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!"\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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 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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

Dennis Hastert Should Resign

Of course he should.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes, definitely."\\

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'."\\

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."\\

"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."\\

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."\\

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."

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*!"\\

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."\\

This is Bad

Habeas corpus, no.

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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?"\\

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."\\

Scientists' and Engineers' Bill of Rights

I like the sound of that.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes."\\

This is Bad

Habeas corpus, no.

Torture, yes.

Unspeakable, yes.

God's mercy, no.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook very bleak."\\

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."\\

"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."\\

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?"\\

No Pardons

Not this time.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Speak out, even if no-one listens."\\

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?"\\

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."\\

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?"\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

I Like our Constitution

Some might think it's just "a goddamn piece of paper", but I think it's the vital heart of our nation.

If you think so too, you could click here.

Or not. It's a free country.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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.]

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."\\

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."\\

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?"\\

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."\\

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."\\

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...."\\

XKCD

How can you not like a webcomic devoted to romance, sarcasm, math, and language?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "How, indeed?"\\

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?"\\

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"\\

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."\\

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?"\\

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, ". : . ` : "\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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."\\

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?"

Through the Miracle of Wingervision

Here's a very funny creation which shows how the Right view the world: pass the cursor over each article and photo and see reality transformed into the Rightzarro World version.

Me, I'm wondering what the glasses look like. Do they have spirals on the lenses, or lightning bolts on the frames, or what?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "There are none so blind...."\\

You Were Saying About Racial Profiling?

Benamar Benatta was seized (he was never exactly arrested) by the FBI on September 12th, 2001, because he fit a racial profile that includes about 20% of the human race.

They knew by November that he wasn't a terrorist.

He was freed this week, without apology.

I want my country back.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Not every journey reaches its desitnation."\\

18,181

Kathe sent me an e-mail, quoting from a blog she'd read today. The blogger claimed that three candidates for office in three Texas counties each received the same number of votes -- an event more than merely unlikely. She sent this to me under the headline "Is this true?"

So, I Googled a few variations, and there it was: 18,181 votes.

So, do you want to get back that democracy you used to have?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says "What you want can be achieved, but it will cost you."\\

Stinking Like Natto

If you are a person who comes by here every few days to see if there's something new lately (which is to say, if you are Peni R. Griffin), you've been disappointed more often than not lately.

I'm afraid that my blogging output has been curtailed lately on account of how my life lately stinks like natto.

I've been very unhappy lately, in powerful need of a good laugh. And nobody was more surprised than me when Kathe sent me a link to the blog Steve, Don't Eat That! and I found out that Steve could make me laugh.

And boy, did I ever need it.

Thanks, Kathe.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "DOn't eat those, man! They'll kill you!"\\

Muhammad al-McGyver

"So, here's the plan: we sneak precursor chemicals onto the plane (we'll need refrigerated containers) mix them in the restroom cubicle (we'll need at least an hour uninterrupted), mix them up into high explosives (all without making one of a number of mistakes that would kill you without damaging the plane)...and blow it up!"

"Is this really the best idea we can come up with to terrorize and demoralize Western civilization?"

"Um...so far, yes."

"I sure hope this scares them enough."

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Use your head, for crying out loud."\\

The Latest Trick From the Devious Chinese

From the New York Times:
..China seems to be offering Africa something new, a straightforward business relationship between equals based on mutual interest and noninterference in the internal affairs of its allies. Or as the economist Jeffrey Sachs put it at a conference in Beijing this week, “China gives fewer lectures and more practical help.”

To which Kathe made the comment: "Geez, imagine Africa falling for *that*!"

Indeed. What sort of way is that for a country to behave towards Africa?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Some mysteries are inscrutable indeed."\\

Missing Links

The Pentecostal Church in Kenya has a new way of dealing with the evidence for evolution: hide it.

Simply shuffle Kenya's immense accumulation of hominid fossils (the world's largest, including many of the most famous Leakey finds) away from public view and into a back room, where fewer impressionable young people will see it.

Brilliant.

