Deception and Bullies

Moxie Grrrl has got the goods on the whole Git-mo situation. You can read the congressional record if you are curious, but I am of the same mind as Mox on this one:

Slice:

His statement speaks to the treatment of prisoners in our custody, regardless if they are innocent or guilty. When this description of how we treat prisoners is absorbed by the world at large, it bolsters the perception that the US is just the mean bully on the block with too much power for its own good. Durbin really didn't need to say it, since a lot of the world already thinks it.

Statements such as Sen. Durbin's hurt because they are plausible (as in Reagan's now famous phrase "plausible deniability'). That is, because truth is a slave to perception, if the world thinks it is so, then it must be true. Our reputation cannot be further tarnished because some one simply reads a statement that can be widely gotten. The damage was done before Sen. Durbin spoke.

As it is long over due, there needs to be some serious house cleaning done by the repubs if they want to earn back any respect at all.

Vegetarianism is next to Godliness?

I was driving mid-evening yesterday and saw the side of a truck plastered with the slogan: "Honoring God's Creation..." I never knew that there was a Christian Movement that gave biblically justified reasons for going vegetarian, but then I wondered how they explained all the sacrifices and the feasts that riddle the bible they purport to follow and thought, perhaps this was another kind of cult. I wonder what omnivore Christians think of this organization.

Here's a Debate I'd Like to See

Given the recent news about the poor, unfortunate political football, Terri Schiavo, I still think we need to resolve the issue. Let's set the stage for a fun debate to see which side would be victorious.

The Right-To-Lifer or the Sanctity-of-Marriage Proponent?

Who would win? You decide.

Irony

W, declaring elections unfair? Ironic? Well, one thing is for sure, he aught to know based on the Y2K Florida debacle. It's always nice to have brothers in high places in key states.

Posthumous Problem for Recruiters

Saddly, more Marines get rubbed out in the Iraq folly. Recuitors are having a hard time getting kids to enlist.

Slice 1:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A roadside bomb attack killed five U.S. Marines, and gunfire killed an American sailor in a western Iraqi town, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Slice 2:

What I was not able to find in the handbook was anything remotely like the startlingly frank comments of a sergeant at Fort Benning, Ga., who was quoted in the May 30 issue of The Army Times. He was addressing troops in the seventhweek of basic training, and the paper reported the scene as follows:

"'Does anybody know what posthumous means?' Staff Sgt. Andre Allen asked the 150 infantrymen-in-training, members of F Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment.

"A few hands went up, but he answered his own question." 'It means after death.

Some of you are going to get medals that way,' he said matter-of-factly, underscoring the possibility that some of them would be sent to combat and not return."

10:31 update - another news clip fills us in that six more GI's will be coming home in a flag covered box. How many more GIs must die before it is one too many?

99.9% Pure Coward

I don't usually visit Daily KOS as they have so many comments it is difficult to track any kind of dialog. Even so, some of the comments, such as this one, are very enticing:

Let us suppose that 10,000 Americans joined the army last month (it's less than that).

Let us suppose that they were all Republicans (it's less than that).

Let us suppose that only 10,000,000 Americans voted for Bush (it's more than that).

That means that at least 999 out of every 1,000 Bush voters once again took a pass on joining the army last month, even though the army really needs them, and even though they say they support the troops and agree with what they're doing in Iraq.

Bush voters are 99.9% pure coward.

Wacko for Jacko

Okay, I wasn't going to post anything about our good friend Mr. Jackson (hey, I still own a copy of Thriller). But I found this video clip on IFilm surfing blogexplosion (sorry to the person who posted origninally as I couldn't navigate back to your location for some reason). Anyway, this was quite funny. Enjoy.

Meanwhile, the Repubs have no trouble raising funds for themselves

Typical. All these folks slapping their fat tummys and greasing the skids for more cuts in wonderful things like PBS. The loot collected for campaigning ratches up for various folks and wonderful republican leaders like Tom Delay, etc...

Slice 1:

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, accepted more than $400,000 in donations last year to help fight the various ethical allegations against him, but still owes three law firms at least $125,000 for his ongoing legal expenses.

Financial disclosure forms released Wednesday show that the Texas Republican took in $439,300 in contributions to his legal expense fund in 2004 when the House ethics committee investigated him and rebuked him for his conduct. Separately, DeLay faces questions about his ties to a lobbyist under federal criminal investigation, Jack Abramoff.

Other reports show that $254,250 of those contributions came to DeLay's legal defense fund during the last three months of 2004. He still owes three law firms between $125,003 and $315,000 combined for his legal expenses, and three major companies who have in the past given to his fund — American Airlines, Verizon and Nissan North America Inc. — have said they will no longer contribute.

Slice 2:

Republican members of Congress have an additional $23 million in the bank, thanks in large part to the efforts of President Bush. GOP leaders spent much of Monday and Tuesday entertaining campaign donors, but it was Bush's speech at a gala Tuesday night that drew the people who shelled out $2,500 per ticket.

Bush reiterated his favorite recent themes, calling for an overhaul of the tax code, a national energy bill and permanent tax relief. He accused Democrats of trying to block all of them.

"Political parties that choose the path of obstruction will not gain the trust of the American people," he said. "If leaders of the other party have innovative ideas, let's hear them. But if they have no ideas or policies except obstruction, they should step aside and let others lead."

The fundraiser brought in $14 million for House Republicans and $9 million for GOP senators. More than 5,000 people filled the Washington Convention Center to hear Bush speak.

End Slice:

Humm, obstruction versus obfuscation? Which is worse - people from the minority working to protect a majority of the populations' interests? Or, people in the so called majority obfuscating and fixing the facts to support war with Iraq so that a small number of capitalists can fatten themselves up even more? You decide.

Gutting Big Bird and Friends

I suppose that the reichwingers enjoy getting their news from commercial sources like Fox, etc...but I for one really do believe in public radio and broadcasting in general. It is simply refreshing to have news stories presented in snips as long as 10 minutes rather than be subjected to the battering ram of commercial television.

Having contributed to public radio and the like for a long time, I have put my money where my mouth is, but I certainly think that keeping the "public" in PBS is a great investment (and paltry at that in comparision of some other government spending; e.g. prisons, war, etc...).

Filet of Big Bird is on the plate for the repubs and it looks like they are, in short order, serving us shotgun-pellet-laced fowl for dinner instead.

Slice:

Do little boys and girls out there know how to spell "spite"? For those who don't, the House Republicans who voted last week to gut federal support of public broadcasting - from "Sesame Street" to well beyond - are offering a graphic demonstration as they attack one of the nation's more valued institutions. The Appropriations Committee voted not only to end taxpayers' support for next year's children's shows on public radio and television (yes, "Clifford the Big Red Dog" and "Postcards from Buster," too), but also to close out entirely the $400 million in federal support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting - the aid funnel to local stations - across the next two years.

End Slice:

You can help, by supporting your local stations with cash contributions or signing the pettition over at Moveon.

How Much can you Accomplish in 9.77 seconds?

Asafa Powell covers 100 meters to break the world record shaving off two hundreths of a second off the old mark: That's smokin'.

Signs of Success in Iraq - Sub Title: Making Things Worse Slowly or Quickly

I found this shot on the AP wire adjacent to a report of yet another suicide bombing in Iraq. Are we winning this war, or have we done just about all we can do there?

Here's an intersting slant authored by James Dobbins, Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at Rand:

The recent American presidential campaign has had the perverse effect of postponing any serious national debate on the future U.S. course in Iraq. Electoral considerations placed a premium on consistency at the expense of common sense, with both candidates insisting that even with perfect hindsight they would have acted just as they did two years ago: going to war or voting to authorize doing so. The campaign also revealed the paucity of good options now before the United States. Keeping U.S. troops in Iraq will only provoke fiercer and more widespread resistance, but withdrawing them too soon could spark a civil war. The second administration of George W. Bush seems to be left with the choice between making things worse slowly or quickly.

The beginning of wisdom is to recognize that the ongoing war in Iraq is not one that the United States can win. As a result of its initial miscalculations, misdirected planning, and inadequate preparation, Washington has lost the Iraqi people's confidence and consent, and it is unlikely to win them back. Every day that Americans shell Iraqi cities they lose further ground on the central front of Iraqi opinion.

