion), my opinion remains unchanged: any young person who feels she simply can't speak with her parents about something as serious as having an abortion must have her reasons, and I don't think it's the state's business to second-guess her.
The recent colorful incident in which the parents of a 19-year-old adult kidnapped her and tried to force her to have an abortion (allegedly because the father of the fetus was African American) is a perfect example of the kind of parents I am afraid of.
So, one more time, here's my opinion: No woman, under or over 18, should be forced to carry a pregnancy to term, or to have an abortion, or to undergo any other form of medical treatment against her will. And for good measure, though it hasn't come up yet,* no man should be forced to have a vasectomy or to donate sperm.
* In case you were wondering why government control over men's sexual function doesn't seem to be a hot issue, you can start your investigation by asking Twisty.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes, where did all those people come from?"\\
Monday, September 18, 2006
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Why God Was Denied Tenure
1. Only one major publication
2. ..in Hebrew
3. ..no references
4. It wasn't published in a refereed journal.
5. There are some doubts he wrote it himself.
6. It may be true he created the world, but what has he done since then?
7. The scientific community has had a hard time replicating his results.
8. Never applied to the ethics board for permission to use human subjects.
9. When experiment went awry, tried to cover it by drowning subjects.
10. When subjects didn't behave as predicted, deleted them from sample.
11. Rarely came to class and just told students to read the book.
12. Expelled the first two students for learning too much.
13. Only had ten requirements, but most of his students failed them.
14. Office hours infrequent and usually held on mountain top.
UPDATE: thre's a rumor that he might have gotten his son to teach important lessons.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Did you forward this one to your father?"\\
2. ..in Hebrew
3. ..no references
4. It wasn't published in a refereed journal.
5. There are some doubts he wrote it himself.
6. It may be true he created the world, but what has he done since then?
7. The scientific community has had a hard time replicating his results.
8. Never applied to the ethics board for permission to use human subjects.
9. When experiment went awry, tried to cover it by drowning subjects.
10. When subjects didn't behave as predicted, deleted them from sample.
11. Rarely came to class and just told students to read the book.
12. Expelled the first two students for learning too much.
13. Only had ten requirements, but most of his students failed them.
14. Office hours infrequent and usually held on mountain top.
UPDATE: thre's a rumor that he might have gotten his son to teach important lessons.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Did you forward this one to your father?"\\
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Burying Ratzilla
Kathe's son Justin had a falling-out with his girlfriend awhile back. Also with his mother. And me. And anyone who speaks to us. And his rats.
Four fat, happy, well-acculturated male rats, left at our house by Justin. They've been on our living room coffee table in their big wire cage ever since.
Rats don't live all that long, although they live a lot longer if you take good care of them. These days they're all looking a bit shopworn, their fur a bit thin. And then today Ratzilla died.
We buried him out front, among the raspberry canes. I tried to avoid any of the other pet graves, but the dirt on one side of the hole collapsed, and by the time I had the dirt cleared, I'd brought up a cat skull, Yorick-fashion. Sorry, kitty. I put the skull back in the hole, alongside Ratzilla.
The others won't be much longer.
And that's about the most interesting thing that's happened around here lately.
On another matter:
The American Jewish World Service thinks UN Peacekeepers should go to Darfur.
Sounds like a good idea to me, too.
They asked me to take action, and I did. Not much action, but probably more than you have done. Want to remedy that situation?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Couldn't hurt."\\
Four fat, happy, well-acculturated male rats, left at our house by Justin. They've been on our living room coffee table in their big wire cage ever since.
Rats don't live all that long, although they live a lot longer if you take good care of them. These days they're all looking a bit shopworn, their fur a bit thin. And then today Ratzilla died.
We buried him out front, among the raspberry canes. I tried to avoid any of the other pet graves, but the dirt on one side of the hole collapsed, and by the time I had the dirt cleared, I'd brought up a cat skull, Yorick-fashion. Sorry, kitty. I put the skull back in the hole, alongside Ratzilla.
The others won't be much longer.
And that's about the most interesting thing that's happened around here lately.
On another matter:
The American Jewish World Service thinks UN Peacekeepers should go to Darfur.
Sounds like a good idea to me, too.
They asked me to take action, and I did. Not much action, but probably more than you have done. Want to remedy that situation?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Couldn't hurt."\\
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
We Can Make America Safer
And no, it doesn't involve appeasing the enemies of freedom, whether the ones in Pakistan or the ones in Washington.
It involves treating terrorists like criminals, not like enemy nations or unpersons we can torture and kill at will.
It involves treating foreign nations like foreign nations, and not like "Indian Country".
