When will it end?

1461 Days.

Roughly

35064 hours
2103840 minutes
126230400 seconds

since the war began.

When will it end?

Days of Protests

Happy Birthday Dad

Dad finally made it home on Wednesday, March 7. The IV pump should be finished today and he goes back for more testing to make sure the staph is gone.

Fingers crossed.

The catheter remains in place and there is still an alarming amount of blood in his urine - mostly due to the blood thinners he's on. He's back to the urologist tomorrow.

Gretchen's ankle is finally coming back together but she's got another month in the hard cast and then a couple of weeks in a soft cast or brace before physical therapy starts.

I'm tired. I've been listening to a lot of Leonard Cohen in the car over the past couple of weeks. Serendipiously, Elsa has been talking about him recently. Gretchen thinks he's depressing, but then she likes listening to Country and Western, so what does she know? :) Anyway, I've found his stuff oddly soothing for the past couple of weeks.

Unusual Sunday Blogging

Dad may, or may not, be released from prison on Monday. The idiots at Norwalk hospital haven't decided yet. He's responding well to the meds but he's still going to need two to four weeks of IV antibiotics to combat the staph infection. He's opted to go home and not a rehab or nursing facility. I'm not thrilled but it's his (and Mom's) decision to make. There's still no decision on when he'll be able to have the other artery "scraped". The longer they wait the worse the plaque build up, but he's in no condition to have operation for at least a month. Thank you Norwalk Hospital.

The plate my sister had surgically implanted in her ankle, to draw the fibula (tibia? whatever bone opposite the ankle) to the ankle and to secure the tendon was less than successful. The ankle is still disconnected. The doctor is "hoping" that over the next week the plate and screws will do their work and bring the ankle back into place. If not, they have to re-operate.

I've come to the conclusion that the entire medical profession in the United States is comprised of fuckwits. Brainless, heartless, fuckwits.

Mom and I are moving my sister down to Westport today. Centralizing the walking, and non-walking, wounded is essential. We just can't keep up with both of them being in two places 20 miles apart.

~ ~ ~

Clouds marred my viewing of the eclipse last night. I hope you had a better view.

Life's but a walking shadow

Staphylococcus

That's what Dad has picked up during his stay at Norwalk Hospital. I found out last night when I went to see him.

I hate these people. I want to carpet bomb the whole goddamn facility. I want to ship these bastards off to Gitmo. After I torture them.

The array of tests he was in the hospital for show that there is a 70 percent blockage of his left carotid artery and he was supposed to go back to Yale for a consultation today and surgery next week. Only now he can't because he's stuck in Norwalk for another week and then two to four weeks of recovery either in a nursing home (he's 68 on March 12) or at home because he'll need antibiotics delivered via IV for that long. This staph infection is in his left arm and has entered his blood stream. They're relatively certain it hasn't entered his heart.

Eight years ago on the 27th of this month I lost my Mother. It was a blessing for her, when she died. She suffered so long. I'm not ready for this, the reality of he might not survive all that's going on in his body.

I'm just not ready for this but I don't have any choice. I just have to suck it up and deal.

She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Praise Yeshua, it's a Boy!

Did these stone chests contain the body of Christ and his wife?

Archaeologists have reportedly deciphered the names on the tombs, including Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) son of Joseph, Mary, Mary and Judah, son of Yeshua. In New York yesterday, Cameron unveiled two of the coffins he claims belonged to Jesus and Mary Magdalene. "I think this is the biggest archaeological story of the century," he said.

Lawdamighty, the shit is gonna hit the fan. Airing on the Discovery channel on Sunday, March 4.

~ ~ ~

As of last night Dad was still in Norwalk hospital. There is a 70 percent blockage of the left carotid artery - he had the right side "cleaned" in mid-January. The doctors were going to run another MRI today.

May you live in interesting times.

It's been an interesting week.

Wedneday I went to the funeral of my niece's Aunt Denise. She was 37. Coming home from work last Thursday she slipped on the ice, knocked herself unconscious and died, in her driveway, of hypothermia. Her Mother found her at 6:45 am Friday.

Last Friday, February 16, 2007, my sister calls to say she's broken her ankle by falling on the ice. I spend the rest of the day in the ER with her. The hospital declares she needs surgery, but take her home until Monday 'cause they're not doing surgery at 5:30 pm on a Friday night. This was just the beginning of several WTF coversations I've had all week.