Meanwhile, Here's what's on the President's Plate for the Day

I was searching to find proof that the W, Rove and Co. will be addressing the Future Farmers of America some where in PA today flogging their Privitization of SS ideas to kids who might be swayed. Alas, I couldn't find it, even though it was reported on NPR. If there is any blogger out there who was at such an address, I would be curious as to your impressions.

Meanwhile, I found this "press gaggle" report provide at the whitehouse web location. If you are curious, here's the whole of a fun and engaging five minutes that took place in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania - funded in part by your tax payer bux. It's short, so I'll post the whole thing:

Press Gaggle by Trent Duffy
Private Residence
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

11:04 A.M. EDT

MR. DUFFY: Are you all ready? I'll just go through the schedule. The President had his normal intelligence briefing. Obviously, we're in Bryn Mawr for a fundraiser for Senator Santorum. Senator Specter, obviously, as you saw, was on Air Force One. I believe that Senator Santorum, Senator Specter and Congressman Peterson will be returning with us to D.C. And I think Senator Santorum is going to fly from here to Penn State.

God bless you. Jennifer Loven. (Laughter.)

Today is the 36th event, by our count, and 28 different states if you count D.C. And then later tonight, the President is going to be making remarks at the 2005 President's Dinner. And one programming note for planning purposes, we anticipate the Senate to vote on Judge Griffith today, and if they do that we would anticipate issuing a statement later this afternoon -- so just so you know that.

That's all I have.

Q How much cash are we raising today?

MR. DUFFY: This is not a presidential event, so you'd have to ask the Santorum folks or -- that's an NRCC event tonight, you'd have to ask them.

Q Do you know how many fundraisers it's been so far this year for him?

MR. DUFFY: I don't, off the top of my head. Obviously, there's the Senator Talent event he did and then this one. We can find out; you might check with the RNC, but I'll see if I can find out, Caren.

Q With the Senate taking up energy policy today, what does the President think about the need for MTBE provision in the bill? Does he think that that should be in the bill?

MR. DUFFY: Caren, the President is glad that the Senate is taking up the energy bill today. He believes it's long overdue; we've got to do something about a long-term comprehensive energy policy that brings down gas prices. As you mentioned, the Senate is just taking it up -- we'll see what happens. And, you know, the President just wants to work with the Congress to get an energy bill that does what he's outlined needs to be done: long-term incentives for better efficiency, more technology, as well as increased domestic exploration and lowering our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Q Trent, when you said earlier that this is not a presidential event, were you responding to my question about whose home we're in?

MR. DUFFY: Oh, I didn't hear you.

Q Okay, can you tell us?

MR. DUFFY: Let me see what I can find out on that. I'll add it at the end.

Q But because it's not a presidential event, does that mean that the RNC pays for all of the costs related to this, or -- in terms of his transportation and --

MR. DUFFY: Typically, on fundraisers what happens is, is that the host, if you will, picks up the political travel and political activity associated with the event, and then official funds are used for other official costs and that sort of thing. It's a similar breakdown that we obviously follow whenever the President travels.

Q Okay.

Q Trent, can you talk about the story today saying that the Defense Department was opposed to an independent inquiry into the Uzbekistan --

MR. DUFFY: Sure. The administration has made its view known that it wants the government of Uzbekistan to allow a credible, independent international investigation into the events at Andijon. The administration is speaking with one voice on that, and both the Defense Department as well as the State Department have made those views known to the government of Uzbekistan. So that's what the administration's policy is.

Q So was there some confusion in the Defense Department about what that policy was?

MR. DUFFY: No, the Defense Department, as I said, has issued the same request to the government of Uzbekistan, as has the State Department and other administration officials, that we want a credible, independent investigation into the Andijon events.

Anything else? Enjoy your brunch.

The host of today's event is Mitchell Morgan.

Q Normal spelling?

MR. DUFFY: Yes.

END 11:09 A.M. EDT

P.S. Does anyone know why they would be blessing Jennifer Loven (and laughing about it)?

This I Believe

I've been thinking about tossing my own thoughts into the NPR project, "This I Believe." This is right up a bloggers alley. Far better minds than mine have already tossed their hats into the ring:

“What is moral is not of the divine, but rather a purely human matter, albeit the most important of all human matters.”

Here's the rest of the article by Einstein collected in the archive:

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the Mysterious -- the knowledge of the existence of something unfathomable to us, the manifestation of the most profound reason coupled with the most brilliant beauty. I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, or who has a will of the kind we experience in ourselves. I am satisfied with the mystery of life's eternity and with the awareness of -- and glimpse into -- the marvelous construction of the existing world together with the steadfast determination to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the reason that manifests itself in nature. This is the basis of cosmic religiosity, and it appears to me that the most important function of art and science is to awaken this feeling among the receptive and keep it alive.

I sense that it is not the State that has intrinsic value in the machinery of humankind, but rather the creative, feeling individual -- the personality alone that creates the noble and sublime.

Man's ethical behavior should be effectively grounded on compassion, nurture and social bonds. What is moral is not of the divine, but rather a purely human matter, albeit the most important of all human matters. In the course of history, the ideals pertaining to human beings' behavior towards each other and pertaining to the preferred organization of their communities have been espoused and taught by enlightened individuals. These ideals and convictions -- results of historical experience, empathy and the need for beauty and harmony -- have usually been willingly recognized by human beings, at least in theory.

The highest principles for our aspirations and judgments are given to us westerners in the Jewish-Christian religious tradition. It is a very high goal: free and responsible development of the individual, so that he may place his powers freely and gladly in the service of all mankind.

The pursuit of recognition for their own sake, an almost fanatical love of justice and the quest for personal independence form the traditional themes of the Jewish people, of which I am a member.

But if one holds these high principles clearly before one's eyes and compares them with the life and spirit of our times, then it is glaringly apparent that mankind finds itself at present in grave danger. I see the nature of the current crises in the juxtaposition of the individual to society. The individual feels more than ever dependent on society, but it is not felt in the positive sense, as an organic connectivity or a sense of security, but rather more as a type of endangerment to his natural rights, or even his economic existence. His place in society is further from that advanced and cultivated by his own egotistic driving factors, nonetheless hindering the weaker social driving forces to a large extent.

It is my belief that there is only one way to eliminate these evils, namely, the establishment of a planned economy coupled with an education geared towards social goals. Alongside the development of individual abilities, the education of the individual aspires to revive an ideal that is geared towards the service of our fellow man, and that needs to take the place of the glorification of power and outer success.

Bulworth, Dean and the Extreme

I found an interesting AP article in today's local rag, ironically, just above a Boston Medical Group advert. In it, our venerable VP the Big Swinging Dick Cheney slams Governor Dean for raising the ire of some folks at some meeting somewhere. In it, the Veep suggests that the former Governor of Vermont "never won anything, as best I can tell..." proving once again, the W, Rove and Co. is all about obfuscation of the first order.

Here's the quote from the article I like the best:

Karen Finney, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, objected to Cheney's characterization of Dean. "

Governor Dean must be doing something right if the vice president of the United States would stoop so low as to use the governor's mother as a way to deflect from answering the concerns of the American people," Finney said Sunday. "It's no wonder President Bush's approval ratings are at an all-time low."

End Slice:

Dean's remarks remind me of the flick, Bulworth - saying it like it is often strikes a blow to the hearts and minds of folks in the wrong. That they doth protest so much, perhaps Dean isn't too far off the mark. That said, Dean is has gone out on a limb, but as Brother Malcolm would say, the extreme view point is very necessary as it makes the middle look more palatable.

A better interpretation of the whole Dean boondoggle is articulated in John Carrol's article.

Slice:

Most Americans are neither ultraconservative nor superrich, and they are interested in hearing the truth. The Democrats should be interested in telling the truth, and telling it in a strong and convincing manner. They cannot flinch when the White House does one of its "gay marriage booga booga" dances. Be not afraid, Democrats. This is not an occasion in which the meek will inherit the earth. Speak for the people, because the people need you to end the madness.

Jobs is a Splash in the Face with Cold Water

Steve Jobs gave one of the numerous Stanford graduation addresses. I liked this quote by him and a follow up by a student interviewed post ceremony:

"...Death is very likely the single best invention of life," he said. "It's life's change agent, it clears out the old to make way for the new.