And it wouldn't kill us to start doing it right now.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes? And what are you going to do about it?"\\
It involves treating terrorists like criminals, not like enemy nations or unpersons we can torture and kill at will.
It involves treating foreign nations like foreign nations, and not like "Indian Country".
And it wouldn't kill us to start doing it right now.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes? And what are you going to do about it?"\\
The Constitution Ain't Broke
So kindly, members of Congress, do not attempt to "fix" it with S. 2453, S. 2455 and H.R. 5825.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "It already seems too much like a fixed game."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "It already seems too much like a fixed game."\\
Monday, September 11, 2006
Paul DeCola, one of 2,996
In memory of Paul DeCola, age 39, of Ridgewood, N.Y., who died five years ago today at the World Trade Center.
On that day, my only comment was, "Innocents have suffered today. As a result, more innocents will suffer."
After five years, I have nothing more to add.
http://www.september11victims.com/september11victims/VictimInfo.asp?ID=884
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Me, neither."\\
On that day, my only comment was, "Innocents have suffered today. As a result, more innocents will suffer."
After five years, I have nothing more to add.
http://www.september11victims.com/september11victims/VictimInfo.asp?ID=884
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Me, neither."\\
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Mr. Bush, Please Obey this One Law, Anyway
That would be the Airborne Hunting Act, which prohibits the shooting (please, let's not call it "hunting") of wolves from airplanes. It's a Federal law, one of those things you took a solemn oath to see enforced.
Think of it as a form of flag-burning, only there's no factory in China making more of these national symbols.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "There is no small instance of doing the right thing."\\
Think of it as a form of flag-burning, only there's no factory in China making more of these national symbols.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "There is no small instance of doing the right thing."\\
Saturday, September 09, 2006
I Never Liked Goldilocks Either
Papersky wrote a Nordic-verse version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" as an example of the verse form, but everyone seems to have enjoyed the alternate ending.
Me. too.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You meanies."\\
Me. too.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You meanies."\\
Friday, September 08, 2006
I Like our Constitution
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Oregon Ballot Measure 43
I'm voting no, because I believe that if a teenaged girl has been raped by her father and become pregnant, it's not the state's job to notify him that she's planning to get an abortion.
There are other reasons, but isn't that one enough?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Do the right thing."\\
There are other reasons, but isn't that one enough?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Do the right thing."\\
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
First-Rate Ass-Kicking
Thank you, Ken Olbermann, for walloping Don Rumsfeld.
Kathe calls you "Edward R Murrow's righteous heir".
//The Magic Eight-Ball calls you, "What she said."\\
Kathe calls you "Edward R Murrow's righteous heir".
//The Magic Eight-Ball calls you, "What she said."\\
They Can Call It What They Like
"Female circumcision"
"Female castration"
"Female genital mutilation (FGM)"
"Female genital cutting (FGC)"
It's still an inhumane, dangerous and (oh, by the way) completely un-Islamic practice.
And yes, you can do something about it.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Bad idea."\\
"Female castration"
"Female genital mutilation (FGM)"
"Female genital cutting (FGC)"
It's still an inhumane, dangerous and (oh, by the way) completely un-Islamic practice.
And yes, you can do something about it.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Bad idea."\\
My Poor Finger! My Poor Sweetie!
I've had an infection in the margin of my rioght ring finger for several days, and it finally got so red and swollen that I went up to Immediate Care and had it lanced. I'm also on antibiotics for a week.
Kathe is visiting a friend in Portland, and while there she began suffering extreme pain and pain-induced nausea, and Sarah swooped in to take her to an emrgency room. I'm awaiting further word of her condition.
[Update, 7 September: Finger getting better, Kathe still in Portland and still in pain.]
Kathe is visiting a friend in Portland, and while there she began suffering extreme pain and pain-induced nausea, and Sarah swooped in to take her to an emrgency room. I'm awaiting further word of her condition.
[Update, 7 September: Finger getting better, Kathe still in Portland and still in pain.]
Dear ABC-TV
You have previewed "Path to 9-11" only to select far-right commentators. If you are too ashamed of it to show it to anyone but those who will eat it up, then maybe you should go with your gut feeling: let this Republican fantasy be distributed on DVD, through right-wing web sites and mail-order catalogs, rather than wasting broadcast prime-time hours on it.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "John, you're coming close to ######ship here."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "John, you're coming close to ######ship here."\\
Dear Darlene Hooley
I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 5674, the Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth (PATHWAY) Act of 2006 introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
Please build on your previous record of rejecting ideologically-driven, ineffective approaches to fighting HIV/AIDS by supporting the PATHWAY Act which will channel funding to prevention programs that are PROVEN to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. The PATHWAY Act will also require the development of a comprehensive strategy to combat the spread of HIV among women and children, an increasingly vulnerable population.
