Thursday, September 28, 2006

ANSWER to Tues Night Quiz


People of a certain age will remember

PINKY LEE

May 2, 1907 – April 3, 1993, born Pincus Leff), was a male American Burlesque comic and host of a children's television show, The Pinky Lee Show in the early 1950s. His signature costume was a loud plaid suit with baggy checkered pants; he was also easily recognized by his trademark lisp. He opened each show with his trademark theme song and laugh, part of which went, "Yoo Hoo, It's me, my name is Pinky Lee, with my checkered hat and my checkered coat, and my silly laugh like a billy goat...!" The show, which spawned later imitators such as Pee-Wee's Playhouse, preceded the popular Howdy Doody Show, but was cancelled when Lee collapsed on camera in 1955.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

WACKO OF THE WEEK

Who is the "WACK-O of the WEEK?" (4th week of Sept.)

Hugo Chavez? James Inhofe? Terrell Owens?



Add your vote or comment under "comments"

Out! Damned Spotted One


OWLS: During the 1990's, the federal government protected, 2.4 million acres of publicly-owned wilderness mainly in the Northwest, in an effort (among other things) to support certain endangered species. One of these species was the northern spotted owl. The Tree-Muggers have used this hapless owl as an icon ever since. It represents, to them, all that is wrong with environmentalism. To save a few worthless owls, progress is impeded, they say.

To boot, the current administration in Washington has not been sympathetic to either the owl or the forest protection plan.

Soon the woodchoppers will need another icon for expressing their contempt. They will be pleased to learn that the owls are disappearing. Maybe they won't have owls to kick around any more. In Washington state, it is estimated that 30-50% of the owls have died out in 10 years. There is a lesser decline in other states. This has been a result of a number of factors, of which logging is just one. Maybe they felt unloved and are just getting out of the way. Maybe they are moving to Costa Rica or somewhere else where the ruling government is more appreciative of its flora and fauna.
(Source, Audubon Magazine, July-August 2006)

FOOTNOTE:

...
Nature is sick at man
Sick at his fuss and fume
Sick at his agonies
Sick at his gaudy mind
That drives his body
Ever more quickly
More and more
In the wrong direction.


---from a poem "Alone in the Woods" by Stevie Smith 1902-1971

*see whole poem here: ALONE

Back again!

My dish-pointing issues supposedly behind me, I'm back online and eager to contribute to Arboretum again, helping it flower and grow...

I've got lots of things in mind to talk about this a.m., but I start with two feline-related topics:

1) TIPPER -- We'll all miss her; she was a great cat. I don't say this lightly. I know plenty of people who keep surly cats about the house apparently because they've lost bets or enjoy having that element of danger. Many of them also seem to keep cats because they inflict allergic reactions on guests, providing the homeowner with a degree of solitude they wouldn't otherwise enjoy. I do think most cats are arrogant and useless.

People say that one advantage of cats is that they can be left alone for longer periods than dogs, and that's true. But it's also true of rocks and of fish, which are both cheaper to feed and create fewer messes. But I digress -- Tipper was a great cat for the reasons stated so eloquently in the obituary and benediction provided by Old Chip. She was gregarious and playful and well-adjusted, and genuinely appreciative of her humans (though she had high expectations for them.) I know that Old Chip will be a bit at sixes and sevens without his faithful primetime TV companion.

Incidentally, I don't think Tipper at all resembled the former Second Lady of the United States all that much. Old Chip and Pat acquired two female cats sometime around the Clinton inauguration, and named them Hillary and Tipper. Hillary was initially the friendly one, but succumbed early on to feline leukemia, whereupon the formerly standoffish Tipper warmed up to all of us. A few years later, mom brought home a rescued male kitten (who turned out to be a 25-pound bruiser and coward) who was dubbed "Albert," in the spirit of the established nomenclature.

2) HOCKEYTOWN TIGERS -- These cats still have plenty of life left in them. It's been a real treat to have a team to follow every night this year, and if they aren't able to advance in the playoffs, I won't feel too disappointed. Of course, you have to believe they have a chance to win -- maybe even a very good chance -- but you just don't know how they'll handle long series against strong foes.