"Right now, the new is you. But someday, not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away," he warned the 5,000 graduating students. "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life..."

..."At Stanford, we are used to humor," said Dhandhia, 21. "So to listen to a dry speech like that wasn't so fun. But the messages were good."

By the way, Jobs (and his counterpart at Micro$oft, Gates) is a drop out. There is an argument to be made that one would be better off using the funds that are required to attend college for something other than tuition, books and fees - say, by starting your own business and learning on the fly.

Greedy Politicians? Say it Ain't So.

Here's a great way to help your local politicians spark it up for the Fourth of July: Let them pass this bill:

For most Americans, the influence on the last election of unregulated partisan groups with huge advertising budgets was evidence that campaign finance reform has not gone far enough. But not for a group of brazen House Republicans who are trying to gut 30 years of checks on campaign spending and allow fat-cat donors to once more write six-figure checks to candidates.

A shameful bill that would undo much of the post-Watergate reforms is being rushed to the House floor. It would scrap a donor's current limit of $40,000 for candidates across a two-year cycle and let him give $2 million or more. Further, the bill would attack the more recent McCain-Feingold campaign controls by letting the national parties wheel and deal in unlimited amounts in supporting favored candidates.

Voters should remember the name of any politician who stoops to support this destructive measure, which is rated likely to pass by July Fourth.

If nothing else, the recent disclosure of Deep Throat's identity should have recalled for political leaders the terrible lesson of campaign money being used as a slush fund to cover up the Nixon White House's scheme to undermine the 1972 election. The House Administration Committee chairman, Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio, who is hurrying the new bill toward passage, has personal reason to be wary. He has been prominently mentioned in the ongoing investigation of superlobbyists' channeling of special-interest campaign donations to key lawmakers.

The measure would repair one obvious abuse - and temporary Democratic advantage - from last year when the law banning unregulated amounts of "soft money" was circumvented by shadow-party operations called "527 committees" after a section of the tax code. But this repair could be accomplished by a far cleaner proposal that is gathering dust in the Senate, while the House tries to steer American politics straight back toward Watergate.

10 Things Girls Should Know 'bout Boys' Privates

Every so often, it's fun to click on over to Iron Hymen - deeply faith-based advocates for abstinence only education. There's a nice piece on what every girl should know about boy's privates. Enjoy:

Take it from me, girls – there's no good reason to rush into S-E-X. That's why I hope these scientific facts help you choose abstinence, so you need never know the heartbreak of being trapped in a loveless marriage just because you drank too many margaritas one night and gave up your honey pot to a pushy young cokehead from a so-called 'good family.'"

1. Unlike your girly privates, which are internal, boy privates are external. God knew that nobody wanted to see all our lady mess, so He pushed everything up inside you. What in tarnation He was thinking when he came up with that nasty, dangling, squishy flesh on boys beats the heck out of me, but I suspect it was so it would be easier for Him to keep an eye on what they're up to. Because trust me: that grotesque grab bag of horror and disappointment is always up to something, gals...

...click for the middle 8...

10. God designed a boy's privates as part sword, part battering-ram, to joyously stab and hammer you with on the magical night you begin your life-long tethering to the man who'll liberate you from the drudgery of ever having to make your own decisions – except when to have a headache or give an "I don't like this" bite.

1700 Soldiers and No End in Sight

The ROI in Iraq slips and slurps further down the soiled toilet and oily slick pipelines sucking bad money after bad and soul after soul.

Slice:

The military announced the killing of four more U.S. soldiers on Sunday, pushing the American death toll past 1,700, and police found the bullet-riddled bodies of 28 people — many thought to be Sunni Arabs — buried in shallow graves or dumped streetside in Baghdad.

Another Memo Supporting the Manufacturing of Excuses to Invade Iraq

Found this while trolling BE:

...The warning, in a leaked Cabinet Office briefing paper, said Tony Blair had already agreed to back military action to get rid of Saddam Hussein at a summit at the Texas ranch of President George W Bush three months earlier.

The briefing paper, for participants at a meeting of Blair’s inner circle on July 23, 2002, said that since regime change was illegal it was “necessary to create the conditions” which would make it legal...

How Nice

Put Your Pie Down, Move Away from the Vitriol and Strike Up a Real Argument

Surfing my blogroll, as I am want to do to read what others are saying out there, I found two links via Jet at God Dem! that were some very powerful pieces.

Slice 1 from Lina Marie:

Only when we counter hateful rhetoric with brilliant ideas is when we will regain the confidence of the majority of American people. Time to put down those pies; let’s talk and really listen.

This one from Barack Obama - aka the Man the reichwing will no doubt try to discredit in a big way:

...In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society. But in our past there has been another term for it—Social Darwinism—every man or woman for him or herself. It’s a tempting idea, because it doesn’t require much thought or ingenuity. It allows us to say that those whose health care or tuition may rise faster than they can afford—tough luck. It allows us to say to the Maytag workers who have lost their job—life isn’t fair. It let’s us say to the child who was born into poverty—pull yourself up by your bootstraps. And it is especially tempting because each of us believes we will always be the winner in life’s lottery, that we’re the one who will be the next Donald Trump, or at least we won’t be the chump who Donald Trump says: “You’re fired!”

But there is a problem. It won’t work. It ignores our history. It ignores the fact that it’s been government research and investment that made the railways possible and the internet possible. It’s been the creation of a massive middle class, through decent wages and benefits and public schools that allowed us all to prosper. Our economic dependence depended on individual initiative. It depended on a belief in the free market; but it has also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, the idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we’re all in it together and everybody’s got a shot at opportunity. That’s what’s produced our unrivaled political stability.

Don't be Fooled by Something Labled the "Academic Bill of Rights"

Giving new and amplified definition to the word "slick," David Horowitz - poster boy for reichwing converts - is on a mission to slash and burn Academic Freedom under the pretext of "protecting" academic freedom. Typical reichwing obfuscation.

Slice:

...In testimony before the Florida state legislature, United Faculty of Florida President Tom Auxter said, “This legislation has the effect of undermining academic freedom while claiming to promote academic freedom....It will, if written into law, cause a dumbing down of the mental life of students to the cartoon version of intelligence we find on right-wing talk shows where everything controversial is broken into categories such as conservative vs. liberal, religious vs. secular humanist, or American vs. communist….”

But from the vignette box in the same article is one sligtly more interesting commentary:

It amazes me to hear policy makers, who, just as I did, benefited mightily from access to low-cost, public higher education, now seriously talking about denying that opportunity to a whole generation of young people in America. We can't afford it, they say. Let’s see, I got mine, but now I don't want to pay for you to get yours! The richest nation in the world—first in gross domestic product, first in the number of millionaires and billionaires—cannot afford to provide working class kids the opportunity to go to a university. Well, there is one way. You can join the military, go to some far away land to get shot at, and then, if you survive, the government will pay for your college education. In today’s America, the haves go to college right out of high school and the have-nots go to war so they might some day be able to go to college.

— NEA President Reg Weaver addressing the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education. March 19, 2005.

Some High Quality Republican Leadership

"The Chair Recognizes himself...I will not Yield"...and all he does is obfuscate and walk out. Actions do, indeed, speak louder than words.

Why republicans tolerate this kind of leadership is beyond me.

Weekend Windsurfing Report

I know. It's only Sunday and a bit premature for the weekend windsurfing report. But as the spouse is gallivanting about with a wedding party, I pulled kid duty for the day. Also, the flood is on for most of the afternoon, and there is nary a draft of air wafting past the house today. So, it looks like it's going to be a late day, if at all.

Even so, I got two days on the water because the spouse made it home from work early on Friday (this is a switch given the long hours worked as of late).

Friday, I caught the first hour of the ebb round about 4:30 PM and rigged my 4.7 meter sail. I should have rigged the 5.4, but I bagged the 4.7 out so it worked like a 5.0. The sails these days are so versatile, you can get away with a larger gap between sizes. The wind was good for about an hour and then started to fall apart. Waves were nice, but flattened out toward the end of the session.