//The Magic Eight Ball is currently inside a taped-up cardboard box on top shelf in the closet, but we are informed that it says "Darwin was wrong!"\\

The Revolution Will (Not) Be Merchandised?

The blog Haiku Politics offers a link to Anti-Capitalism breakfast cereal.

Well, my mind is boggled. How about you?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Some of my best friends come out of cereal boxes."\\

What'd He Do?

"But what, exactly, did George W. Bush do that you angry leftists should be so, um, angry with him?"

[Sneers, waves hands in air.]

"He did this."

[Hands over a copy of The Constitution in Crisis]

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Next question."\\

More Control

A friend who often sends me text messages, some of them cryptic and some clearly only intended to let off steam, sent me one just now that said, "I need more control over my life."

I replied, "Tell us about it, luv. You need control, I need control. Earlier today I came upon a person smashing the remains of his stereo tuner into tinier bits. He's looking for control, too. All of us here in this handbasket need more control."

//The Magic Eight-Ball is on vacation. Filling in for him is his cousin the Control Voice, which says, "There is nothing wrong with your set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture."\\

I Want My Country Back

And so does the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, otherwise known by the catchy (and all-too-appropriate) name of DefCon.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I don't know about you, but I'm kind of tired of irony coming this easily."\\

Making Vote Fraud Absurdly Easy

Just follow the simple instructions in the educational video.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Education may leave one wiser, but sadder."\\

National Energy Security and Good Medical Practice

Sound like good ideas to me.

Apparently, they sound good to Evan Bayh and Hillary Clinton, too.

Working sixty-some hours this week, I could use some energy.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Then why aren't you in bed?"\\

Making Vote Fraud Easier

Gee, that sounds like a bad idea to me.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Do the right thing. It won't make any difference, but you'll feel better."\\

Sometimes, Life....

Sometimes life just won't let you live.

I feel kind of like Woody Allen's character in Love and Death, where he recounts the woes of his life, concluding with a small sore on the inside of his lower lip.

** My grandfather has colon cancer, and it has metastasized.

** Another family member is an alcoholic, and we're reaching the limit of what we can do for him.

** And I do in fact have a nasty spot on the inside of my mouth.

Wounds on thge inside of the mouth actually heal faster than damage to the skin. But it sure doesn't seem that way when you have one.

I bit the inside of my right cheek the other day, and it hurt so badly that I couldn't take solid food for three days.

Oh, well. I'm trying to lose weight anyway.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "This is not a good week to go crazy. Try to postpone that and other recreational activities."\\

She Plays One On Radio

This morning I was spinning the radio dial and came upon Laura Schlessinger's radio show. Gee, she's still out there? Sure enough.

And still calling herself "Dr. Laura" to give herself a folksy air of authority (interestingly, she really does have a doctorate...in physiology).

She was reading something which she said was a fax from a gay male listener who gushed over her "moral values" and just happened to mention how a few years back she had suddenly dropped her savage vendetta against gay men (but only in order to focus on the problems of "traditional families", of course), and observed on the funny coincidence that her sudden change of format came at just the time that a massive national boycott of her show (which she herself at the time called "financially devastating") was peaking.

She closed this reading with the writer asking her not to use his name, lest his tires be slashed by gay civil rights activists.

Now, for all I know, she really did read all of that off a fax sent to her by a real listener, who might even be gay. But the combination of fawning adulation with an extremely convenient recitation of the Schlessinger version of the spanking she got from the gay community leads me to accuse her of sock puppetry.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You, on the other hand, only put your words into the mouth of an inanimate object...that doesn't even have a mouth."\\

Roof Torn Off -- But That's Okay By Us

Noty as hot today as it had been, yet this was the day that I decided to turn pale, with a racing pulse and a profoundly sick feeling. Who knows what it was? Oh, well.

In between periods of lying down, I pulled some more roofing nails from the broken shingles Jake had been showering down on the tarp on the lawn.

Seeing the roof with its skin off reminded me of earlier projects in and around the house, and of schemes I devised over the years for restoring houses without having to restore them. My personal favorite is enclosing the entire house in a geodesic dome or in a zome. That way, not only do you not have to worry about the leaky roof, you can even tear the whole roof off and have a sun deck. Well, just a thought.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "A house is a machine for keeping your books dry."\\

You Mean, Kill A Person? Deliberately? That's Barbaric!