A Government Accountability Office report released in May found that the Bush administration's abstinence-only-until-marriage funding requirement is not only causing confusion in many countries, but is actually preventing HIV/AIDS programs from helping the people that are most at risk and in most need of help.
In order to comply with this funding requirement, programs have had to reduce funding for essential Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programming, as well as programs for people with the highest risk of contracting HIV - sexually active youth, truckers, sex workers, and couples in which one partner is HIV negative and the other is HIV positive.
The report states that eight of the seventeen country programs surveyed have found that the policy "compromises the integration of their programs."
The PATHWAY Act will allow countries to develop HIV/AIDS prevention programs that respond to their unique needs rather than arbitrary quotas for ineffective abstinence-only programs that are diverting desperately-needed resources from those programs that are effective in preventing the spread of the virus.
I strongly urge you to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and children in the world's most AIDS-ravaged countries by co-sponsoring the PATHWAY Act.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Because free choice does indeed save lives.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yup."\\
Please build on your previous record of rejecting ideologically-driven, ineffective approaches to fighting HIV/AIDS by supporting the PATHWAY Act which will channel funding to prevention programs that are PROVEN to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. The PATHWAY Act will also require the development of a comprehensive strategy to combat the spread of HIV among women and children, an increasingly vulnerable population.
A Government Accountability Office report released in May found that the Bush administration's abstinence-only-until-marriage funding requirement is not only causing confusion in many countries, but is actually preventing HIV/AIDS programs from helping the people that are most at risk and in most need of help.
In order to comply with this funding requirement, programs have had to reduce funding for essential Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programming, as well as programs for people with the highest risk of contracting HIV - sexually active youth, truckers, sex workers, and couples in which one partner is HIV negative and the other is HIV positive.
The report states that eight of the seventeen country programs surveyed have found that the policy "compromises the integration of their programs."
The PATHWAY Act will allow countries to develop HIV/AIDS prevention programs that respond to their unique needs rather than arbitrary quotas for ineffective abstinence-only programs that are diverting desperately-needed resources from those programs that are effective in preventing the spread of the virus.
I strongly urge you to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and children in the world's most AIDS-ravaged countries by co-sponsoring the PATHWAY Act.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Because free choice does indeed save lives.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yup."\\
For What It's Worth
I signed a petition putting four anti-choice members of Congress on notice that I'm working against their re-election.
They might actually care if one of them (Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Dave Reichert of Washington, Rick Renzi of Arizona*, Jim Walsh of New York ) were from Oregon.
But hey.
* Speaking of running scared, I notice that Renzi's various official sites make absolutely no mention of his party affiliation (he's never referred to as "R-AZ", always as "AZ-01").
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Why not?"\\
They might actually care if one of them (Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Dave Reichert of Washington, Rick Renzi of Arizona*, Jim Walsh of New York ) were from Oregon.
But hey.
* Speaking of running scared, I notice that Renzi's various official sites make absolutely no mention of his party affiliation (he's never referred to as "R-AZ", always as "AZ-01").
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Why not?"\\
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Yes, I Mind (Because I Have One)
I got an e-mail the other day about a country where there are no laws to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or sexual nature. That sounds like a bad situation to me.
Oops, that's Oregon. Never mind.
No, wait, I do mind. I mind a lot.
How about you?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Me, too."\\
Oops, that's Oregon. Never mind.
No, wait, I do mind. I mind a lot.
How about you?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Me, too."\\
Monday, September 04, 2006
A New Definition of "Creating Controversy"
I got an e-mail the other day about a country where the government claims it knows science better than people who have actually studied it.
Oh, wait, that's Ohio.
The Ohio Board of Education has created a "Controversial Issues Template" for dictating to teachers how they may teach the scientific subjects which the board (if not scientists) consider controversial.
Biologists don't consider evolution controversial. Haven't since the 1870s, in fact. But the Board, they know better.
Same for global climate change, stem cell therapies and anything else they choose to declare "controversial".
I haven't been this glad to not live in Ohio since the Cuyahoga River caught fire.
//The Magic Eight Ball says, "The people of Ohio cleaned up the Cuyahoga River, you know."\\
Oh, wait, that's Ohio.
The Ohio Board of Education has created a "Controversial Issues Template" for dictating to teachers how they may teach the scientific subjects which the board (if not scientists) consider controversial.