Yesterday, most folks were standing around on the beach with their thumbs up their noses trying to decide if it was good enough to rig. I got to the launch early and just went with my gut selecting the 5.4 meter sail, and swapping out my small for the large fin (25 cm). This was the right call, again, I rigged the 5.4 tight rather than loose - like a 5.0 and the extra canvas gave me the umph to get upwind to the bridge fairly well - albeit taking about 45 mins to make it up wind on the flood tide. I was the only sailor up that far and had the whole vista to myself, minus a few big sailboats and a small tourist boats out and about. It was a crystal clear day and the views from the middle of the bay are, well, stunning. Makes me glad I am not a tourist as I get this view on a regular basis.

After about an hour on the water, the wind shifted direction a bit and started to produce some holes...this is a good indication that one should head back in as the wind becomes not so trustworthy and it is a long swim should you need to do it. So, I started to head back. As I made it back to the beach the wind really began to get flukie and the folks who were still just standing around were very jealous - knowing that they were about to get skunked waiting for more wind when they could have had the same amount of time on the water that I got.

As of right now, I am not optimistic about getting back on the water today. That said, the sun is shining, the air is clean, and once the little guy wakes up from his AM nap, the boys and I will no doubt head outside for some good fun. La vie clair!

One Year and More to Come

Well, it's official. As of 10 June, I've been a blogger for a year. Time to break out some of my favorite sipping tequila and raise a glass in toast. On this salubrious occasion, here's some original verse by yours truly:

Hail, Bloggers Everywhere

Some think
To blog, therefore
I Am

With an opine here
Or there
A comment and verse

To share
With others near
Far, and everywhere

Note to self
I am
Therefore, I blog

Because it's there
Repercussions felt
With nary a care

But that influence dealt
Hope, positive
Enough to count

Militant Evangelical Proselytizing

The Air Force Acadamy has a problem. Why is it that Evangelicals enjoy foisting their viewpoint on others?

Slice:

In an overdue burst of candor, the superintendent of the Air Force Academy has acknowledged that his campus is so permeated with evangelical proselytizing that it will take years to rid the institution of religious intolerance. Lt. Gen. John Rosa Jr. said he finds the problem of cadets unfairly pressured to adopt Christian beliefs and practices occurring throughout "my whole organization," with offenders among faculty, staff and students.

"Perception is reality," the general apologetically declared of numerous complaints that cadets' constitutional rights have been violated by militant evangelists wielding peer pressure with the blessing of authority figures in the chain of command

End Slice:

Indeed, perception is reality. This gets back to an earlier question: how do we ensure that there is separation of church and state?

Fixing Intelligence

Given the suspiciously inexplicable Downing Street Memo, do we think our fine candidate for the US rep to the United Nations (Bolton) might have a hand in fixing the intelligence around the supposedly high quality idea to invade Iraq?

Slice:

WASHINGTON, June 10 - Senate Democrats have prepared a list of approximately three dozen "names of concern" and are asking the Bush administration for assurances that John R. Bolton did not misuse his access to highly classified intelligence to seek information about them.

The request is outlined in a letter sent Thursday by Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, two of the leaders of the Democratic opposition to Mr. Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations. The letter was sent to the senior Republican and Democratic senators on the Intelligence Committee, who have also been involved in negotiations with the Bush administration over access to information about Mr. Bolton's actions when he was an official at the State Department.

The letter did not identify those on the list, but Democratic aides said they included intelligence officials and others with whom Mr. Bolton had clashed. They said the Senate Democrats would provide the list to John D. Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, if Mr. Negroponte made clear that he would provide appropriate information in response.

The proposal represents the latest effort by the Democrats to learn more about Mr. Bolton's handling of intelligence information during his four years as under secretary of state. The administration has acknowledged that Mr. Bolton used his authority to obtain the names of 19 American individuals and companies mentioned in communications intercepted by the National Security Agency, but it has refused to give the Senate details.

Two Thousand Dollars

Well, $ 2K is not a MacArthur Genius Grant or the Nobel Prize, but it's a start. I have always argued that if we paid teachers what they are worth we might attract better teachers. By the way, how much does Barry Bonds get paid now that he is not swinging his bat? Why can't we even pay teachers a modest fraction of that salary - at least enough to live comfortably in the towns within which they teach?

Slice:

Every year, in addition to granting honorary degrees, Williams also honors four high school teachers. But not just any high school teachers. Williams asks the 500 or so members of its senior class to nominate the high school teachers who had a profound impact on their lives. Then each year a committee goes through the roughly 50 student nominations, does its own research with the high schools involved and chooses the four most inspiring teachers.

Each of the four teachers is given $2,000, plus a $1,000 donation to his or her high school. The winners and their families are then flown to Williams, located in the lush Berkshires, and honored as part of the graduation weekend.

What the Heck is the BFEE?

Found the BFEE via Pourquois Pas. Warning, dangerous ideas are contained therein.

"Better Positioned to Realize our Goals"

Since when does paying out 2 billion dollars allow a company to be "better positioned to realize" their goals? Zoiks! These people are playing with too many dollars if they can spare that much capital and still function. Enron shareholders must be at least vindicated if they are not happy as a whole. Of course, we are still waiting for Kenny Boy Lay (who had his hand so far down W's shorts to fatten up the election campaign wallet, we can't tell who he's playing ball with) to get his justice meted out.

Slice:

Citigroup Inc. said on Friday it will pay $2 billion to Enron Corp. shareholders who accused it of helping the energy trader in a massive accounting fraud, a move that cleans up one of the bank's top legal problems and could pressure others to settle the case.

$ 40K For Your Life?

I am reminded of that tired old joke where the man is held up at gun point and demanded to turn over, "your money or your life." He replies, "take my wife, please!"

Bigger bonuses won't lead to more turn out of those who are employable elsewhere. Do you really want an Army full of people that need 40K straight up and can't get it by some other means? Moreover, if the trade off was a free trip to the big kitty litter box we know as Iraq, and the possiblity of getting killed, I don't think there will be many takers.

This latest lure/trick does show the world that, perhaps, the reason less and less people are joining up is that there isn't much support for the Opperation Iraqi "Freedom" on the home front. Most of us really are resigned to being stuck in the quagmire, but not very many want to pony up the big sacrifice (a la Patrick Tilman) for so little return, $40K or not. The difference between recruitment to fight WWII and this current conflagration is astounding.

Slice:

The Army wants to double the top cash bonus for new recruits to $40,000 in an effort to stem a continued recruiting shortfall in the midst of the Iraq war.

As another incentive, the Army is proposing a pilot program to provide up to $50,000 in home mortgage help for recruits who sign up for eight years of active duty, Lt. Col. Thomas Collins said in an interview Thursday.

Congress must approve both plans. The $40,000 bonuses would apply only to a limited number of hard-to-fill and still-undetermined jobs, Collins said.

The Army raised bonuses for some jobs to $20,000 in 1999. It has steadily made more jobs eligible for bonuses this year as the recruiting shortfall has deepened.

End Slice:

I suppose the real reason the W, Rove and Co don't want us seeing photos of boxes of GIs coming home with flags on them is becuase it is not a very good recruiting tool.

Common Sense

Ken over at Common Sense usually has more than a few good words to share. Were he running for Governor of Ca, he'd get my vote. Take a look at these few sentences and tell us what you think:

...But politics has no real claim to family values or public entertainment or philanthropy, other than to encourage people to find common acceptable standards while tolerating those that are not in the mainstream, but also not illegal. Once a political system begins to legislate or manipulate the daily functions and beliefs of the individual and society, freedom goes out the window, replaced by a kind of opiatic melancholy and eventual apathy.

This certainly begs a larger question: Should politicos be in the business of legislating morality, and how does one really separate Church from State?

More Evidence The W, Rove and Co is all about Big Oil

I feel cheated by the person who roundly claimed he would be the "environmental" president. When people appointed to be responsible custodians of our natural resources come direct via slick, oily pipelines, why would, should, or could we trust these guys?

Slice:

President Bush moved quickly after the 2000 election to fill many of the important environmental and energy jobs with corporate lobbyists who had spent their careers trying to weaken the laws they would then swear to protect. Most were vetted by Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. The result has been an erosion of the regulatory framework protecting the country's air, water, public lands and wildlife, combined with a chronic unwillingness by the administration to address difficult environmental issues.