I get the crippled one back to her house, up two flights of stairs, and one of my brother calls. Seems my Dad, who had the plaque scraped out of his arteries in January, had gone numb down the right side of his body. After a six hour car ride to Maine I suggested he not take. Should we take him to the ER? my brother wants to know.

No, no... just let him lie there on the floor until dead, mkay?

Several bizarre and mind-blowing conversations with doctors in Maine, doctors in Connecticut, it's decided that another brother would drive our parents back to Connecticut on Sunday. Both Dad and my sister had doctor's appointments on Monday. Which ended up happening on Thursday instead, because gawdfuckingforbid a doctor bother his/her uselessfuckingarse to tend to a patient. I spent Thursday with Dad at Yale while Mom spent the day with my sister who was having pins and plates put into her ankle.

According to the medical geniuses at Yale, after doing several different scans of both the brain and body, Dad's fine. No problem. He can go home. Most likely a pinched nerve from the driving, that's the ticket. Really, they assure me, he's fine.

So, today, he's in Norwalk Hospital. Numbness down the right side, feels like his head is unattached from his body. Not that he's a having a stroke, they tell me. But they're keeping him for the weekend for observation. Just in case.

Happy New Year

Or not.

Fortune: Year of Pig will bring disaster:

Pig years can be turbulent because they are dominated by fire and water, conflicting elements that tend to cause havoc, Lo said.

"Fire sitting on water is a symbol of conflict and skirmish," he said. "We'll also see more fire disasters and bombings."

He noted that the Russian AK-47 rifle, a weapon of choice among insurgents around the world, was invented during a pig year.

"So it will not be surprising to see more gunbattles, murder with guns and bombing attacks in 2007," he said.

~ ~ ~

Hardaway dumped from NBA events for anti-gay tirade:

"I want to apologize for my comments yesterday regarding gays," Hardaway's statement said. "My comments were offensive and I regret making them. I'm sorry to anyone I have offended."

Oh bullshit Hardaway. You're not the least bit sorry. You're just pissed it's cost you something. You said:

"I hate gay people," Hardaway said. "I let it be known I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States sports."

If someone said "I hate black people", or "I hate white people", "I hate..." whatever, you'd be all over that, wouldn't you? You'd be right, too. There's no difference, Mister. They're as human as you are, they are as entitled to the same respect and honor as you are. Or were, before you opened your stupid mouth.

"You know I don't think he should be in the locker room while we're in the locker room. I wouldn't even be a part of that. There's a lot of other people I hear who are like that and still in the closet. I don't like that."

Yeah, thanks to idiots like you, there are a lot of people still in the closet. Their lives are filled with pain and anquish thanks to morons like you. Mr. Amaechi answered your... filth... better than I can. Go read it.

Jackass.

~ ~ ~

On to more pleasant things ~

Greek archaeologists discover theater:

Fifteen rows of concentric stone seats have been located so far in the northwestern suburb of Menidi, according to Vivi Vassilopoulou, Greece's general director of antiquities.

"Another section appears to lie under a nearby road," she told The Associated Press.

"(The remains) were discovered during excavation work, supervised by archaeologists, for a new building," Vassilopoulou said. "But it is still very early to offer any conclusions."

The structure has not yet been dated, and further details are expected to emerge following a full excavation.

Menidi is thought to be built over the ancient village of Acharnae, the largest of a string of rural settlements outside ancient Athens. Ancient writers mention a theater at Acharnae, but no traces of it had been found until now.

The village was linked with Dionysos, the ancient god of theater and wine, as the Athenians believed that ivy — his sacred plant — first grew there.

Built in semicircular tiers on hillsides, ancient theaters were monumental, open-air structures that could seat thousands of spectators.

Theater first emerged as an art form in late 6th century B.C. Athens, where ancient playwrights competed for a prize during the annual festival of Dionysos — in whose cult the art originated.

The works of Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes were performed in the theater of Dionysos under the Acropolis.

Originally a terrace where spectators sat on the bare earth above a circular stage, it was rebuilt in stone during the 4th century B.C. and could sit up to 14,000 people.

Seriously cool!