Biologists don't consider evolution controversial. Haven't since the 1870s, in fact. But the Board, they know better.
Same for global climate change, stem cell therapies and anything else they choose to declare "controversial".
I haven't been this glad to not live in Ohio since the Cuyahoga River caught fire.
//The Magic Eight Ball says, "The people of Ohio cleaned up the Cuyahoga River, you know."\\
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Iraq For Sale
Clikc here for dates and times.
[Please note: the link is only good for dates and times for viewing the film Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers. If you wish to know dates and times for participating in the sale of Iraq, click on this link.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Not actually a joke, alas...."\\
[Please note: the link is only good for dates and times for viewing the film Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers. If you wish to know dates and times for participating in the sale of Iraq, click on this link.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Not actually a joke, alas...."\\
Saturday, September 02, 2006
XKCD
How can you not like a webcomic devoted to romance, sarcasm, math, and language?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "How, indeed?"\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "How, indeed?"\\
Friday, September 01, 2006
Yeah, Really Is Too Bad About Those Slave Markets
Remember the fuss over whether or not to fly the Confederate flag over the South Carolina state house? John McCain is against it, of course. He's been against it ever since he found out that being for it wasn't helping his Presidential prospects any.
Not only did he vote for it before he voted against it, but he dressed his supporters in Confederate uniforms during a campaign appearance. In 2000.
As the blogger Lambert so aptly puts it, "WTF"?
You will still hear it argued in some circles that the undeniably brave and dedicated soldiers of the Confederacy did not die for the cause of preserving slavery. This is absolutely true, but as irrelevant as it is to say that Casey Sheehan did not die for the sake of Halliburton price-gouging and Exxon oil-lease grabbing. For all practical purposes, he did and they did, and we the living will just have to deal with those unpleasant facts.
Unless of course you're John McCain, in which case the facts are what you choose for them to be at any given moment.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You're asking me that because I'm black, aren't you?"\\
Not only did he vote for it before he voted against it, but he dressed his supporters in Confederate uniforms during a campaign appearance. In 2000.
As the blogger Lambert so aptly puts it, "WTF"?
You will still hear it argued in some circles that the undeniably brave and dedicated soldiers of the Confederacy did not die for the cause of preserving slavery. This is absolutely true, but as irrelevant as it is to say that Casey Sheehan did not die for the sake of Halliburton price-gouging and Exxon oil-lease grabbing. For all practical purposes, he did and they did, and we the living will just have to deal with those unpleasant facts.
Unless of course you're John McCain, in which case the facts are what you choose for them to be at any given moment.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You're asking me that because I'm black, aren't you?"\\
Thursday, August 31, 2006
As Joe Sinks Slowly Into the East...
...we bid a fondless farewell to the man who apparently thought the world revolved around him.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, ".on llits si rewsna ehT"\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, ".on llits si rewsna ehT"\\
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Katherine Harris' American History
Separation of church and state is a "lie". Christians should only vote for Christians. God chooses the winners of elections.
Apparently, she interprets American history the way she interprets the validity of votes: any damn way she pleases.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Reply hazy. Ask again later."\\
Apparently, she interprets American history the way she interprets the validity of votes: any damn way she pleases.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Reply hazy. Ask again later."\\
Sunday, August 27, 2006
I Can't Post At Pandagon
This isn't really a post to my blog. It's a comment that I was trying to post at Pandagon, but the connection failed in some fashion. I saved the comment, and I'll stick it here until I can connect to Pandagon successfully.
It's a comment on a thread abour irony and sarcasm, and their (im)proper use.
On an earlier thread, there was much discussion of whether Gen Y was more or less ironic than Gen X or the Boomers, and so on, and I was disappointed that nobody pointed out that irony has always been the primary form of humor and social commentary in American culture, from the GIs in World War Two noting "SNAFUs" to the smart-aleck private eyes of the 1930s all the way back to the 1840s when political candidates were sarcastically referred to as "OBM" ("Our Best Men").
It is true, I think, that sarcasm and irony are a tool of the powerless to soften the blows of the powerful. But there's a difference between being in a position of disadvantage and being a "loser". But one of the things that defines a "loser" is being on the bottom and not trying to get out from under, so if your ONLY response to abuse is irony, then you may well be a loser. Jon Stewart's famous smackdown of Hannity and Colmes was his moment to not be a loser, and he succeeded big time. Our next big chance to speak boldly and without irony is coming in November -- be there.
