SOME QUESTION MARKS

QUESTION MARKS about the headlines:


BUSH APPOINTS ROBERT GATES TO DEFENSE

Will his Daddy run out of old crony friends before Bush runs out of jobs to fill? Then what will he do, call the Unemployment Bureau?


LONDON ACCOUNTANT FORCEFULLLY DE-TRAINED FOR HARD BALL (Look out Chris Matthews) Yes, he was carrying a cricket ball to a pub on the Underground, and the female officer thought he was suspicious. So, how soft does your ball have to be to pass muster? Like, Nerf-ball?

WACKO OF THE WEEK

NOMINEES for Wacko of the Week



1. Sen. James Inhofe - considered possibly the stupidest of the Senators, he gets nominated once again for his new hearings on the "Hoax" of Global Warming.
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2. George W. Bush, for everything he does. He's been on TV a lot lately, and he looks like he needs the Award!


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3. Britney, for promising to put her panties back on. Really, Sweetie, not required.

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Palm trees in Hartford?

Wow, this global warming stuff must be getting pretty bad.

Allstate insurance just announced it was going to stop selling homeowner's insurance in one coastal state in February to cut its exposure to hurricane losses. Which state?

Connecticut.

To quote Descartes: It's 'shit'

Conservative blowhard blogster, Matthew Sheffield was bitching that "liberal" newsperson Miles O'Brien fell asleep during a hearing being held by Know-Nothing Senator James Inhofe. I want to congratulate O'Brien for being awake at any point at all, since the very prospect of Inhofe's appearance throws my narcolepsy into Overdrive.

You may know that Inhofe is holding his last hearings intended to demonstrate that global warming is a "hoax" (his word). This is at least as big a load of bullshit as creationism's argument against evolution. I was informed yesterday by THE NEW YORKER than no less a distinguished personage than Rene Descartes referred to the work of others of his intellectual era as "shit." If he can, I can.

Inhofe, whose brain dead ideas offend most Republicans, I believe, is a tree-hugger's horror icon. (my words). He will be appearing on ARBORETUM again tomorrow. Guess why!

Luckily, O'Brien will flourish on CNN while Inhofe is on the way out.
- Bud
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"Good on ya, mate" award: HughesNet

So I'm headed on my honeymoon in the near future and I'm trying to take care of all the things you need to do before leaving your home for several weeks. Winterizing, stopping the mail, etc...

One thing I'd like to do is suspend my (rather expensive) satellite Internet service through HughesNet. Sixty bones is a nice little savings to pocket -- that's a fancy dinner for my wife and I -- so I figured it was worth the hassle to call. With HughesNet, though, it's never worth the hassle to call. First off, they tell me that my account is listed as "inactive." This despite the fact that it's working just fine and that they've been charging my credit card. Also, I'm told that they do have a vacation stoppage program. It's maximally inconvenient.

First, I have to call on the day that I want to suspend service -- turns out you can't set it up in advance. Takes effect immediately. You choose either a 2 month or a 6 month stoppage. But don't worry -- if you're only going to be gone 4 weeks, just call when you come home and they'll start it up again (they promise). Again -- THEY CAN'T SET IT UP IN ADVANCE. Like everything else with HughesNet, it's a needlessly complicated system set up for their convenience, not yours. So, just as I'm running out the door, I've gotta remember to make that phone call.

Look, I had a paper route in high school so I know the stop/start idea isn't exactly high tech. It's hard to believe -- but true -- that HughesNet has inferior technology to the Saginaw News. So to HughesNet, I say: "Good on ya, mate!"

Fiji's bloodless coup

News comes recently that Fiji's military has overthrown the duly-elected Prime Minister and installed Jona Baravilala Senilagakali, a military doctor and methodist preacher, in his place. The new minister was quoted as saying, "I work for the army. I'm obliged to do whatever my commander tells me to do." The actual Prime Minister has been flown back to his native island and is under house arrest.

Commander Frank Bainimarama is threatening to suppress any uprising. "Should we be pushed to use force, let me state that we will do so very quickly," he told reporters, adding that "Qarase and his cronies are not coming back." It's a shame, because Bainimarama is such a fun name.

So if you're like me, you're thinking first: "Why does Fiji have a military?" And then: "What's the point?". It's not like Fiji sits on immense stockpiles of wealth, and it doesn't seem to be embroiled in any major international rivalries.