One Less Axis of Evil State?

North Korea to Close Reactor in Exchange for Raft of Aid

The NYT headline lacks gravitas, in my opinion. Gave me a mental image of rafts of food and fuel be floated over to North Korea.

Anyway...

The partner nations agreed to provide roughly $400 million in various kinds of aid in return for the North starting a permanent disabling of its nuclear facilities and allowing inspectors into the country.

Perhaps equally important, the United States and Japan agreed to discuss normalizing relations with Pyongyang. The United States will begin the process of removing North Korea from its designation as a terror-sponsoring state and also on ending U.S. trade and financial sanctions.

Among the negotiators, Japan did not agree to the aid package, however, saying it first needs to work out further bilateral issues regarding abductions by the North.

The accord sets a 60-day deadline for North Korea to accomplish the first steps toward disarmament, and leaves until an undefined moment — and to another negotiation — the actual removal of North Korea's nuclear weapons and the fuel manufactured to produce them.

Under the agreement, the first part of the aid -- 50,000 tons of fuel oil, or an equivalent value of economic or humanitarian aid -- would be provided by South Korea, Russia, China and the United States; in the case of the United States, that would require congressional approval, which is likely to be difficult to get.

For disabling the reactor and declaring all nuclear programs, the North will eventually receive another 950,000 tons in aid. Further negotiations are to begin on March 19 in Beijing.

I've got my fingers crossed. I hope it works.

But North Korea has sidestepped previous agreements, and is thought to have many mountainside tunnels where it can hide projects.

It's the first time I'll give props to the Bush Administration. Negotiation over annihilation is a good thing boys. Now work on fixing the nightmare you've created in Iraq.

~ ~ ~

We're waiting for the storm currently blanketing the mid-West to arrive on the East Coast. Some fool weather-person will give the storm a name no doubt. Maybe if the National Weather Center didn't issue its warning in all caps people wouldn't get all worked up:

/O.NEW.KOKX.WS.W.0001.070213T2300Z- 070215T0300Z/ NORTHERN FAIRFIELD- 503 AM EST TUE FEB 13 2007

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 PM EST WEDNESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 PM EST WEDNESDAY.

LIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON...BECOMING STEADIER AND HEAVIER TONIGHT. AS WARMER AIR MOVES INTO THE REGION WEDNESDAY...THE SNOW WILL LIKELY MIX WITH SLEET DURING THE DAY...POSSIBLY CHANGING ENTIRELY TO SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME. AS THE STORM MOVES TO THE NORTHEAST LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND COLDER AIR FLOWS BACK INTO THE AREA...THE PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE BACK TO ALL SNOW BEFORE TAPERING OFF AND ENDING WEDNESDAY NIGHT. TOTAL SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS BY THE TIME THE PRECIPITATION ENDS COULD RANGE FROM 8 TO 14 INCHES...WITH ABOUT A TENTH OF AN INCH OF ICE ACCRETION POSSIBLE DURING PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN.

THERE CONTINUES TO BE SOME UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE EXACT TRACK OF THE LOW... WHICH WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON PRECIPITATION TYPE AND SNOW AMOUNTS.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW... SLEET... AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

Looks really bad, doesn't it? I have to admit ice is not my idea of a good time but snow really isn't an issue. The YaYa's Valentine's dinner maybe in jeopardy, however. We'll just have to wait and see.

~ ~ ~

Because deep inside of me lurks a seven year old boy.

12 Feet

The snow just won't stop. Intense lake-effect snow squalls that buried communities along eastern Lake Ontario for nine straight days diminished Sunday — then started up again early Monday.

According to the AP, nine days of snow squalls have dumped 12 feet of snow onto Redfield, New York.

12 Feet.

Look up. Most of us work and live in places with 12 foot ceilings.

That's a lot of freakin' snow.

"It's snow. We get a lot of it. So what?" said Allan Babcock, a lifelong resident who owns Shar's Country Diner, a popular eatery in this village of 650 people.

Hee! Love the attitude.

Really glad I don't live there! My parents and I lived in Gloversville, New York, between 1972 and 1975. I swear to the baby Jebus it started snowing in September and ended in May. It's a beautiful part of the world - especially if you love snow.