Anyone needing evidence of industry's influence need look no further than Andrew C. Revkin's article in Wednesday's Times involving the handiwork of one Philip Cooney, an important but heretofore obscure official who serves as chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Mr. Cooney spent his immediate pre-White House years as a lawyer at the American Petroleum Institute, where he helped organize the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gas emissions from factories and automobiles. Mr. Revkin reported that Mr. Cooney had been fighting the same fight in his new job by sanitizing government reports in an effort to cast doubt on the link - a link accepted by mainstream scientists - between climate change and the emissions caused by burning fossil fuels.

End slice:

I'll leave you with the words of Bobby Kennedy Jr., printed in RollingStone 11 Dec 2003 issue, which unfortunately come closer to complete fruition every day W, Rove and Co. are at work:

George W. Bush will go down in history as America's worst environmental president. In a ferocious three-year attack, the Bush administration has initiated more than 200 major rollbacks of America's environmental laws, weakening the protection of our country's air, water, public lands and wildlife. Cloaked in meticulously crafted language designed to deceive the public, the administration intends to eliminate the nation's most important environmental laws by the end of the year. Under the guidance of Republican pollster Frank Luntz, the Bush White House has actively hidden its anti-environmental program behind deceptive rhetoric, telegenic spokespeople, secrecy and the intimidation of scientists and bureaucrats.

Gays, Marriage and the Pope

Still awaiting (good thing I am not holding my breath on this) for a logical, plausable argument against gay marriage that doesn't involve some invocation of the bible or the possiblity that people will want to marry various pets or other non-human items as the rational to oppose it. Anyone?

Here's a fantastic post about our new Pope and his hypocritical stance. Thanks Rock City for pointing us to the location.

A Reason to Be Skeptical

Are we really protected from any and all types of terrorist actions? Short answer is NO. Is it folly to even think such protection is possible? Short answer, probably.

Here's a slice of what the NYTimes editorial staff think:

The Bush administration likes to talk about how well it is protecting the nation from terrorism, but there is reason to be skeptical. Legislation on security for chemical plants has been blocked by special interests, and there have been unsettling reports recently about vulnerabilities in key areas like air travel and ports. This week, members of the 9/11 commission held the first of a series of hearings to explore the progress that has been made since Sept. 11 in making the nation safe. The commission's new project is a worthy one. There is a real need for outside review of the administration's efforts...

...The 9/11 commission's report called on Congress to improve its oversight of homeland security, and there is still much work to be done. Responsibility for the nation's safety is divided among too many committees and subcommittees. Congress should be holding more hearings and demanding more accountability from the administration.

A review led by a person with the resposiblity, scope, and authority such as Ken Starr had during the Clinton boondogle would be nice. Howsabout it?

God and Jesus Christ

I was helping a friend move an armoire up three flights of stairs last evening...this is not something I recommend doing. Next time some one asks, my reply will be with a local moving company's phone number.

Post the heavy lifting and after a beer or two, the conversation swerved to many topics; one of which was faith. I asked the following:

If I have a deep, connected, and faith-driven relationship with God, but have not accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior, is that a problem for my earthly self or eternal soul?

I thought it would be an interesting post to see what others think. Thanks for any and all comments.

Republican Mothers

Lately, I've noticed a trend in commentary from those proclaiming to be "right." Specifically, when attempting to point out that a particular point of view is incorrect or just plain wrong, the commentator slings a whole array of opinions about prior administrations or other people who may or may not have perpetrated similar misdeeds.

For example, let's say a blogger on the liberal side of things points out the possibility that we were duped into going to war with Iraq by the whole charade of WMD conjured up the W, Rove and Co.

So called, "right" winger commentator rebuts with arguments that, oh, Bill Clinton lied in office, and had sex with an intern and was impeached for the whole affair. Moreover, why weren't the left leaners pointing this out earlier?

In effect, these folks have become apologists (inadvertently or advertently) for the W, Rove and Co. Many bloggers today were not blogging back in the day of the Clinton administration, and I might add, could very well have been on the same page as the "right" winger" commentators.

My question is this (as I was thinking about the latest set of rants over at the Cranky Liberal on my AM run): Would Republican Mothers allow their sons and daughters to get away with immoral, unethical, and downright illegal behavior simply because someone else has done it before? I don't think so. Just because Joe Bag-a-doughnuts slapped his sister silly doesn't mean that it would be okay for some one else to do it.

How about using a nicely thought out logical argument against a particular view point for a change? It is time for "right" wingers to put down the crusade against leaders from the past as a means to argue points of the day. Simply because other people are behaving badly doesn't mean that the current administration should be allowed to slip by unseen and cloaked by their oily slick pipelines built by spilled American GI blood.

What's up with The So Called No-Fly list?

Just wondering, if potential terrorists are on airplanes that get turned around from landing or need to have passengers arrested, perhaps we need something stronger than a "No-Fly" list operating to protect the integrity of our borders.

Maybe we aught have a "do-not-ticket" list? As in, if your name is on the list, you can't even get a ticket that might get you on board an airplane that need be turned around? Or perhaps an, let's-arrest-these-people list?

Slice:

Hamid Hayat, 22, and his father, Umer, 47, were arrested Sunday on charges of lying to the FBI, less than a week after the younger man was first detained aboard a San Francisco-bound plane when authorities discovered he was on a "no-fly" list of suspected extremists.

According to a seven-page FBI affidavit, Hamid Hayat "after failing a lie-detector test" admitted having spent six months in a Pakistani camp where he trained to "kill Americans," using the images of high-ranking U.S. officials, including President Bush, as target practice.

When asked where he wanted to carry out his attacks, he chose the United States, he said.

It's Looking Like Lance is the One to Beat

While Liepheimer may win the whole kit and kaboodle, Lance is looking like he is in prime shape. The fact that he took this stage is a good indication of the shape he will be in come July and the Tour!

The race is on!

Slice:

ROANNE, France (AFP) - Lance Armstrong threw down the gauntlet to former teammate Levi Leipheimer to win the Dauphine Libere race after the American took over the lead following his second place finish on the third stage.

The Business of the US Military

Found this interesting quote in the NYTimes on line today:

"We're No. 1 in the world in military capabilities. But on the business side, the Defense Department gets a D - giving them the benefit of the doubt. If they were a business, they wouldn't be in business."DAVID M. WALKER, head of the Government Accountability Office, on Pentagon weapons spending.

Luckily for the folks at the Pentagon, the US Military is funded by the almighty taxpayer buck, of which there apears to be an endless supply.

" Please pray for the fallen, and rejoice for the free"

This just in from a blog I found via Blogexplosion. Another hero is lost to this war:

Slice:

I do want to write about a Soldier that was lost recently. His name is Sergeant Alfred Barton Siler. He was 33 years old, and an 11 year veteran of the 278th Regimental Combat Team. He graduated high school in 1989 from Jellico High, TN. He is survived by his parents and a three year old daughter named Mikkah. How do you explain to a three year old that their dad is never coming home?

More on Mary Jane

I suppose we are to take comfort in the democratic process, but if I were experiencing chronic pain, I am not so sure I would be willing to wait for the wheels to turn in my favor.

Slice:

Monday's Supreme Court ruling against medical marijuana was widely expected, but that doesn't make it defensible from a legal or moral perspective.

Writing for the 6-3 majority in Gonzales vs. Raich, the 85-year-old liberal Justice John Paul Stevens solemnly counseled patients suffering chronic pain to turn to "the democratic process" for comfort. "The voices of voters," he mused, may "one day be heard in the halls of Congress" on behalf of legalizing medical marijuana.

I can see it now, the Feds will be marching a whole parade of sick and disabled individuals down the perp walk to get pics in the news about how we are winning the war on drugs by prosecuting people using marijuana to ease their aching bodies and relieve the symptoms of some nasty illnesss:

Slice:

If this editorial board were Congress, we would enact a law allowing marijuana to be used for legitimate medical purposes, such as alleviating intense pain for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. In fact, we strongly urge Congress to pass such a law, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that "compassionate-use" laws in California and other states are invalid under the "commerce clause" of the Constitution.