Sally, re pretending that you like something "ironically", to avoid being stigmatized for simply liking it: that strikes me as an especially poisonous use of irony. It reminds me of Johnny Carson breaking a joke halfway through the punchline, ending on a questioning note, as though expressing shock that his writers would give him such a joke to read. Whenever he did that, I wanted to say to him, "Either tell the joke and take the lumps for it if it isn't funny, or just don't tell it at all!"
KLK, having worked with people with various kinds of neurological disorders that affected their speech, I'd say that it's entirely possible that a person could be stuck in "sounding sarcastic" mode. I've talked with people who could only speak mournfully, or gruffly, no matter how happy they were. And with the best will in the world, any of those grates on your nerves after awhile.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Well, isn't that an intelligent and insightful post?"\\
It's a comment on a thread abour irony and sarcasm, and their (im)proper use.
On an earlier thread, there was much discussion of whether Gen Y was more or less ironic than Gen X or the Boomers, and so on, and I was disappointed that nobody pointed out that irony has always been the primary form of humor and social commentary in American culture, from the GIs in World War Two noting "SNAFUs" to the smart-aleck private eyes of the 1930s all the way back to the 1840s when political candidates were sarcastically referred to as "OBM" ("Our Best Men").
It is true, I think, that sarcasm and irony are a tool of the powerless to soften the blows of the powerful. But there's a difference between being in a position of disadvantage and being a "loser". But one of the things that defines a "loser" is being on the bottom and not trying to get out from under, so if your ONLY response to abuse is irony, then you may well be a loser. Jon Stewart's famous smackdown of Hannity and Colmes was his moment to not be a loser, and he succeeded big time. Our next big chance to speak boldly and without irony is coming in November -- be there.
Sally, re pretending that you like something "ironically", to avoid being stigmatized for simply liking it: that strikes me as an especially poisonous use of irony. It reminds me of Johnny Carson breaking a joke halfway through the punchline, ending on a questioning note, as though expressing shock that his writers would give him such a joke to read. Whenever he did that, I wanted to say to him, "Either tell the joke and take the lumps for it if it isn't funny, or just don't tell it at all!"
KLK, having worked with people with various kinds of neurological disorders that affected their speech, I'd say that it's entirely possible that a person could be stuck in "sounding sarcastic" mode. I've talked with people who could only speak mournfully, or gruffly, no matter how happy they were. And with the best will in the world, any of those grates on your nerves after awhile.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Well, isn't that an intelligent and insightful post?"\\
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Oh, Those Awful Braille Signs!
Glenn Beck says, I work at Radio City in midtown Manhattan, and up by the doors, you know, like where the -- you know -- the office kitchen is, in Braille, on the wall, it says "kitchen." You'd have to -- a blind person would have to be feeling all of the walls to find "kitchen." Just to piss them off, I'm going to put in Braille on the coffee pot -- I'm going to put, "Pot is hot." Ow!
I think I've figured out the real problem: Beck feels intimidated by Braille sings because he doesn't know how to read them.
He's afraid they say things like "This Way to the Kitchen, and By the Way, Glenn Beck Eats Boogers".
Now, you may be thinking, "Only a paranoid boob would think that a sign would say something like that." And your point would be...?
Now, Beck could learn to read Braille in about half a day. But that would be work. And worse yet, it would be learning.
Next time you see Glenn Beck, be sure to say something in American Sign Language in his presence, and laugh loudly. It'll drive him crazy.
//The Magic Eight Ball says, ". : . ` : "\\
I think I've figured out the real problem: Beck feels intimidated by Braille sings because he doesn't know how to read them.
He's afraid they say things like "This Way to the Kitchen, and By the Way, Glenn Beck Eats Boogers".
Now, you may be thinking, "Only a paranoid boob would think that a sign would say something like that." And your point would be...?
Now, Beck could learn to read Braille in about half a day. But that would be work. And worse yet, it would be learning.
Next time you see Glenn Beck, be sure to say something in American Sign Language in his presence, and laugh loudly. It'll drive him crazy.
//The Magic Eight Ball says, ". : . ` : "\\
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Yes, There is a Plan B
About time.
And not for everyone.
But even so, thank you, folks.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Better late than never."\\
And not for everyone.
But even so, thank you, folks.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Better late than never."\\
Worse Than a Crime: a Blunder
The recent attempt by Republican activist Kelly Clark to throw Constitution Party candidate Mary Starrett off the ballot is the worst campaign move by a Republican since Attorney General (and Republican gubernatorial candidate) Dave Frohnmayer had the state police arrest Libertarian candidate Dr. Fred Oerther on a phony drug charge.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "What goes around comes around."\\
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "What goes around comes around."\\
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Free?