~ ~ ~

It's the 198th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. It will be celebrated next Monday together with George Washington's birth in proper Merkin fashion - spending spree!

sigh

Other Lincoln sites include:

The White House - Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln Research Site

The History Place presents Abraham Lincoln

Happy Friday!

Hammies!

New York Hamster House

That site is too cute for words. They are, however, doing a huge service, so give'em some love (ahem... money) if you can.

Thankfully it doesn't happen often.

Sleepless night last night. My stomach was still a bit riled by the flu, even though I stuck with plain rice for the second day in a row. As I lay tossing and turning Scrooge's encounter with Marley leapt to mind at one point:

"Why do you doubt your senses?"

"Because," said Scrooge, "a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!"

Instead of Ghosts showing up at appointed hours, I just rolled back and forth watching the clock ~

9:43

10:18

11:02

12:25

At some point I fell asleep and had one of those I have to get there dreams. Dreams tend to fall into two categories for me - impending death and fear of being late or missing an appointment. Last night I had to be someplace and the cat, Pewter, was doing something to make me late. I was in a frantic need to get him back... someplace. Then I'm in a motel room with a parking lot outside the door and I'm talking to someone I have to get him back before I can leave!, completely panic stricken. After crawling under cars and fretting because I was ruining my suit I finally got him and put him into the cat carrier.

Then I woke up. 3:11 am. Drenched in sweat and I felt like my heart was going to explode right out of my chest.

I'm don't know what triggered this dream. It's always when I'm under a great deal of stress that the panic or death dreams show up. My body's been under stress with the damn flu, but I'm not, so I'm at a loss to explain last night.

I didn't bother going trying to get back to sleep. I got up and stripped the bed and started doing laundry (ain't you glad you ain't my neighbor?) and then took a shower. It was now nearly 4 am and I'm casting about for something to do. I thought about going into the office and might have if it wasn't 10 degrees outside. Didn't feel like playing Xbox or computer games so I flipped on the television. 4 am. Infomercial Heaven.

I want whatever drugs these people are on. Have you ever watched these infomercials? These people have got to be high or insane because no sane, sober, person can be this happy. They're freaky and hypnotic, but by 6 am I had had enough and made my self some toast, boiled yet more rice (in chicken broth!) to take to work and left by 7 am.

My head will crash on the desk sometime around 1 pm today.

A HIGH of 24F

It's slightly warmer today and I'm feeling human again. If you end up with the stomach flu, you have my sympathies.

At the beginning of the year I sorted through boxes I hadn't unpacked since I moved in April of 2005. I figure, if you haven't looked at something in nearly two years it's time for the trash.

Very little has been trashed, however. I'm turning into a pack-rat.

One of the things I came across was my violin. I haven't played it since 2003. Raven, amazingly, remembers the violin. As soon as he saw the case last month he took off. Yeah, I'm that bad. I scare cats. I propped the case up next to my bed and he gives it a wide berth. The other two cats came into my life after I stopped playing so they haven't been traumatized. Yet. Yeah... I'm thinking of playing again. Just to screw with the cats, you see, not because I actually enjoy it. I haven't found the sheet music. It should have been in the same box as the violin. I'll have to buy some new music, or find some online.

Stop the World, I want to get off

It's Monday

And I'm in a really grumpy mood.

It's fuckin' freezing outside. I should have stayed home. I haven't been able to get warm all weekend. Probably because I spent most of it on the floor of the bathroom, heaving my guts out.

Flu, not hangover. Spent a large part of Saturday of hurling stuff out of orifi I didn't know I had.

You know why I don't believe in God? Because when you're so desperate to be relived of your suffering you actually start begging the Almighty you don't believe in to deliver you from the Hell you have found yourself in, and there is no response. Silence. Sweet Jesu, demonic laughter would be more reassuring. But no. Just more hurling and gagging and pondering who in your circle of family and friends are going to laugh when the Emergency Services report you were found dead on the bathroom floor covered in your own... offal. Then the mind starts to wander, to pondering how long you will be dead before anyone even notices. And... will the cats get so hungry they'll eat you and DNA tests will have to be done to determine that it really was you who died on that floor, next to the toilet, covered in puke and all?

Is orifi a word?