We've been waiting so long for a credible major-league team in these parts -- I've said for over a decade that I just want a team that has a chance, something to play for in August. It would be unseemly to change our standards now. Next year, I'll have higher hopes and standards for the club, but I'm not one of those people who think you need to win a championship to have a "successful" season. I think it's about entertaining fans, and you can do that by being good and making a run at it, and if we can be in the mix every year, I'll be quite happy.

More later, perhaps on political topics.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006


TUESDAY EVENING QUIZ:

Who is this?
Post answers under comments or send an email.

Mother Goose in the Arboretum


Benedict rowed up Shi'ite Creek,
and there he lost his oar.
Now his craft has sprung a leak,
he knows what prayers are for.

(The Modern Mother Gooser)

ON POSTING YOUR COMMENTS

NOTE ON POSTING COMMENTS: For at least a little while,we have made it easier for folks to post comments. If we get overrun with spam, we will probably have to bring back the other system. This is intended to encourage all-y'all to comment. Some friends have told us that the old system is too hard to work with.

Monday, September 25, 2006



IN THE NATION!

Recommended Reading


....some good news....
About Global Warming
GREG EASTERBROOK in The Atlantic September 2006

He argues that both sides in the Global Warming
debate are too negative. Maybe the problem
hasn't been solved because we haven't really
tried to solve it. In the past 30 years, we've
made huge advances in fighting other types
of pollution---because we TRIED!
Click here: Easterbrook Article

Sunday, September 24, 2006

CONTINUING THE DISCUSSION ...

Jay Leno: "The good news, oil has fallen to $60 a barrel. Experts predict it will continue to fall until exactly one minute after the polls close on Nov. 7."



Obviously, this cartoon of an elephant (source unknown to me) with a gasoline station hose for a trunk, means to say that the Republican Party is a purveyor of oil company interests. This prompts me to raise again the issue of gasoline prices. I, and many other people, are less interested in what the price of gas is at any given moment, than what caused it to be that price. I believe that the price of gasoline will rise over the long run, until petroleum -- as a source of fuel for hundreds of millions of cars -- has disappeared.

No matter how chagrined we may be, or how improverished by the prices, I think they'll go up and up. Environmentalists can make a good case for thinking that higher gas prices will lead to conservation, reduced used of fuel, and thus will benefit the environment.

But, suddenly the prices fell drastically.

When we raised this topic earlier on this blog ( 'Can you give me advice?' - September 20) we heard from several people. One of the responses was from Arboretum angel, Trase (September 22). We were wondering whether the recent fall in gas prices had anything to do with the November elections. Bush's popularity has been rising as the gas prices fall. That is a remarkable coincidence.

We invited, and still do invite, other people to participate in this conversation. Simply 'click' on 'comments' just below this article and follow directions.

Most people, emphatically including Trase, were of the opinion that there is a connection between the price of gasoline and the upcoming election.

Now I ask: Do you think it's fair, to equate Republicans with pro-oil company interests? Is it an exaggeration? Would it be a Republican-Petroleum power base that we have to thank for the present lower prices? If in power, would the Democrats be doing the same thing?

NOW IS THE TIME

Remember trips to an orchard in the Fall?
So --- What are you waiting for? Now is the time!

MICHIGAN ORCHARDS WITH CIDER MILLS:
Click Here: ORCHARDS WITH MILLS

And if you know an orchard that is
especially wonderful ...
let the rest of us
know about it, too.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Falling Leaves, rainy autumn day


Do you know this fella? He's the one who says he's "the decider" but that he didn't know his government threatened a nuclear attack on Pakistan back in 2001. (Of course, it might not be true that 'we' did that.) This is just one more reason why sentient beings in the Arboretum don't like this guy. Reminds us of that poster back in the Vietnam days: "War is bad for children and other living things." Is the fate of this planet in good hands?


Thunder storms are predicted tonight in East Lansing where Notre Dame comes to play. Their fight song promises to "shake down the thunder from the sky." Now we'll see just how much pull they have. Our MSU friend Bob Hanley is at the game. Maybe his will be the real luck of the Irish.




In this day and age
OH! So True!




Hail to the Victors!
Go Blue!

In agreement with Trase: "LITTLE ANGRY' posted below

Click on this title to read Election Looms, Gas Prices Drop By Joe Benton

Friday, September 22, 2006

R.I.P. TIPPER; Of the so-called Woods Household, of which she was actually The Queen.