It turns out that the commander -- get this -- is upset that the real Prime Minister wasn't aggressive enough in going after the architects of Fiji's 2000 coup -- a coup the commander helped put down. That would make Bananarama, yes, a hypocrite.

It's clear that the Bush Administration has a duty under the Bush Doctrine to move immediately to Restore Democracy and bring free elections to Fiji. Bush has made clear that, when it coincides with his personal whims, the United States must oppose tyranny wherever it exists. And I'd point out that Fiji would make a very pleasant and secure future location for the Bush Compound.

The Paper Trail

Supporters of actual democracy want all elections to include a "voter-verified paper trail," which is another way of saying paper ballots or paper computer "receipts" which the voter checks before depositing it in a ballot box. The whole point is that we don't have to entrust our democracy to some dumb computer.

Touch-screen machines can be theoretically cheaper ways to hold elections (no muss, no fuss) but you never know what's actually happening in there. You could choose "Gore" and the machine say, "Yep, Gore", but when you leave, it records the vote as "Bush", or doesn't record it at all.

In Katherine Harris's old Congressional district in Florida, they voted on these new "improved" touch-screen machines. The computers tell us that 18,000 people in one county went in to vote, but somehow didn't register a vote for Congress. That would make the undervote in that county several times larger than the undervote in most places around the country. But there's absolutely no way to find out what the voters really wanted -- all you have is a computerized tally, and no way of knowing how the computers came up with the numbers.

What dumb fucks came up with this system anyway? Oh right... Republi---

Anyhow, the old Dean For America campaign apparatus has morphed into a progressive political-action group called Democracy for America. They're run by Howard Dean's brother Jim (no, not he of the sausages, ye clever knobs).

DFA is pushing for paper trail voting to be on the Agenda of Nancy Pelosi's "First 100 hours" when Democrats take control of Congress. Check them out; sign the petition.

Link: http://www.democracyforamerica.com/paperballots

REPUBLICAN HUMOR (prt 8)

Returning to a past Republican theme, that Hillary is a killer. (Vince Foster, remember?)
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Hillary Clinton and the Fortune Teller
During a recent publicity outing, Hillary sneaked off to visit a fortune teller of some local repute. In a dark and hazy room, peering into a crystal ball, the mystic delivered grave news.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just be blunt: Prepare yourself to be a widow. Your husband will die a violent and horrible death this year."

Visibly shaken, Hillary stared at the woman's lined face, then at the single flickering candle, then down at her hands. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself. She simply had to know. She met the fortune teller's gaze, steadied her voice, and asked her question.

"Will I be acquitted?"

mixed blessing

Here is one of the good news/bad news stories that y'all find so frustrating. There is a huge demand for alternative energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines, world-wide.

But, there is a materials shortage for making photovoltaic cells and turbines. Also, production capacity has been exceeded. Result: Prices are way up and waits are long.

The good news is that individuals and governments are catching the green fever, BUT ...

For more info, check here : CLICK!

or here: CLICK!

In the same way a raw material shortage has cramped the solar photovoltaic industry, the wind power industry has been squeezed by a turbine shortage -- a situation the manufacturers will tell you is the result of vacillating policy support in the U.S.

Whatever the causes, the largest manufacturer of turbines in the world, GE Energy, announced advances this week in its production chain that could help squeeze out a few more turbines to help meet robust worldwide demand.

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TUESDAY EVENING QUIZ

Go ahead .... take a stab at it.

WHAT IS THIS PERSON DOING?



Multiple Choice
1. Proving he has an opposable thumb.

2. Welcoming the new-comers to the country.

3. Demonstrating the "displaced pinkie syndrome" typical of dipsomania.

4. Having learned how to steal adeptly, now he's swiping a jeep.

5. None of these

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WE SIT TIGHT BUT THE CRITTERS ARE MOVIN'

THIS is from the Washington Post.

This is the source, if you'd like to read the whole article: CLICK POST

"A newly published synthesis of 866 peer-reviewed studies of the effect of climate change on wild plants and animals has found what its author, Camille Parmesan, an assistant professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin, describes as a "clear, globally coherent conclusion."

"Flora and fauna are migrating north or climbing to higher ground if they can, said Parmesan, whose paper appears in the December issue of the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. If they cannot move, she said, their numbers are often declining, their health is getting worse, and some are disappearing altogether.