I managed to crawl to the couch late yesterday afternoon, dragging my comforter and a pillow behind me. I was quite the lovely sight. Can't imagine why there aren't hoards of men beating down my door, demanding to date me. Rats-nest of curly hair in a ponytail on top of my head - think Pebbles Flintstone, just way less cute. Pasty-faced, racoon-eyed. A tee-shirt with a sweatshirt over that. Flannel drawstring jammie bottoms which once belonged to some guy I dated who's name completely escapes me. Mis-matched tube socks; one blue, one white.

I curled into the fetal position on the couch trying to conserve heat and hit the remote. History channel was too much of a strain for my ick-infested brain. Bravo. Real Housewives of Orange County. If you haven't seen this train wreck, go watch it. Had I not been on Death's Doorstep I probably would have laughing my ass off at these stupid, pathetic women. Between the boob jobs and botox they have more toxic chemicals in them than Love Canal did. More money than brains and sadly they've all spawned beings just like themselves. One of these children has the potential of becoming a serial killer.

I drifted in and out of sleep during Criminal Intent and eventually crab-walked my way back into the bedroom. Three comforters and a flannel blanket and the heat up to 72 degrees and I was still cold! I even let the cats sleep with me for the extra heat they provided.

No, I lie. I just didn't have the strength to move them. They crashed on my body all weekend. Evil furbags. They knew I couldn't eject them and so they stuck to me like glue. At one point, kneeling on the floor next the toilet early Saturday morning, it dawned on me one of the cats was lying across my feet. Had I any strength I would have flushed that offending cat down the toilet!

Probably not. But I thought about it.

I woke up this morning feeling better. Tired, but better. Seriously considered fucking off work and then got in the shower anyway.

Yes, I am insane.

I may not last the entire day. Then again, I might. It's nice and warm in here and I don't want to go back outside. The Sun, it lies. It looks warm out there but it's really, really, really cold.

Happy Groundhog's Day

Did the rodent see his shadow? We've got flurries today, so I'm guessing our resident CT groundhog, whose name I never remember, isn't seeing his shadow and we've got six more weeks of winter on tap.

Surprised? No, me neither.

But that's not what I'm on about today. Today is about Valentine's Day.




I hate, loathe, despise Valentine's Day. Stupid, stupid day. People getting all worked up over not having someone. Or they get overly pseudohappy about the one they are with. Or being hyper over getting the "right" thing for/or from their "significant other" or spouse or whatever.

Gack!

Bah! Humbug!

I hate the colors red and pink. Stupid colors. I like greens and blues. Soft, soothing, mellow, comfy. Red is so harsh and bold and pink is just... well, icky. Reminds me of Pepto Bismol, which I need in massive quantities just to get through this phony romance season.




Stupid, stupid day. I Hate Valentine's Day.

Want to say I Love You? Then just fuckin' say it and spare me the fake schmaltz and fugly cards, okay?




Anyway...

The Ya Ya's are going out on Valentine's Day. I said I'll only go if I get to throw things, sharp and pointy things, at the Valentiners. The Ya Ya's think I have the wrong attitude about Valentine's Day -- I think it's the rest of the world with the wrong attitude, but, whatever. So, we're going to The Fat Cat Pie Company in SoNo. Google it. It looks like a fun place. I'll be the one throwing things at the snogging patrons.

I Hate Valentine's Day. I once had a guy tell me I was as romantic as athlete's foot. That's the nicest thing a guy's ever said to me.

No, not really. But I still like it.

Rest in Peace

Molly Ivins has passed away. She died from breast cancer at the age of 62.

"We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell."

Too freakin' cute

Science Tuesday

Why do scientists ruin their important discoveries with stupid names?

That's a rhetorical question.

Hobbit Declared a New Species as Debate Continues.

The Hobbit. [insert eyeroll here]

Ever since the 18,000-year-old remains of the three-foot-tall adult female hominid were unearthed in 2003 on the remote Indonesian island of Flores, scientists have argued whether the specimen was a human with an abnormally small head or represents a new species in the human family tree. The diminutive creature had a brain approximately one-third the size of modern adult humans.

Some scientists named the specimen Homo floresiensis, a dwarfed offshoot of Homo erectus, a human ancestor that lived as far back as 1.8 million years ago.