Also known as "HeyYouCat" "Petunia" "Precious" (to her human mother) and "Poozie"; died of liver disease and related kidney failure; age almost-14. She snoozed off into cat heaven on a cloud of gently applied euthanasia, where she expected to get things immediately straightened out to her liking; on September 22, 2006. Her slaves were with her when she died, and are the beneficiaries of her will.

Tipper was born at election time in 1992, and looked so much like Mrs. Gore, that she was so named. Tipper has been described by Pat Woods as, "a crystal bowl cat, not one of those plastic or ceramic bowl felines." She was fastidious and clean. She was never known to have knocked over and broken any vase, glass, lamp or other item, despite logging over a million miles on top of things. She would not eat people food. She never stole, though she loved to reach her paw into empty milk glasses to save the residue from being wasted. She was a conservative by nature and avoided change of any kind.

In her youth, she was an accomplished athlete. She could catch any pull toy or string. She won the International Catch-the-Catnip Prize in 1996. She maintained her svelte, athletic figure all her nine lives. Tipper received a degree in Talking at the University of Cat-man-do. Her speaking engagements were always impromptu, but she could rattle on at length, especially if the subject was herself. She was not a stand-offish cat with people, but she made friends of no other cat, not even her adoptive brother, Albert, who abused her. In her later years, she befriended one dog, "Spirit." Tipper was a very popular Purrsonality. She especially loved human men. Her charms were such that she was once named Miss Michicat.

Many people will sorely miss her friendship. Especially me.
Bud

A Little Angry About the Whole Thing

For some Americans, analysts speculate, gas prices provide a shorthand reading of the general state of the economy. Even though prices at the pump are largely outside the president's control, he gets credit when they fall — and blame when they rise.-USA Today Article

I have serious problems with these two sentences for a variety of reasons... Not necessarily because they were written, but rather, because they could be true. The idea that most Americans look to prices at the pump to indicate how well the economy is doing, both appalls and frightens me. It's an easy way for people to feel like they know what the hell's going on, but really can't be bothered to think about anything other than how much is coming out of their wallet and going into their Expedition three times a week. People can only seem to talk about two things of late, the weather (including Global Warming), and gas prices. Both of which are in trouble-- and both for almost the same reasons.
The second sentence about Bush's approval ratings mirroring the prices of gasoline makes me want to slap the closest stupid person next to me. Bush may not have a little button that he pushes to make gas prices go up or down, but his bed fellows, ie. the oil companies, sure do... Don't tell me the reason behind the recent falling of oil prices now has nothing to do with the upcoming election...I might have to slap you too.
Trase

scot s w

Scot s w has been having much trouble with his "dish" and has been very busy with work and other obligations, so he has not been writing much here. He has been relying in recent days on "dial-up." (Yikes!) He promises to do better when his satellite dish is fixed. Old Chip is definitely looking for his return.

2 cents worh

JUST A CURBSTONE OPINION. I'm not at this time in favor of anyone for the next Presidency, so this isn't any kind of endorsement, believe me; but in the debate over torturing people, the opinion of Senator McCain is profoundly more credible than the opinion of Mr. Bush.
Bud

Thursday, September 21, 2006

BUSH AND GAS


POSTED WITHOUT COMMENT:

SOURCE:
USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-20-bush-gas-prices_x.htm

LINK TO USA TODAY:
USATODAY

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Can you give me advice?


I WENT TO THE GAS STATION and filled up my guzzler. I paid $2.18 (well, 2.18 point 9) per gallon for the gas. I am not complaining about the high price.

I am complaining about the low price. Why is it only 2.19? I've been paying up to 3.12 in just recent weeks. It was all explained to me why this should be so. Storms. Gasoline shortage. Middle East conflict. Peak Oil! Yada-yada.

Explained like that, I was eager to have my gasoline prices jacked up on a grease rack of profit. I didn't mind that Old Seymour Swine (see photo) graduated from petroleum INC. with a $400 million pension. (..READ ABOUT IT HERE ..) I didn't mind that Texaco's profits were up about a zillion percent. I mean, there were storms. And the Middle East was seething. Lucky to have ANY gas at all!