We have been warned for years that international treaties regarding war crimes, torture and the treatment of POWs might one day resulty in American service members being tried in foreign courts, where any war crimes they commit would be treated as though they were war crimes.

Now, Bush Administration officials have discovered that the War Crimes Act of 1996 obliges the U.S. government to respond to (some) violations of the Geneva Convention as though they were violations of the Geneva Convention.

Some persons charged under it might even be in danger of the death penalty, which they would not face in most foreign courts.

Is there no end to such insanity?

Well, probably. Legislation is now being written creating exemptions for, well, everybody.

But the law itself will not be repealed, because the USA takes war crimes very seriously.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You should see how serious Dick Cheney's face looks right now."\\

Free Choice Does In Fact Save Lives.

FreeChoiceSavesLives.org has sent me an e-mail asking me to ask my representatives in Congress to provide students with complete and accurate birth control and prophylactic information. I think that's a good idea, don't you?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I do."\\

Liberal Outrage

Silly liberals. So angry all the time.

And over the silliest little things.

Like people who have lost everything else, now being deprived of the most basic human rights.

Stuff like that.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "At times, the highest expression of love is attack."\\

Things People Send Me

It's hot. Soooo hot. Too hot to climb up to the lookout, even if there might be a breeze up there. Can't believe that Kathe's son Jake is willing to go out on the roof and do shingling when it's so hot. Still, this is the week when he's here....

It's so hot that the rats, in their cage in the living room, are lying around separately, not in one big pile.

And on a day like this, what are people doing? Sending me the darnedest things in my e-mail, that's what.

The Nose Museum.

The Sasquatch Militia.

Forgotten Heroes.

In other words, all kinds of stuff.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You will receive mail from a friend."\\

One Small Step

[Recycled from 20 July 2005]

It happened.

For all the horror and stupidity that came before and since, I will spend this day remembering that we managed to do it once.

And we will do it again, and make it mean something.

//The Magic 8-Ball says, "Yes."\\

George, Meet Veto

Mr. President*:

Congratulations on discovering the existence of the veto. I hope you will come to have a beneficial relationship with it, and that it will come to take tyhe place of your imaginary friend, the signing statement.

In a few days, if they have any gumption at all, Congress will soon introduce you to another new friend, called "override". Have fun.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "By the way, you can't veto articles of impeachment."\\

Mickey Spillane

He died.

So, I guess it's really true: Nobody is too tough to die.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Grrrr."\\

"...with a chance of bugs."

More likely a certainty of them, depending on where you fly in connection with the storm. Gee, lots of bugs, all right.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Bzzzzzz."\

Da Vinci Days, 2006

Everything was smaller than last year (which was smaller than the year before that...), with the exception of the sidewalk chalk art, which continues to spread further and further from its origins on Madison Avenue above the Art Center.

This year, I finally did the thing I'd been saying for years I would: do my own sidewalk art in front of the house. With black tempera and a roller, I painted a narrow strip on the edges of the sidewalk in front of the house, on the Jefferson side. Then, up one side and down the other, I used an assortment of brighly-colored oil pastels to write "...and God said," [insert Newton's formula for light here] "...and there was light."* I interrupted the formulae to add my favorite (and most relevant) quote from da Vinci, "Mathematics is the alphabet in which God has written the universe."

I liked it well enough that I'm already thinking about next year. I think a border on the sidewalk again, maybe a selection of quotations, or a poem.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I notice that you've actually linked to a site where 'God said' Maxwell's Wave Equation 'and there was light'."\
\\John says, "I couldn't find a link to the site where I first downloaded the page of Newton's formulae."//

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "By the way, it's pretty dark in here. Could you spring for some LEDs?"\\

Still An Issue, For Some Reason

Should rape survivors be guaranteed access to emergency contraception?

Good grief, why is this even an issue?

