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."\\

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?"\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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!"\\

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".\\

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?"\\

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."\\

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?"\\

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."\\

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."\\