Evidently this has all changed. Has the Middle East conflict been resolved? Then why is there blood and guts all over my television news? Has the storm season ended? Maybe Congress has outlawed storms, as King Arthur did in Camelot. Has the supply of gasoline ballooned enough in the last week to lower the price by a third?

Here in the Arboretum, we are trying to learn something every day about conserving our resources. This summer, we have stayed close to home. We've been careful to avoid wasting fuel. This does not mean we've walked everywhere, or that we've denied ourselves visits to friends and family. But we're trying to become citizens of a more conservative world.

We've tried to reduce our "carbon-use footprint."

In part, we have our good friend, Jim, to thank for helping to educate us. LINK TO JIM at OIFS

But I guess we still have a lot to learn. The Old Chip is quite dumb. I fully admit my ignorance. But, being dumb does not mean that I'm a certifiable moron. Something is going on here with these gas prices. WHAT COULD IT BE? One suspects that perhaps the oil men who run our country --- like our self-proclaimed president and our very-very-very-very oil- rich Vice President (and CEO of everything crooked, it seems) and their friends, all the other oil pumpers of the world--- well, perhaps they are NOT the best stewards of our energy interests.

Maybe we're being manipulated. Maybe we're being cheated. Maybe we're being played for fools when actually, we're only just a little dumb. Maybe we're being reduced to a "banana republic" with a plutocratic government and an economic mess. Maybe. Or maybe, it has to do with the up-coming election.

Could it be that someone will profit in the November elections by lowering the price of gas right now? If so, who could that be?

Hmm ---- Can someone help me here? What's up?

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

harmful words, useless noise

About this quarrel which has begun between the religions. Arboretum dwellers do not like religious conflict and will take no sides. Ents and oaks believe in religious freedom. Also, freedom of speech. Beeches tend to be Buddhists, ashes are animists.

However, it hath been rumored in the olive grove that the Pope has called someone a "towelhead." Then we heard that someone called the Pope a "roll of papertowelhead - on a stick." Fie! Such awful words! Only trouble can ensue.

Arboretum can only say this: Be sure those are not Bounty towels, because they have no recycled content.

Then, maybe the Pope said, "Ich nicht liebe die facefeathern," which has been translated as "I don't like beards!" Then, an Imam said maybe he didn't like rings on Papal fingers or bells on Papal toes. The trouble persists.

The Secretary of Woodland Security advises all parties to stop talking. In the forest, if it is silent, no trees fall.

another little woodchip of wisdom


Our friend William, a whiz-bang chemist and mathematician as well as a Bush-ian entrepreneur -- the guy who says, "just call me WNNCO"-- contributes this wisdom: "Most of the laws apply only to the Middle Class. The wealthy can ignore them and fight any penalties. The poor have nothing to seize for their penalties. It's only the Middle Class that's collectable."

Bill doesn't mind if anyone disagrees with him, and he will welcome your comments.

how to bathe a hedgehog


Handy Tip for you neat freaks. Ya, sure, there are hedgehogs in the Arboretum. Really! Click on this link

LINK

Monday, September 18, 2006

MORE ABOUT THE CANOE TRAIL

Our very good friend from Indiana -- who has a legal name and then a whole slew of aliases, but whose legal name is probably Rob -- has sent us this additional Source of information about the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.
LINK TO CANOE TRAIL INFO

Rob tells us that while he personally hates water, he thinks the Old Chip ought to go out into the wilderness in a tipsy ol' canoe. I think he means to have fun, but one wonders what his real motive is. Perhaps he hopes Old Chip will make like the polar bears --- mentioned hereafter in this blog. Which is to say, DROWN!

Mother Goose in the Arboretum

GEORGIE ON 9/11
Georgie Porgie caught at school,
On his face, seemed quite cool.
Or was that look pure consternation?
Georgie goes back on vacation.

Georgie Porgie, a gleam in his eye,
Threatened the Arabs and made them cry.
But when they 'jacked some planes that day,
Georgie Porgie flew away.
---- (by Modern Mama Gooser)
===================================

AND there he goes now,
disguised as his very own
mother goose,
Barbara.