" 'Wild species don't care who is in the White House,' Parmesan said. 'It is very obvious they are desperately trying to move to respond to the changing climate. Some are succeeding. But for the ones that are already at the mountaintop or at the poles, there is no place for them to go. They are the ones that are going extinct.' "

YEAH! I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING,BUT YOU'RE WRONG



This is a BBC picture, not a revelation,, and it was taken by the BBC in Afghanistan. (CLICK SOURCE) If this was really a return to Jerusalem, it would blow away the atheists, wouldn't it? But if it really had been what you first thought - and happening in Afghanistan - it would have blown the minds of a lot of Christians. Just thought it was fun and you'd enjoy it.

Bush for Breakfast = a bad day

ANOTHER 2 CENTS WORTH


I'm not an avid fan of Joe Klein, but I think he hit the nail on the head with this bit of writing from TIME Mag. In it, he criticizes that person in the White House for his trip to see al Maliki. It was a pretty foolish enterprise. Klein says:

"And then ... nothing. The two men met for breakfast. They had a press conference. Bush said al-Maliki was the "right guy" to run Iraq, an endorsement that may sidle into history along with "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" and Bush's recent, full-throated pre-election support for Donald Rumsfeld. Bush also said in a petulant tone that U.S. forces would stay in Iraq "until the job is complete." Afterward, Iraqi and U.S. diplomatic spinners asserted that al-Sadr's name had barely come up in the discussions. That Bush hadn't pushed al-Maliki on anything. That al-Maliki had in fact pushed Bush for more control over the Iraqi security forces."
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This kind of junk "diplomacy" reflects badly on our country, although I admit it's just a glimmer of shame in a glare of dishonor created by this guy.

However, this is why the self-proclaimed "decider" of the United State got his nomination for WACKO OF THE WEEK, below. So, I'm gonna mark one more vote for Bush for Wacko

SOURCE

WHICH WAS MORE CORRUPT?

The Florida election of 2000, or the Florida selection of 2006?


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Recommended Reading

Jim, our friend from Minneapolis, who publishes "Oil Is For Sissies," and who practices what he preaches about saving oil and going car-less, has written an interesting piece on this subject:

Go here to read the December 1 entry about the Post Office Ladies.
CLICK ON JIM

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IN HONOR OF THE 'TIMELESS'

THE PALIO
This is the Central Piazza of the ancient town of Siena. To be here - even today - is to touch history.


Here, twice a year is held the famous "Palio" one of the world's more famous celebrations which includes a horse race around the square. This has its roots in 11th Century traditions.

Read about it here, if you're so moved: PALIO click

WACKO OF THE WEEK

Nominee #1. MICHAEL VICK

For giving his fans "the finger" on his way off the field. I think they sort of pay him. It wasn't just lacking in grace and decorum, it was a damn dumb thing to do.


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Nominee #2: George W. Bush

For flying all the way to Jordan to tell the Iraqi government to carry on. God save us from this nincompoop.

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Dear Reader, feel free to cast a vote or make a comment or nominate someone else.

REPUBLICAN HUMOR (prt 7)

(They are a droll bunch, cracking us up since Abe Lincoln.) (We are going to overlook the ageism in the joke, O.K.?)
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Sent to us by Officer Ed,

Grandpa started getting $500 checks every month from the government. So he started cashing them. Turns out the government made a mistake with the address; the checks were intended for another person with the same name. Grandpa then received a notice that he had to pay back $6,000. Upset, he complained to his grandson, an accountant.

His grandson asked: "Grandpa, didn't you wonder why you were receiving checks for no good reason?"

Grandpa answered: "I just assumed the Democrats were back in power."

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KANSAS: Corn and Onions

According to the Onion, Kansas has outdone itself. Not content with just requiring the teaching of creationism, it has now outlawed the practice of evolution.

"From now on, the streets, forests, plains, and rivers of Kansas will be safe from the godless practice of evolution, and species will be able to procreate without deviating from God's intended design," said Bob Bethell, a member of the state House of Representatives. "This is about protecting the integrity of all creation."

CLICK HERE TO READ IT

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IN ANOTHER WORLD

One of the interesting sites I sometimes visit is "Rodney's Home Photos" a blog hosted by a Native American who lives on an island off the coast of Alaska. He was born there. For the last couple of years, he has been posting pictures of nature and scenery and life among the people of the island.

Look in on him sometime:

CLICK here: RODNEY LEKANOV