But since it is, make sure your representatives in Congress are on the right side of it.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Don't be evil."\\

Well, *I* Noticed

...that The Lion King was a remake of Kimba the White Lion.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You are not the only one to feel that way."\\

Vegetables

Vegetables

“just because they can’t say anything
doesn’t mean they don’t hear you coming”;
tomatoes in particular feel pain
thin girlish skin and
seeds quaking in jelly at the first prick
and carrots, shrieking silent
like St. Bartholomew as you peel them
from foot to head: they feel,

they feel. Disemboweled peas

slide into tunbrils, dizzy
with air, beets bleed on the
sinkboard, celery wilts with its heart
in our hands, squash
turns pale on our tables
and when you pick up the knife
and walk across the kitchen, shoeheels softly drumming
even the coarse hydra-headed potato hears you humming

Peter Meinke

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "The situation is more complicated than you suppose."

Conservatives Starting to Act Conservative?

Maybe.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Then again, maybe not."\\

Weighing In, July 2006

Well, according to the scale I just stepped on, I now weigh 224 pounds, down ten int he first month.

I suspect that's not accurate -- I don't feel as though I've lost ten pounds, and my clotheds don't seem to fit any differently. I don't remember whether I was clothed or naked for ht elast weigh-in, nor which scale I used.

Oh, well, it'll all average out.

On a couple of much weightier topics,

here's Kate Michelman's personal story of what stem cells mean to her and her family.

and here's a petition to sign to urge your representatives in Congress (remember? the old-time legislative branch, that passed laws before signing statements were invented?) to endorse access to birth control.

//The Magic Eight-ball says, "Focus on what's important."\\

This Is My Flag

(Recycled from 10 September 2004)[Recycled again from 12 February 2005] [and again from 10 December 2005]

Yes, it's true, I brought a U.S. flag to the nightly war protest, and it was to join in, not to "counter-protest".

The question is not, why did I bring our flag to the rally. The question is, why do you seem to think it belongs to the pro-war people?

Why didn't any of you bring a flag? Yes, the Earth-from-space photographic flag is nice, and so is the UN flag, and the rainbow PACE flag, but what about OUR flag?

Is this flag born in a leftist revolution against colonialism, the flag that smashed fascism and freed the slaves, not good enough for you?

//The Magic 8-Ball says, "Don't forget your roots".\\

This is My Country

For the first time in several years, I had the night of the 4th off, and could watch the fireworks with Kathe. In the intervening years, Kathe has found a good place for watching the show, on Monroe Avenue between 9th and 10th. Ten blocks from the riverfront, where thousands gather, but close enough to get a good view, with the added benefit of being well-placed to catch the echoes coming back toward the river.

Two things I've seen online touch my heart this 4th of July. One was an abominable caricature of the Statue of Liberty, holding a cross instead of a torch, erected by the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church in Memphis, Tennessee.

It's hard to put into words my revulsion at the sight of that blasphemous statue. To replace the Torch of Liberty, enlightening the world with no exceptions, with a cross, barring the door to all but the religiously correct, is simply obscene.

The other thing is something vastly better: an essay by Saoba (from a link posted by Supergee) on why she damn well does celebrate the Fourth, no matter what kind of incompetent louse happens to be President.

Thank you, Saoba. You do my heart good. You make me feel as though maybe this experiment we are living in has not yet failed completely.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Answer not yet clear."\\

Letter From Palestine

Pass it on:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13824.htm

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You will shortly receive an important letter."\\

So What if Roe v. Wade Were Overturned?

What's the worst that could happen?

Oh.

//The Magic Eight Ball says, "Don't ask questions if you don't want to hear the answer."\\

The Kitten of Doom

1) Or is it the doom of kitten?

2) Kathe sent me this important message: Pssst! Bush is listening. Use big words.

3) Jake sent this:
http://www.media.ebaumsworld.com/swf/supercoolpic.swf
a way cool "zooming" picture.

4) Kathe and I found this book at a friend's house, and now we want one: Giraffes? Giraffes!

5) Kathe sent me this tasty item: Cthocolate.