Northern Forest Canoe Trail

FOR THE YOUNG AND ENERGETIC--An outdoor challenge "Toward the end of the 20th century, after a half millennium of change left not much of either the forest or its network of watery trails intact, three recreational paddlers — Mike Krepner, Ron Canter and Randy Mardres — came up with a seemingly audacious idea. Calling their project Native Trails, they set out to recreate what they could of those ancient routes, charting for modern travelers a new contiguous water trail from the top of Maine to the bottom of New York’s Adirondack Park.

"This past June, after a decade and a half of exploration, infusions of cash and new partnerships, the officially designated 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail was finally dedicated. With festive ribbon-cuttings in four Northeast states, the event was a bit like a blockbuster art opening that redefines a genre. The major segments were familiar to paddlers: some, like the Adirondacks and the Allagash, are legendary. But when entwined with lesser known pieces, like Lubber Lake and Pensioner Pond in Vermont or the two short dips into Quebec, a new singularity emerges that seems both obvious and brilliant. The canoe trail, which some have compared to the Appalachian Trail, is more closely akin to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, the Everglades Wilderness Waterway in Florida or the Maine Island Trail for kayakers. As such, it may be the most important thing to happen to the northern eco-tourism trade since the invention of gorp." SOURCE: NYTIMES LINK

Sunday, September 17, 2006

FOOTNOTE: Polar Bears Drowning

This is a further note to the following post about the Ice Cap.

Polar bears drown, islands appear in Arctic thaw

"OSLO (Reuters) - Polar bears are drowning and receding Arctic glaciers have uncovered previously unknown islands in a drastic 2006 summer thaw widely blamed on global warming.

"Signs of wrenching changes are apparent around the Arctic region due to unusual warmth -- the summer minimum for ice is usually reached between mid-September and early October before the Arctic freeze extends its grip.

" 'We know about three new islands this year that have been uncovered because the glaciers have retreated,' said Rune Bergstrom, environmental adviser to the governor of Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago about 1,000 km (600 miles) from the North Pole."

Saturday, September 16, 2006

ENJOY-- All too soon it will pass away



Recent NASA image of polar ice. It is now melting faster than ever. More urgent steps are needed by all governments to try to stop it.For one thing, the U.S. should approve the Kyoto Treaty.

Friday, September 15, 2006

contest ...


Big-10 Contest INFORMATION
THE CONTEST IS CLOSED

TRADITION--Echoes of Mid West Victors




#11 Michigan at #2 Notre Dame
Saturday, Sept. 16 • 3:30 p.m.
Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, Ind.
NBC Television


THE 2 GREATEST FIGHT SONGS EVER WRITTEN

VICTORS


IRISH

Thursday, September 14, 2006

BUSHMEN and WOODSMEN know how to cut


When our persistently dissembling Mr. Bush stoops to use the term 'cut and run' to describe those who want to end our sponsorship of the Iraq War, I am reminded of the man who could not be found for hours on 9/11, because his plane was flying him away from the crisis: He, our putative Leader, who found it propitious to advance to the rear and to stay hidden all day. I believe that is a habit he formed in his younger years -- not that I blame him for ducking the Vietnam War, only that he won't admit it.
So, when a brush cutter from Texas talks about "cut and run" I assume he is an expert. But, then so are we. [smile]

HAPPY 100th YEAR!


Edgar Wayburn
b. Sept. 17, 1906
Intrepid American conservationist
Creator of Redwood National Park,
Five terms: Sierra Club president
Presidential Metal of Freedom


SOURCE: SIERRA CLUB;LINK
"Wayburn is a doctor by training but an ardent conservationist by heart. He may be the least-known yet most successful defender of America's natural heritage. He played a central role in the establishment of Redwoods National Park and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and in the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. For his visionary achievements, he was honored with the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism in 1995.

"Wayburn was the recipient of the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999. Upon presenting the award, President Clinton said, 'Edgar Wayburn has worked to preserve the most breath-taking examples of the American landscape. In fact, over the course of more than a half-century, both as President of the Sierra Club and as a private citizen, he has saved more of our wilderness than any person alive.' "

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

desecration is in the foot of the beholder

WHO was walking on the American flag? Not Bill and Hillary, oh no! Not some protestors. Not some dissidents.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Michigan's windy coast


The Kalamazoo Gazette ran an article yesterday touting the possibilities of real, large-scale power generation using wind turbines located in the eastern part of Lake Michigan. I'm all for it, myself. I know that some folks will complain about the towers obstructing their view (even several miles out, they would be quite visible), but you think about the alternatives, and it's got to happen. I actually don't mind the look of them -- I consider wind turbines to be far, far better neighbors than coal-fired plants or nuke plants.