Kathe sent me this, an essay by Bill Noxid posted at Information Clearinghouse. Her comment was "Maybe Hezbollah should handle our next hurricane". My response is to wonder, with my American perspective, whether some document will come out of all this. A few hundred deeply moving words, on a large sheet of paper. But of course, things never happen the same way they did the time before.
The question of every generation of thinking people in every country is “Will there be Peace in our time?” The nature of “Global Community” requires that Man see past Peace as a goal, and recognize it as a symptom.
When a child is born on this planet, his first perception of the three-dimensional world is that he or she is the “center”. All activities in his or her immediate perception revolve around them and their needs. This perception of the world ( particularly in this country ) doesn’t evolve much over time beyond one’s team, community, or country, and as a result severely hampers one’s ability to understand events in the world. Any event that occurs outside of our perceived world that doesn’t support our understanding is deemed “wrong” or a “threat” to our “way of life” and must be destroyed, denied, or converted into something that makes us “comfortable”. This ego driven undeveloped mentality keeps us at odds with any other perception on the planet and by it’s nature denies any possibility of the conditions necessary for Peace.
Perspective is one of the primary components of Evolution. The only limit to Human Understanding is the scope of one’s vision and the willingness to continuously expand it. The locked state of Ignorance in which we currently exist is a self-imposed condition formed from an obsolete and self-destructive fear that being wrong, accepting it, and making the tremendous effort to change it somehow diminishes us. I can tell you in Truth ( having experienced numerous stages of Evolution ) that exactly the opposite is the case. The only thing “diminished” in the process of expanded understanding is the validity of Ego.
The problem we face on this planet is that the “wrong” we have to admit to is massive. It is all encompassing and it exists at the core of our society’s foundation. It is a self perpetuating fabrication that motivates our national consciousness. That fabrication is that Freedom exists on this planet, and that we are the only ones who have it. Neither of those things is even remotely true.
Everyone on this planet is in slavery whether they are cognizant of it or not. In fact it is the very same underdeveloped ability to perceive that prevents Man from recognizing this reality, but it’s a fundamentally simple equation. Individuals in this country ( and on this Planet ) have “jobs” which occupy most of their waking life to produce goods and services for the Institution of the Corporation for generally meager compensation, which they promptly give right back to the Institution of the Corporation for the same goods and services. At best you live in indentured servitude, but in reality you are still on the Plantation.
However, the Slave Owner has learned through millennia of trial and error the value having the slave not perceive himself as a slave. Hence this entire society and all of it’s components are geared to preventing the slave from awakening. Every new meaningless product or coffee flavor creates the illusion of “progress” and keeps the slave occupied. Every “news” broadcast is designed to focus your attention to anything other than the reality of the world and your position in it. The endless series of recreational products and events ensure that any chance of free thinking that hasn’t already been destroyed is lost in some feeble attempt at having “fun”.
So while Americans stay isolated, ignorant, and enslaved, the world evolves without our knowledge. Such a perspective might lead you to think I am a pessimist, but again I would tell you exactly the opposite. My field of vision is much larger than that. For the first time in this incarnation I can see the reality of Freedom in Our Time. While we in this country are subjected to endless coverage of fake bomb plots and a ten year old dead white girl case, the 33 Day War has dramatically altered the Middle East and the World. The slaves of Lebanon took the full wrath of their master and did not blink. This is a powerful turning point in the balance of power and marks the beginning of the end of subjugation. The Lebanese people have demonstrated the power, will, and right to exist not in Peace, but Free. This to the Slave Owner is the most terrifying development imaginable.
What is happening in Lebanon will change ( by example ) a variety of things on this planet that people accept as fact. The fundamental reason for this is that when Hassan Nasrallah says he cares about the Lebanese people, he means it. Not that anyone in this country would know that of course, since mainstream media hasn’t played more than thirty seconds of any of his statements followed by the “white man’s overview”, but if you had the opportunity to actually hear him you would surely know differently. This makes him unique as a leader since there are very few leaders ( certainly not ours ) that actually care for the people they are supposed to serve and protect. We should all be very well aware by now that leaders on this planet aren’t elected, they are “installed” and are there to support the desires of the Global Corporation at the expense of the individual.
One glaring example of this was Hezbollah’s immediate response to the cease fire. Engineers and doctors were immediately dispatched, and registry centers were set up all over the south for people in need of aid. The response was so swift that European aid agency that went in after the cease fire couldn’t find people that had not already been visited by Hezbollah. The aid workers reported that “The people were happy to take the extra supplies but said Hezbollah had already taken care of all of their needs”. Two days after registering, people were called back in and given $12,000 U.S. Dollars each ( the equivalent of two and a half times the average annual salary ), no questions asked. All of this occurred within three days of the end of the bombings. Nasrallah has additionally pledged to not only rebuild their houses, but to build them better ones.