6) Kathe is also the source for this: http://draftgore2008.org/node/143

7) Kathe also advised me of a plan for a thirty-meter telescope: http://www.tmt.org/ Thirty meters, huh? Guess that's pretty long, all right.... Oh. Thirty meters wide.

8) Also worthy of note: Jin Wicked's comic strip "Crap I Drew on My Lunch Break http://crap.jinwicked.com/?comic=302
, which makes me wish I was eating what Jin is eating.

9) I'de heard of The Meaning of Liff when it first came out, but never guessed that it had become a website until Kathe tipped me off: http://folk.uio.no/alied/TMoL.html


10) Finally, a plug for the Countess' soaps, which we are hoping to market for her in Corvallis: http://trishwilson.typepad.com/blog/2006/06/an_update_on_ou.html


//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "This is not the question you should be asking."\\

To Do This Summer

(With thanks to Acephalous for the idea).

1) Rest up from nursing school.
2) Lose 35 pounds (mostly nursing-school related).
3) Revive my massage practice.
4) Resume doing housework.
5) Blog daily.
6) Colonoscopy.
7) Refrain from detailing colonoscopy on blog.
8) Wardrobe triage.
9) Finish one of my stories intended for publicatiuon and actually send it round to magazines.
10) Gird myself for the resumption of nursing school.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You know what you need to do."\\

Concrete in Bloom

I was looking at old posts today, reading about summers past, when the back yard became an extension of the house, and especially the summer of 2004, when the street was torn up and excavated so deeply that we could walk along with the curb at eye level.

It's summer again, and the back yard is living space again, but with a difference. Waldy's friend Lisa is camping out there with her puppy, to facilitate training him.

There's fresh pavement again, too, but this time just a few slabs of the sidewalk on the Tenth Street side of the house. Kathe and I rounded up some 2006 pennies and covered them in silicone caulk, and butried them under the gravel. Now there's fresh concrete on top of them, and most likely nobody will ever see them. But maybe....

Maybe when the time comes to break up those slabs and replace them, someone will happen to turn up one of those pennies, brush of fthe crumbling remnants of silicone, and find a bright, shiny 2006 Lincoln cent.

Maybe they'll pass it around among the crew, and one of them will say, "I think this was put here on purpose."

And someone else will look thoughtful and say something like, "People were very religious back then."

Elsewhere in the news, George W. Bush remains impeachable. Let's get on it.

And here's why: http://peacetakescourage.cf.huffingtonpost.com/animations/wwjd.html

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes."\\

Weighing In, June 2006

They're tearing up the sidewalk on the 10th Street side of the house. It's nothing like the great excavation of 2004, but it's a small disruption in our routine, and interesting to watch. We also picked up a ton or so of new broken-pavement flagstones for the yard, thanks to the kind co-operation of the sidewalk workers.

When I started nursing school, I knew that it would be hard enough going to school and working 40+ hours per week. I knew that some things would just have to be allowed to slide.

One was housework (thanks, Kathe!). Another was my massage practice (I've had only a handful of appointments this year). A third was my weight.

I deliberately avoided scales. It was painfully obvious just to see my belly (or to lug it around the house) that I was getting fatter, a lot fatter. But never mind: suck down the sugared coffee and munch the Mexi-Snax chips and get the homework done, worry about it later.

I weighed myself earlier this month and found I weighed 234 pounds -- almost as much as the last time I resolved to get my weight down. Oh, well, time for a new project.

You can tweak the amount of exercise you get, or the composition of your diet, but in the final analysis, the only way to get your body to metabolize its stored fat is to enter the state nurses call "altered nutrition: less than bodily requirements", and that state is acutely painful.

I'm having migraines almost daily, partly from the weight loss and partly from going off caffeine. Oh, well. I'll just have to get through it.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "One thing at a time."\\

Save the Voting Rights Act

From time to time, I'm reminded that our current difficulties with Little Mister Too Big For His Codpiece is not the worst indicator of this nation's health.

For instance, there's the fact that we actually have to ask whether the Voting Rights Act should be reauthorized.

If your own mind is clear on that subject, sign this petition.

And if it's not...well, in that case, go screw yourself.

//The Magic Eight Ball says, "Choose wisely."\\