People worry that turbines will kill birds, but what really kills birds are buildings and wild cats, and nobody talks seriously about getting rid of them.

(The picture with this post is a wintry image of the turbine currently providing power to Traverse City, MI.)

POEM


"I WAS HERE"

We all begin
as unmarked trees
And we spend our lives
Desperately
carving our initials
in one another.

© Linda Delayen

More of her fine poetry at: Link to Linda Delayen

Monday, September 11, 2006

another chip of borrowed wisdom

QUOTED WITHOUT FURTHER COMMENT:
from "Clean Water Action News" Summer 2006, newsletter.
LINK to CWA

" Each generation must face its own battles for a clean and healthy environment.People who thought that the issue of national protection of clean water was settled back in the 1970's are being forced to reconsider ... [In the Bush Administration] The Clean Water Act's goal of fishable, swimmable and drinkable waters has stalled, and in some cases, begun to unravel."

TAKE A GUESS: Someone gets a prize

ANNOUNCEMENT OF A CONTEST: You have seen enough of this college football season to decided what's going on. YOUR TASK: Pick the top 3 finishers in the "Big Ten" this season.

SUBMISSIONS: Send via email to one of us --- Scot, Trase, Bud--- before midnight FRIDAY, SEPT. 15. (Example: 1=Indiana, 2=Northwestern, 3= Ohio State) Be sure to include your name.

WHO CAN ENTER: Any one known to ARBORETUM. Anyone who knows Trase, Bud, Scot, or Steve. Bud will supervise the entries and so will not be eligible to win. HOW MANY SUBMISSIONS?: Just one --- the first one you send.

MINIMUM NUMBER OF ENTRIES TO MAKE A CONTEST: Five. I mean, fewer than that would be kind of silly.

ENTRY FEE: Nothing.

PRIZE: Yes, but it will be a surprise. Don't expect a lot. This ain't Publisher's Clearing House. The biggest part of the prize is the honor of winning.

TIE BREAKER: Earlier date and time of the emails.

WHAT IF TWO TEAMS END IN THE SAME POSITION (Example: Suppose Minnesota and Michigan State are both ranked 3rd?):
The winner will be the person who has placed either of those teams in the right place by the earlier email.

THE END: The contest ends with the end of the last Big Ten game on Nov. 18.

****PLEASE SEND E-MAIL to one of us, don't post as a comment. This will keep it secret from prying eyes.

9/11 and public health

A quick thought:

I read this morning that some politicians are concerned about the health of "Ground Zero" workers who labored on the pile at the WTC site after the terrorist attacks. Politicians and family members are enraged that more was not done to safeguard their health at the time, and that the medical issues resulting from inhaling all that smoke and dust are being ignored. Some of the stories are heartbreaking.

Link to story

You read similar things about troops returning from Iraq with injuries which are not fully and correctly treated. The military seems to treat the flesh wound, but after patching up cuts and broken bones, leaves former soldiers to fend for themselves in too many cases.

All of this brings up the question, wouldn't a national health care system be more fair to all these brave people? Their long-term care would not be a worry. And the cost of caring for them would HAVE to enter into the calculations of policy-makers. And that would be a GOOD thing.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

SOME LEAVES OFF THE PEACH TREE



Arboretum News

1. The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver, turning green we guess, has decided to install wind generators. That would be for his cooking enterprises, not for his nudeness (if any), which no doubt relies on solar power. Naked Chef LINK

2. SAGE ADVICE FOR AIR TRAVELERS FROM 'The Mandarin"
" ... the Mandarin for one, will be ever vigilant from now on in case he sees someone sneaking an ice bucket, a thermometer, a large beaker, a glass stirring rod, a medicine dropper and bottles of acetone, hydrogen peroxide and (you guessed it) sulfuric acid into the first class lav and then staying in there for several hours with nasty-smelling toxic fumes coming out from under the door now and then."Mardarin LINK

3. After The Crocodile Hunter's misfortune, here is something to remember, from Mack White:
"However, there is something else you should know, and it is this: Most stingray attacks occur when they are stepped on. And that can happen very easily, because the little bastards hide in the sand." Mack White LINK

4. GO here to listen to Al Gore chuckle over Hurricane Alberto. (short clip:radio interview) Gore Chuckles LINK

Friday, September 08, 2006

NOTE: BUSH'S SHOES:
These were red,white and blue shoes given to him by a manufacturer. I wonder if those shoes would be legal under Bush's definition of "desecration of the flag?" The intent of the shoes is obviously "patriotic." They are meant to emulate the flag. Why is he walking all over them?