Contrast this with the U.S. response to Katrina. Weeks after the event the most the U.S. was willing to offer these people was a $1,200 impossible to get debit card ( which isn’t equivalent to anything ) for which they have now spent untold millions in tracking down supposed “fraudulent” use of those funds. A year after the event these people are still homeless, the city is still in rubble, and the only thing our government did for them was to stigmatize them for not being wealthy enough to get out of the way on their own.
Which of these responses seems like the act of a terrorist government to you? Unless you’re a fool, you would have to choose the latter. Is that the kind of environment you expect the peoples of the world to warmly embrace? If they wholly reject it, does that mean they hate your “freedom”? If they say “No, you can’t have our land, you can’t have our resources, and you can’t have the servitude of our people”, will you call that terrorism?
I assure you, the awakening is coming. A year from now ( barring the incessant interference from Israel and the U.S. ) Lebanon will be a city like it never was before. A city truly built by the people and for the people. The lie of endless autocratic processes delaying reconstruction all over the world will be exposed as the farce it is and people will have to take a good hard look at who is actually lying to them. If you insist on believing that the United States propaganda is “right” and everyone else is wrong, you are in for a grave and psychologically brutal awakening to your own ignorance. It behooves you to reexamine your perspective while it is still a choice, as opposed to having to endure the utter and crushing defeat of your belief in the Face of Truth.
All is Well in the Kingdom of God…
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Hope springs eternal."\\
The question of every generation of thinking people in every country is “Will there be Peace in our time?” The nature of “Global Community” requires that Man see past Peace as a goal, and recognize it as a symptom.
When a child is born on this planet, his first perception of the three-dimensional world is that he or she is the “center”. All activities in his or her immediate perception revolve around them and their needs. This perception of the world ( particularly in this country ) doesn’t evolve much over time beyond one’s team, community, or country, and as a result severely hampers one’s ability to understand events in the world. Any event that occurs outside of our perceived world that doesn’t support our understanding is deemed “wrong” or a “threat” to our “way of life” and must be destroyed, denied, or converted into something that makes us “comfortable”. This ego driven undeveloped mentality keeps us at odds with any other perception on the planet and by it’s nature denies any possibility of the conditions necessary for Peace.
Perspective is one of the primary components of Evolution. The only limit to Human Understanding is the scope of one’s vision and the willingness to continuously expand it. The locked state of Ignorance in which we currently exist is a self-imposed condition formed from an obsolete and self-destructive fear that being wrong, accepting it, and making the tremendous effort to change it somehow diminishes us. I can tell you in Truth ( having experienced numerous stages of Evolution ) that exactly the opposite is the case. The only thing “diminished” in the process of expanded understanding is the validity of Ego.
The problem we face on this planet is that the “wrong” we have to admit to is massive. It is all encompassing and it exists at the core of our society’s foundation. It is a self perpetuating fabrication that motivates our national consciousness. That fabrication is that Freedom exists on this planet, and that we are the only ones who have it. Neither of those things is even remotely true.
Everyone on this planet is in slavery whether they are cognizant of it or not. In fact it is the very same underdeveloped ability to perceive that prevents Man from recognizing this reality, but it’s a fundamentally simple equation. Individuals in this country ( and on this Planet ) have “jobs” which occupy most of their waking life to produce goods and services for the Institution of the Corporation for generally meager compensation, which they promptly give right back to the Institution of the Corporation for the same goods and services. At best you live in indentured servitude, but in reality you are still on the Plantation.
However, the Slave Owner has learned through millennia of trial and error the value having the slave not perceive himself as a slave. Hence this entire society and all of it’s components are geared to preventing the slave from awakening. Every new meaningless product or coffee flavor creates the illusion of “progress” and keeps the slave occupied. Every “news” broadcast is designed to focus your attention to anything other than the reality of the world and your position in it. The endless series of recreational products and events ensure that any chance of free thinking that hasn’t already been destroyed is lost in some feeble attempt at having “fun”.
So while Americans stay isolated, ignorant, and enslaved, the world evolves without our knowledge. Such a perspective might lead you to think I am a pessimist, but again I would tell you exactly the opposite. My field of vision is much larger than that. For the first time in this incarnation I can see the reality of Freedom in Our Time. While we in this country are subjected to endless coverage of fake bomb plots and a ten year old dead white girl case, the 33 Day War has dramatically altered the Middle East and the World. The slaves of Lebanon took the full wrath of their master and did not blink. This is a powerful turning point in the balance of power and marks the beginning of the end of subjugation. The Lebanese people have demonstrated the power, will, and right to exist not in Peace, but Free. This to the Slave Owner is the most terrifying development imaginable.