Job Creation and the Economy

Humm:

With all of the debate about taxes, the economy and domestic spending, it is hard to imagine anyone supporting the notion of taking money from programs like Medicaid and college-tuition assistance, increasing the tax burden of the vast majority of working Americans, sending the country into crushing debt - and giving the proceeds to people who are so fantastically rich that they don't know what to do with the money they already have. Yet that is just what is happening under the Bush administration. Forget the middle class and the upper-middle class. Even the merely wealthy are being left behind in the dust by the small slice of super-rich Americans.

Not only that, but:

The United States is rapidly abandoning a longstanding policy aimed at keeping college affordable for all Americans who qualify academically. Thanks to a steep decline in aid to poor and working-class students and lagging state support for the public college systems that grant more than two-thirds of the nation's degrees, record numbers of Americans are being priced out of higher education. This is an ominous trend, given that the diploma has become the minimum price of admission to the new economy.

So, is the W, Rove and Co all about improving our economy and saving jobs or what?

If the proof is in the pudding, let's see, humm:

General Motors Corp.expects to close more U.S. assembly and component plants over the next few years, slashing about 25,000 manufacturing jobs, as it battles high costs and shrinking market share, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.

Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, speaking at the annual meeting, also said GM expects to save $2.5 billion a year from the cost-cutting measures.

Investors welcomed the news, sending GM shares up 2 percent. Michael Bee, lead equity strategist at Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC, said U.S. automakers will continue to ship jobs overseas.

The cost of a GM worker in China is about 10 percent the cost of a U.S. worker ... You just really can't compete with some of these foreign producers,'' Bee said.

So, if companies like Honda, Subaru and Toyota can opperate manufacturing plants in the USA, why can't GM? By the way, how much did Kerkorian make on his recent purchase of GM Stock? Did he know about the forthcoming plant idling before he made his deal?

Here's a Nice Troop Related Ribbon for your Automobile

A friend of mine found this at www.fugly.com and sent it my way. As the various ribbons affixed to automobiles large and small fade as the war marches on (and more troops come home in wood boxes), I thought perhaps some would like to try pasting this instead.

How Long Does it Take You to Earn a Hamburger?

Same friend that tossed me the ribbon jpg also sent along this interesting tidbit:

The Australian newspaper Green Left Weekly carries a small column titled Shockfacts, which reports on statistics that tend to be startling. In its May 25 issue, the weekly asked, How long does it take employees at McDonalds restaurants in the Asia-Pacific region to earn enough money to purchase a Big Mac at their own place of work? Here¹s the latest Shockfact, an interesting excursion into the world of corporate globalization:

Australia - 17 minutes
New Zealand - 28 minutes
Hong Kong - 41 minutes
Malaysia - 1 hour, 26 minutes
South Korea - 1 hour, 29 minutes
Philippines - 2 hours, 19 minutes
Thailand - 2 hours, 45 minutes
China - 3 hours, 58 minutes
Sri Lanka - 5 hours, 53 minutes
India - 8 hours, 34 minutes

And the winner is Pakistan, where it takes a McDonalds worker 14 hours and 14 minutes to buy a lousy burger.

The source of the information is http://www.asianlabour.org

Legalize it, Don't Crticize it

Humm, is marijuana really all that different than a cocktail, glass of beer or wine?

Peter Tosh would say, "legalize it, don't criticize it." In a double dose of justice, we could eliminate a large part of the drug problem and substantially increase taxable income by legalizing pot. Make it like alcohol and tax the hell out of it and in one fell swoop, you have cut away a huge amount of necessary enforcement expenses, release all folks connected on marijuana busts from jail, and do some serious debt reduction by taxing it big time. People who want the good stuff will pay for it...they do it now illegally anyway.

Incidentially, why is the government wanting to get into the business of prosocuting sick people?

Slice:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal government has the power to prevent sick patients from smoking home-grown marijuana that a doctor recommended to relieve chronic pain, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a setback for the medical marijuana movement.

Government Censorship or Solid Exercise of the Patriot Act

This just in from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Is this proper execution of government censorship or have we just witnessed more erosion to the freedom of expression?

It's a short article, so here's the whole thing:

Citing security concerns, federal officials have asked the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences not to publish a Stanford University researcher's paper on biological terrorism. The journal has pulled the paper from its May 30 online edition and is evaluating whether to revise it before publication.

The paper -- by a business-school professor, Lawrence M. Wein, and a graduate student, Yifan Liu -- details how terrorists might attack the nation's milk supply with botulinum toxin, and offers suggestions for how to thwart such an attack.

Mr. Wein declined on Friday to be interviewed for this article, but in an essay he wrote for the op-ed page of The New York Times last Monday, he called for stricter regulations to ensure that the milk supply "is vigilantly guarded, from cow to consumer." The guidelines in place now are voluntary, he wrote.

Marc W. Wolfson, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said officials there and at the Food and Drug Administration had been alarmed by the level of detail the paper provides. He said it was the first time the agency had asked a journal to remove a paper that had already been accepted for publication.

"It was basically a road map on how you could use botulinum toxin to taint the milk supply in the United States," he said. "We felt that the benefits of printing the article were outweighed by the potential harm it could do."

The federal request was made on May 27, in a letter sent by Stewart Simonson, assistant secretary for public-health emergency preparedness at the Department of Health and Human Services, to Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences, which publishes the prestigious journal.

Mr. Alberts declined to comment on the situation, but a spokesman for the journal provided a statement saying that the journal and the academy "have agreed to take another look at the paper in question ... and new release dates will be announced."

Mr. Wolfson said senior officials at the two federal agencies would meet with the journal's editors this week to discuss the paper further.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization chartered by Congress to advise policy makers on scientific and technical issues.

End Article:

Puts the whole Got Milk campaign in a differentl light doesn't it?

Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way

Lee Iacocca was famous for the slogan, "Lead, Follow, or get out of the way." I suggest that this is not a great way to spur productivity from folks who are not in a position to lead. Most certainly, we can't all be leaders. I have used an alternative slogan for many years while conducting team building workshops and ropes courses.

Lead, or become a good follower.

There are good times to become a follower, and perhaps when the leadership is powerful and good, we might jump on that train. For example, maybe we could be doing more in several African countries by following other governments that are doing it better than we are.

Slice:

Next month could be a historic turning point for the more than 300 million Africans who live on less than a dollar a day. Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain has been busily lining up international support for his proposal to attack poverty in Africa by ramping up foreign aid. Serious studies commissioned by the British government and the United Nations have identified promising new paths toward economic and human development. The leading nations of Europe have pledged long-term financial support. Leading entertainers like Madonna, Bono, Will Smith and Elton John have announced a set of simultaneous concerts to take place in London, Rome, Berlin and Philadelphia to mobilize grass-roots enthusiasm.

Only one crucial element is still missing - the wholehearted support of the United States government. Unless President Bush joins this effort in the five weeks remaining before the summit meeting to be held in July in Scotland, Africa's hopes will be disappointed and America's image in the eyes of a world that once looked to it for enlightened leadership will be further diminished.

Mr. Blair will be in Washington this week trying to persuade Mr. Bush to do the right thing.

This really should be a no-brainer. At a time when the image of the United States abroad is at rock bottom in many parts of the globe, President Bush could go a long way toward re-establishing the world's richest country as the moral leader it was in the last century. He can do that by supporting his most reliable international ally in this crucial effort and taking to heart the world's poorest and most wretched place.

End Slice

Do you think John Bolton, if appointed to the UN Post, would encourage or discourage the involvement of our government in this cause?

Real Cause for Fear

So, if the W, Rove and Co are not taking the 9/11 Commissions recommendations seriously, who should?

Slice:

WASHINGTON, June 5 - Members of the Sept. 11 commission, fearing that the Bush administration and Congress will never act on some of their recommendations, are joining together almost a year after completing their final report to press the White House for information showing whether the government has done enough to prevent another catastrophic terrorist attack, commission officials said...

...Commissioners say they want the information to prepare for a series of public hearings scheduled to begin here on Monday and to draft a privately financed report that will evaluate the government's counterterrorism policies in the wake of the commission's final report last July...

We're going to ask a lot of questions," said Thomas H. Kean, who was chairman of the Sept. 11 commission and is now a board member of the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, a private educational and lobbying group.