ARBORETUM recommends




A REVIEW OF OUR GOVERNMENT'S ENVIRONMENTAL MISMANAGEMENT

On issue after issue,

the president and his appointees

have created new threats

to our air, water, land, and wildlife,

siding with those special interests

eager to make a quick profit.


Source: Bush Administration Record on Public Lands:Irresponsible Management of the People's Land


Wilderness Society LINK

NEVERENDING STORY

The very emphasis of the commandment Thou Shalt Not Kill, makes it certain that we are descended from an endlessly long chain of generations of murderers, whose love of murder was in their blood as it is perhaps also in ours.
(Sigmund Freud)



REUTERS/Thaier Al-sudani
A boy looks at the scene of a roadside bomb attack targeting an Iraqi police patrol in Baghdad September 8, 2006. Two people were killed, one of them a policeman, and three other civilians were wounded when a roadside bomb blasted an Iraqi police patrol in central Baghdad on Friday, police said.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Raspberry Harvest


Today, I gathered the second harvest of raspberries from the vines in my garden. The ripe, plump berries filled almost two quarts, and more will be ready in a few days' time.

I tried to be delicate with the ripe berries, but a little juice squirted out onto my fingers, creating a rich scent while I worked. I don't use many chemicals, so I have to share the crop with japanese beetles. There are also a few small spiders and aphids in there, so the berries must be rinsed before they go in the fridge. I saw a preying mantis on one of the leaves, too. Reaping a harvest is always satisfying, but it was a bright and warm late afternoon today, making it an even greater pleasure.

Tomorrow, I'll eat some of them with a bowl of milk and just a spoonful of sugar.

AN OPINION UNDER AN APPLE TREE

We have decided to stop torturing prisoners. If torture is too harsh a word, let me say thay we have decided to stop almost torturing or "aggressively interrogating" or some such thing. I'll let the fuddy-duddies of jargon flop around in that language morass. I use the terms "we" and "us" because I believe that this government of ours should belong to us.

While I have never believed that prisoners of war have the same Constitutional rights as citizens of this country, I have never doubted that abuse of prisoners is a violation of Human Rights -- not just legal rights. It may be that every German prisoner of war in World War II was not entitled to a lawyer and a public trial, but that doesn't mean he had no rights.

"The Laws of Nature and Nature's God" grant that.

A World War II veteran I once worked with told me that he was ordered in Belgium to take a couple of German prisoners under a bridge and shoot them. He did it. Now, belatedly, he knew that's wrong. This is because a human being has some rights, quite apart from what the law on the ground might seem to permit. And at some point, most of us who are not pyschopaths recognize our sins and errors, not simply because they may have been illegal, but because they may have been wrong.

Bush has come around to granting this in his policy, although he may not believe it in practice. I think he was a couple of generations tardy in this acknowledgment, and I hold no hope that he will ever be on time intellectually.

Those who are approaching brain death sometimes say that we should shoot-them-all-and-let-God-sort-them-out. They're wrong. Murder, indefinite imprisonment, or torture are not ideologic. Anyone can play those games. Anyone can pull out fingernails. Democracy requires us to behave by a better standard. So does Christianity and presumably Islam.

So, thank you government, thank you Bush, and maybe thank you Congress. I am sometimes appalled by what you have done in my name. (Well, Bush and many of his enablers are appalling people.) It's about time you saw reason.
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More about the new policy: TORTURE LINK

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

BOO!









Three really scary things: Bogey Man; Chupacabra; Senator.

Cousin Tiger, just earlier this year called "washed up," has now won his 5th match in a row. Pardon the pun, but you can't keep good woods out of action.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

TUESDAY EVENING QUIZ

WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?
You're invited to offer a suggestion about what is happening in this picture. Click on "comments" to give us an answer.



or, send me an email.