What is happening in Lebanon will change ( by example ) a variety of things on this planet that people accept as fact. The fundamental reason for this is that when Hassan Nasrallah says he cares about the Lebanese people, he means it. Not that anyone in this country would know that of course, since mainstream media hasn’t played more than thirty seconds of any of his statements followed by the “white man’s overview”, but if you had the opportunity to actually hear him you would surely know differently. This makes him unique as a leader since there are very few leaders ( certainly not ours ) that actually care for the people they are supposed to serve and protect. We should all be very well aware by now that leaders on this planet aren’t elected, they are “installed” and are there to support the desires of the Global Corporation at the expense of the individual.
One glaring example of this was Hezbollah’s immediate response to the cease fire. Engineers and doctors were immediately dispatched, and registry centers were set up all over the south for people in need of aid. The response was so swift that European aid agency that went in after the cease fire couldn’t find people that had not already been visited by Hezbollah. The aid workers reported that “The people were happy to take the extra supplies but said Hezbollah had already taken care of all of their needs”. Two days after registering, people were called back in and given $12,000 U.S. Dollars each ( the equivalent of two and a half times the average annual salary ), no questions asked. All of this occurred within three days of the end of the bombings. Nasrallah has additionally pledged to not only rebuild their houses, but to build them better ones.
Contrast this with the U.S. response to Katrina. Weeks after the event the most the U.S. was willing to offer these people was a $1,200 impossible to get debit card ( which isn’t equivalent to anything ) for which they have now spent untold millions in tracking down supposed “fraudulent” use of those funds. A year after the event these people are still homeless, the city is still in rubble, and the only thing our government did for them was to stigmatize them for not being wealthy enough to get out of the way on their own.
Which of these responses seems like the act of a terrorist government to you? Unless you’re a fool, you would have to choose the latter. Is that the kind of environment you expect the peoples of the world to warmly embrace? If they wholly reject it, does that mean they hate your “freedom”? If they say “No, you can’t have our land, you can’t have our resources, and you can’t have the servitude of our people”, will you call that terrorism?
I assure you, the awakening is coming. A year from now ( barring the incessant interference from Israel and the U.S. ) Lebanon will be a city like it never was before. A city truly built by the people and for the people. The lie of endless autocratic processes delaying reconstruction all over the world will be exposed as the farce it is and people will have to take a good hard look at who is actually lying to them. If you insist on believing that the United States propaganda is “right” and everyone else is wrong, you are in for a grave and psychologically brutal awakening to your own ignorance. It behooves you to reexamine your perspective while it is still a choice, as opposed to having to endure the utter and crushing defeat of your belief in the Face of Truth.
All is Well in the Kingdom of God…
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Hope springs eternal."\\
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Lessons Learned..By Some, Anyway
After 9/11, there was much discussion of how foolish the Clinton Administration had been, pursuing a feeble "police" model of dealing with terrorists. After all, while all of the participants in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing except Osama bin Laden himself had been apprehended, and although the scheme which succeeded in 2001 was foiled in 1995, and although Clinton worked all the way to his last day in office (in spite of being distracted from his job by certain patriots) to shut down the al Qaeda racket, well, yeah, all that, but just wait, you'll see how much better a "military" approach to terrorist groups will work.
After the successful invasion and failed occupation of Afghanistan, some people questioned the wisdom of a solely military approach. After the successful invasion and failed occupation of Iraq, still more questions arose in still more minds.
And for those who really needed their noses rubbed in it, there has been the failed Israeli action in Lebanon.
So, are we ready now to stop playing with war toys and get down to work catching those criminals?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Some do, and some do not."\\
After the successful invasion and failed occupation of Afghanistan, some people questioned the wisdom of a solely military approach. After the successful invasion and failed occupation of Iraq, still more questions arose in still more minds.
And for those who really needed their noses rubbed in it, there has been the failed Israeli action in Lebanon.
So, are we ready now to stop playing with war toys and get down to work catching those criminals?
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Some do, and some do not."\\
Monday, August 21, 2006
No Kings
Let's hear it one more time, before it's overturned by a higher court with lower morals:
There are no hereditary Kings in America and no power not created by the Constitution.
For now, at least, that's true.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Well, what are you going to do about it?"
There are no hereditary Kings in America and no power not created by the Constitution.
For now, at least, that's true.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Well, what are you going to do about it?"
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