"There are a lot of our recommendations that have not been implemented." Mr. Kean said that with terrorist groups threatening new attacks on American soil, "we don't have a lot of time left to act."

End slice:

Perhaps a privately funded investigation of this Administration is a good idea.

I'm Spent: Weekend Windsurfing Report

Okay, this weekend the usual summer winds kicked in like the proverbial banshee. Wahoo! Shouts of joy abound on the beach today. Smiles all around. Big winds and an ebb tide will do that.

Today was a three sport day - a trifecta, and we hit it big here. Long run in the AM soaking in the sun and trails. Bike ride with the spouse and boys - lounging on the green listening to the band celebrating Italian American Day! You have got to love this City. If you're bored here, it's your own damn fault. Then a quick peanut butter and banana sandwich squished down my throat on the way to the beach. The trees were bending over - a good sign.

Got to the beach and it was a no brainer. I love it when you don't have to think or wait for the wind. Rigged the 4.7 square meter sail and slapped it on the 85 liter board. Used the big fin to test its ability to handle stronger winds. Should have used the smaller 21 cm wave fin. That would have been better to slash up the waves the ebb tide was delivering. Out on the water for about 1.5 to 1.75 hours. And I am whooped.

Yesterday was the same kind of winds, but the buggers tricked us. I rigged a 4.7 initially and then there was a big lull. The winds dipped to about 15 knotts for about a half hour. As I sadly re-rigged to the 5.4, the wind really dropped, and it looked like we were about to get skunked in a huge way. Voila! the wind magically turned back on like some one hit the switch out by the bridge. I left on the 5.4 but should have re-rigged back to the 4.7. Instead, I was overpowered for about an hour and a half. Not so much so that I really had to come back in and definately re-rig. There was a great big swell just near the South Tower and it was rolling from south to north. Very fun, but it was right smack in the most powerful section of the wind.

Next thing I know, I was hit smack in the face by a bird. Now, I have been a windsurfer since 1983 and I have never been hit by a bird. It hurts. I think it was a cormorant. No harm, no foul, and I kept on sailing. I was just glad I didn't hurt the bird, but if you have been ever smacked in the nose by the wing of a very large bird, you know that they could do some damage.

There was a bad news/good news scenareo on Saturday. Good friend Rick was run over by a 65 foot Sunseeker - the captain must have been drunk. Suffice it to say, the boat is much larger than a windsurfer and his/her board. Rick say the thing angling for him and pitched the gear, dove down. Dove down deep as he could and he could still feel the propwash. His gear was bushed by the bow wake and only scuffed in a minor way. Rick was untouched but the drunk scared the shit out of him. He filed a police report and the Coast Guard was after this guy like white on rice - they never did find the boat as, no doubt, the drunk high tailed it to wherever port was. Gear can be replaced. Friends cannot. We were very lucky Saturday, very lucky.


All in all, this has been a stellar weekend. Carpe Diem Friends.

Tough Job

If you think you have a challenging job, try being on the front in Iraq. The big kitty litter box doesn't sound like any place I'd like to be.

Slice:

In February, the U.S.-led war in Iraq brought them together, putting them in the same dust-caked humvee for one of the riskiest missions American troops face: highway patrol 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Every day at 2 p.m., McNaulty, 21, steers his humvee out of the base, with Scott, 28, in the passenger seat. For eight hot hours, they drive together back and forth along the 18-mile stretch of road, scanning it for roadside bombs or cars that look as if suicide bombers might be driving them.

Through the bulletproof glass of their humvee, McNaulty and Scott watch the same landscape: fishing boats that once plied the Tigris River rusting by the side of the road, warehouses destroyed in U.S. air raids in 2003, the snail-shell spiral of Samarra's 1,200-year-old al Malwiya minaret on the horizon, farmers selling watermelons at a rest stop that says, in misspelled English, "Welcom."

They eat the same bland Army meals, they shower in the same container, and the omnipresent desert dust saturates everything they wear and own. Both have mothers who disapprove of their military service and of the war in Iraq.

Treatment No. 3

Our friends who are fighting breast cancer had their third (of four) round of chemo this week. We were supposed to bring them dinner two nights before, but becuase their daughter had her third birthday over the Memorial Day holiday there were a plethora of relatives in town. So, they asked us to push our support to a time when they were not expecting an out pouring of help. Of course, we obliged.

We did have a fun play date with their daughter over the holiday weekend and it was fun for everyone. The husband sent me an email of thanks and upon consideration of some ideas I suggested, he and his spouse took a night off from all parenting and went to see a movie, had dinner and stayed out for a late evening watching the waves. With his Mom in town, they had a perfect babysitter. I was saying they should do an overnight without kids before their new one arrives in three months because, as all new parents know, it takes a while to work out the routine when a newborn is in the house.

Anyway, there is a really interesting article for those interesting in reading about first hand accounts of those surviving breast cancer in today's local rag. It's long, so set asside some time if you are intersted to read.

Carpe Diem all - I say this also, because as I was warming down from the AM run I bumped into our neighbor and she said her Significant Other's father suffered another stroke and passed away yesterday. Luckily the SO was already visiting the faimily and was in Puerto Rico when it happend. Life is short, and in the end, we are all food for worms.

Tell Me Again Why We Need Greek Letter Organizations

The trial is underway in the hazing incident at Chico that left one kid dead. I still can't quite figure out why we need these groups on a college campus. Anyone explain it to me?

Slice:

The Chico State University student who survived the bizarre hazing ritual that killed his friend testified Friday that during the final days of rushing Chi Tau, their would-be fraternity brothers controlled what they ate (such as raw onions and garlic), whom they spoke to (no women), what clothes they wore (matching pledge uniforms) and even what they looked at (only other fraternity members' shoes).

"They ordered us to work out, what clothes to wear, where to look, where not to look. ... (They) made us roll around in beer on the floor, and do many, many, many push-ups," Quintana testified. "Pretty much activities that you were never meant to accomplish, but to fail."

At one point the two pledges were forced to do push-ups in raw sewage when the pipes in the fraternity house backed up, Quintana said. Chi Tau members doused them with water as they were forced to lie on their backs, feet in the air, and sing a song called "I'm a Little Cockroach," he recalled.

The two also were forced to eat what fraternity members called a "pledge apple" (a raw onion) and "pledge candy" (raw garlic cloves), Quintana testified.

On the night they were allegedly forced to drink water from five-gallon jugs, the two pledges asked permission to urinate on themselves; when that happened, Quintana said, "we would have to say, 'Sir is peeing.'

End Slice:

How nice.

Hey, It's Their Money, But...

Looks like the spoils continue to go to those who need them the least. Why is it that places like Harvard continue to attract cash donations of this calibre over other institutions that serve a broader propulation (e.g. San Francisco State University, Portland State...the list is about 2000 schools long, this from close to 4000 schools classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching)?

Harvard has an endowment where, on just the interest, they could fully support the first year class and not charge them a dime . They need 115 million like you need 20 bucks.

Slice:
Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison is on the verge of giving Harvard University as much as $115 million, one of the biggest gifts in the Ivy League college's history, according to a published report and people familiar with the negotiations.

Ellison told The Chronicle last month that he was planning to make a "big announcement with Harvard" to create a database and journal to track improvements in world health.
End Slice:

Oh, I get it...Let's see. Ellison is in the Database business in a big way...so, he wants to support something that furthers his business...and sell it to all the types who might use his products once they graduate. Sounds like a solid business move. Maybe I should pick up some shares in ORCL sooner rather than later.

Kicking It

Well, if we can admit that a GI kicked the Koran, why can't we own up to the flushing?

It still doesn't matter. Kicking a book does not hurt the ideas therein. Sure, it's disrespectful, but Christians have been disrespecting other people's faiths for a long time. Not new news.

Sad thing about the whole charade is that the damage is already done. The USA reputation in non-christian societies has to be at an all time low, and it was already in the basement to begin with.

Slice:

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on Friday released new details about mishandling of the Quran at the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects, confirming that a soldier deliberately kicked the Muslim holy book and that an interrogator stepped on a Quran and was later fired for "a pattern of unacceptable behavior."