Sunday, September 03, 2006



A VERY MODEST IDEA --- The Detroit teachers are on strike. The school board wants them to take cuts in wages. Here's a modest proposal. Why doesn't the teachers' union declare itself a wholly owned subsidiary of HALLIBURTON, and then apply to the government for a no-bid contract. They'll get whatever they want.

RECOMMENDED READING

With huge swaths of Eastern forests up for grabs, The [Nature] Conservancy moved quickly to protect 700,000 acres. But what will become of the woodlands that didn’t make the cut?
By Colin Woodard

Eastern Forests link

To make matters more complicated, the federal budget for conservation acquisition has been cut to the bone. For 2007, the president has requested just $85 million for federal land purchases through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which finances additions to national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other lands. As recently as 2002, the budget was $446 million—more than five times as much.

Friday, September 01, 2006

A new strategic vision

For whatever reason, I got to thinking about the ongoing "rights vs. security" debate that has been going on in this country over the past five years, and the so-called Global War on Terror, or GWOT.

First, I need to stipulate that I agree that terrorism is a real concern. There really are groups out there who want to attack the United States, and they really do spend a lot of time thinking about and planning such attacks. And there are means out there to do serious harm: Chemical, biological, and even nuclear weapons. We need to be serious and diligent about thwarting these attacks.

That said, I can't stress strongly enough that I think we've REALLY gone down the wrong path in dealing with these issues. It's time for the U.S. to act like the grownups in the house, instead of the petulant but muscular adolescent.

Most obviously, this government has gotten us sidetracked into an old-fashioned war in Iraq, which our mis-leadership has vainly tried to tie to the "war against terror. " Bush & Co. have been arguing for years that Iraq is the "central front" in the war on terror, but recent polls suggest the American people aren't buying that anymore. It's really just another chapter in the age-old geopolitical warfare book. It's about regional influence, strategic access to petroleum, and muscle-flexing. But the whole enterprise was doomed by the strategic blunders and blindness of a pack of idiot savants: Wrong war, not enough troops, expectations of being "greeted as liberators," overlooking ethnic divisions, etc.

The other front the government is fighting is being waged against its own citizens. The Administration has tried to convince the American people that their rights to free speech, free association, a free press and due process somehow represent an unaffordable luxury during this time of war... this time of undeclared, unspecified, unwinnable war on "terror." (More on this false choice in a later post)

A very different strategic vision is needed. We need to define our strategic objectives, identify the means which will accomplish those objectives, and prepare to deal with any attacks, should they come.

First, we need to more clearly define the enemy: It's Al-Qaeda and its offspring. It's not every Muslim who disagrees with a U.S. policy, and it's not every Muslim revolutionary or insurgent group on the planet. It's certainly not every terrorist organization out there -- you can't eradicate "terrorism" any more than you can eradicate "abstract art" because it's an idea.

Although WWII is sometimes called a war against fascism, it wasn't: It was a war against the Axis powers of Germany, Japan and Italy. We won, and fascism has never been the same, but fascism lives on; you can't stamp it out. Similarly, this must be defined as a war against a specific organization and its followers. We'll keep our eyes out for any other groups which want to take up their tactics against us, but let us fight these bastards right now.

To make another analogy: The fire department fights specific fires, not the idea of fire. Imagine a person interviewing for fire chief comes in and says, "My plan is to stamp out all fire forever. And I will not rest until fire is stamped out and only inflammability remains." And the committee talks about him afterward, and decides, "This guy's a real wanker. He's out of his flipping gourd." But that's sort of our national strategy these days.

The terrorist threat from Al-Qaeda and its cohort is going to require hard work and serious commitment. But there has been far too much hysteria. We need the patient work of dedicated professionals to identify, monitor and thward these groups. We need to use constant diplomatic pressure to isolate thsee groups and the regimes who might support them, or allow them to function (Hello, Pakistan). And when necessary, yes, we might need to take military action. But let's keep our focus, my fellow Americans.

There is no need to transform our nation into Fort America, or quaver in fear and hand over our rights to demagogic political leaders. We do not need to empty the national treasury into the bank accounts of the defense and intelligence industries. We don't need to live in fear and hunker down. We just need to be smarter, work harder and be more persistant than the groups we're fighting.