In other confirmed incidents, a guard's urine came through an air vent and splashed on a detainee and his Quran; water balloons thrown by prison guards caused an unspecified number of Qurans to get wet; and in a confirmed but ambiguous case, a two-word obscenity was written in English on the inside cover of a Quran.

Washington Interns Gone Bad

Found this little trailer surfing BE, via Jason Buckley. If you don't like Washington Interns Gone Bad, at least check out the graphic on Buckley's blog - a nice adaptation of an Iron Maiden work. No doubt, Jason is a bit twisted, but very, very fun.

Episode III - Duped at the Snack Stand

I confess. Having made a promise to go see Lucas' final installment with friends, I couldn't wait and went last night after receiving a hall pass from the spouse.

It was good, but the bar was set so low in the prior two flicks, surpassing the efforts wasn't all that hard. The story did sew up some holes in the plot for the original three. Unfortunately, the whole effort was hampered by mediocre performances turned in by some mediocre and decent actors, who actually may have given what the script provided. Indeed, I do think that Hayden Christiansen's performance was only one notch above anything done by Keanu Reeves.

The other bit that troubled me was the cinematography. I didn't really enjoy the camera angles and the fuzzy focus that left the main characters out of shape and the sets in pristine order in a number of different scenes. What were the editors and Lucas thinking? They could have taken a lesson or two from the Peter Jackson playbook and gotten it a little better. When you are dealing with digital imaging, you have an infinite number of camera angles to select from. The choices they made to put this film together as well as the fades in and out were distracting and didn't amplify the story.

In the end, I did enjoy the movie. I will now have to go back and watch Episode IV again and see if it was as good as I remember. Of course, back then my eyes were less jaded.

By the way, another confession. I got duped at the snack stand. The local cineplex has started listing the large sized items on the left rather than going, as custom, from small to large - left to right. So, when I ordered the value sized popcorn and drink, I got some inhuman sized items that were neither necessary nor a value. Who sets these prices, anyway? Must be the Sith.

Well, I did my part to put up the new Letterman Digital Arts Complex. At least they still have a pet cemetery nearby where they can bury their flops.

Taking the Nation on a Hair Raising Journey

Here are a few quotes from an interesting Op Ed piece by Bob Herbert in the NYTimes today he titled "Truth and Deceit":

Slice 1 - Now, with George W. Bush in charge, the nation is mired in yet another tragic period marked by incompetence, duplicity, bad faith and outright lies coming once again from the very top of the government.

Now, Bob is unable to provide evidence by means of linking to various sources, but let me raise just three questions here:

• A) Was it your understanding that the primary reason we bullied our way into Iraq was due to the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)?
  
• B) Did we find any WMD?
• C) What is troubling about our answers to the prior two questions?

Slice 2 - That's the kind of deceit that was in play as American men and women were suiting up and marching off to combat at the president's command. Mr. Bush wanted war, and he got it. Many thousands have died as a result.

Just how many people have lost their lives in Iraq is discernibly large, even if underestimated by conservative sources. Two questions here:

1. When does the number of deaths in Iraq become unacceptable?
2. How do self proclaimed "culture-of-lifers" such as those in the W, Rove and Co. live with themselves in light of the number of those killed at their behest?

Slice 3 - There you have it in a nutshell. Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, drunk with power and insufficiently restrained, took the nation on hair-raising journeys that were as unnecessary as they were destructive. Now, in the first years of the 21st century, George W. Bush is doing the same.

One question here:

• How do we get off this hair-raising ride without exiting the country or taking one's own life?

Coming Up On One Year of Blogging

Looks like I have been at this blogging thing for a while. My anniversary is 10 June 2004. A lot has happened betwixt then and now.

Dusting off my first post, I wonder what I have accomplished and whether it is worth continuing. What do you think? Shall I continue?

Here's my first post from 2004 titled "Secrets":

The secret to education is
That there are none
And knowledge is best amplified
When shared
Proprietary wisdom
Is neither
And alone
We don’t improve

For UK Eyes Only

Got this pdf link via the Big Brass Blog. Haven't had a look at the Downing Street Memo? Do, if you dare.

Here's an interesting collection of Vets who are a bit pissed about fellow soldiers being misled into death...oops, i mean battle...oops, I mean terrorist defoliation...oops, I meant armed oil pipeline building support...oops, no I meant liberation exercises...what was/is it we are doing Over There?

More on the Pledge

Trawling around (notice, this is not the same as trolling) blog explosion, I found this interesting poetic version of the Pledge posted on Fire Angel. I thought those who had clicked through and were interested in my recent posts on the pledge also might like a look at this interpretation:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag"--
They dragged him naked
Through the muddy streets,
A feeble-minded black boy!
And the charge? Supposed assault
Upon an aged woman!
"Of the United States of America"--
One mile they dragged him
Like a sack of meal,
A rope around his neck,
A bloody ear
Left dangling by the patriotic hand
Of Nordic youth! (A boy of seventeen!)
"And to the Republic for which it stands"--
And then they hanged his body to a tree,
Below the window of the county judge
Whose pleadings for that battered human flesh
Were stifled by the brutish, raucous howls
Of men, and boys, and women with their babes,
Brought out to see the bloody spectacle
Of murder in the style of '33!
(Three thousand strong, they were!)< "One Nation, Indivisible"--
To make the tale complete
They built a fire--
What matters that the stuff they burned
Was flesh--and bone--and hair--
And reeking gasoline!
"With Liberty--and Justice"--
They cut the rope in bits
And passed them out,
For souvenirs, among the men and boys!
The teeth no doubt, on golden chains
Will hang
About the favored necks of sweethearts, wives,
And daughters, mothers, sisters, babies, too!
"For ALL!"

Written by Esther Popel (1896-1958)

Memorial Day the Way W, Rove and Co Don't Want You to Remember It

Found this on Jesus' General. Some pics for those of you who went to a cookout instead.

Deep Throat: Hero?

I've already seen a number of conservative bloggers painting Mark Felt as an anti-hero. What would life had been like if he hadn't stepped up to expose the fraud perpetrated by Nixon and co? Well, we wouldn't be using the suffix -gate randomly to indicate some scandal, and that would be nice. Outside of that, it is impossible to know. History cannot be erased, no matter how hard the propagandist works to reframe the story and its players.

Fortunately, if you have the time and energy, you can read/listen to all of the Watergate tapes and judge for yourself. We know the outcome, but it is still outrageous what these folks tried to get away with. Pay particular attention to the tape from 23 June 1973 labeled "smoking gun."

History will judge Mark Felt, but I would suggest that his ethical breach of leaking material to the Washington Post pales in comparison to the fraud perpetrated by the crooks in office at the time. They aught hang a medal of honor and bravery on the man before he dies. Thank goodness he had the chutzpah to step up and call out the emperor with no clothes.

Perhaps we need more men like Felt. No doubt, there is someone waiting in the wings with the ammunition to take out the W, Rove and Co. with one fell swoop of a leak. This is why they are so nervous and are quick to shut down and shut up contrarians.

People who tell the truth regularly never need worry about what they have said or will say. Those who do not, eventually find themselves tangled in their own noose. Give them enough slack and they will hang themselves.

Meanwhile, Crisis Looms

Is this part of the fear mongering going on out of Washington, or should we be concerned?

Slice:

The situation is pretty simple. The private sector is saving next to nothing. The federal government continues to borrow substantial amounts. As a result, national saving — the combined thriftiness of government, businesses and households — is at its lowest level since the Depression, and the nation is borrowing massive and growing amounts from abroad. All of this is coming at the worst possible time, as the nation prepares for the tremendous pressure on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security created by the imminent retirement of the baby boomers and rising healthcare spending.

A family that saved nothing, borrowed a lot and lived well beyond its means just as it was nearing retirement would raise obvious red flags. The problems are no different — only bigger — at the national level. Low saving reduces our future national income. Borrowing from abroad is a deceptive palliative. Because our foreign creditors have to be paid back, foreign borrowing mortgages whatever future income the country generates.

The Bush administration and its apologists have responded to this situation with a mixture of denial and obfuscation.

End slice:

Denial and obfuscation, something the W, Rove and Co. has perfected in near 6 years in office. They are good at it to a superlative degree, and perhaps, that should be why we should all be very, very afraid.