I understand that scientists want to connect the general public to their discoveries or topics of interest... but the Hobbit?

My eyes hurt.

Anyway, more information is at Livescience.com.

~ ~ ~

Bad news: Hubble's primary camera shuts down.

Damn.

While other scientific work can still be done by the aging observatory, the unit that failed, the Advanced Camera for Surveys, is the one most scientists depend upon. NASA scientists say they expect to be able to restore just one-third of its observation ability, probably by mid-February.

"We're not optimistic at all" about returning it to full function, said Dave Leckrone, a senior scientist on the Hubble at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.

Nightmare scenario

But only if we leave - no indication that he's screwed up and that it's time, not for more troops, but to get out and let the Arab nations and the United Nations take over. By the way, did you notice he's now saying we were maneuvered into a war we hadn't planned on? Gawd freakin' forbid he take responsibility for his own actions - always someone elses fault. He also stated that the Administration has a "diplomatic strategy" that is rallying the rest of the world to join us in the fight against terrorism (extremists). What freakin' planet is this jackass living on? Bush, they're running away from you, not towards. Except, of course, for your pet Poodle Blair and even he isn't snuggling up to you like he used to.

According to the Associated Press:

"CBS News poll conducted by Knowledge Networks immediately after the speech found that 82 percent of viewers generally approved of the president's proposals while 18 percent disapproved. However, 68 percent of viewers said Mr. Bush will not be able to accomplish his goals, while 32 percent think he will." The AP goes on to say that according to the poll, Bush "rallied some support for his Iraq plan among those who watched the speech." Before the State of the Union, "43 percent of them backed the plan, while 52 percent of them supported it after the speech."

I guess I'm in the 18 percent bracket.

Bush's speech highlighted, again, his lack of discernment and understanding of the terrorists and countries who don't agree with him. He sees the world as black and white, for or against, and it's just not that simple. His government is comprised of people who are either just like him or blindly follow his ignorant lead. While I don't support the radical Hezbollah tactics in Lebanon and elsewhere, the reality is that the Shia Hezbollah members of the Lebanese government were elected and should not be equated with al-Qaeda or the radical Hezbollah membership. His moronic statement: "second only to al-Qaeda in the American lives it has taken", referring to Hezbollah collectively, without differentiating between the factions within the Hezbollah organization itself, shows how little he knows or understands about the various factions in the Middle East. It's also a lie; Hezbollah was not repsonsible for the killing of Marines in Beirut in 1983 because they didn't come into being until 1984. Condi Rice is such a wonderful "historian" maybe she should explain this to the President. Use picture cards and small words Condi.

Anyway, back to the speech. I don't think, after six years of abuse, the Democrats are going to play ball with the President on either the domestic or foreign policies. The Democrats, hopefully, will just go their own way. Or even better, Ms. Pelosi, put impeachment on the table.


For more on the most recent outbreak of violence in Lebanon see:

Beirut burns as national strike explodes into sectarian violence

Lebanese viewpoints on strike

Warning of new Lebanon protests

Mideast press fears for Lebanon:

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and his supporters did what the Israelis failed to do with Lebanon. In fact, he even did more. He unmasked himself and revolted against his own country and countrymen. Nasrallah dragged - or almost dragged - Lebanon into a rebellion that could make it another version of Iraq.

~ ~ ~

Senator Webb's speech was, by far, better than the President's speech. Americablog has posted it, go read it. It was far more Presidental than Bush's speech, but I really hope he's not going to throw his hat into the already overcrowded 2008 ring.

Pron update

Since January 19 (or 19 January if you are from outside the US) there have been 221 visitors, but I'm not really sure how many of them are here for the pron. There have been new searches leading people to this blog, such as NYX BABY NAMES PRONUNCIATION and erotic stories panties bra thong sister law and www.heartbreakers.info (don't go there, not work safe... not safe anywhere).

Unknown is still #2 for the number of visitors who arrive here. Those of you from Unknown, please leave me a map of where Unknown is because it's really driving me crazy trying to figure out where you are. 17% of my visitors are from Unknown and I want to know where that it is. I can mentally picture the United Kingdom (4%), Germany (4%), Canada (4%), Norway (1%)... but Unknown has left me baffled. I pride myself on my Geographical prowess and not knowing where Unknown is, is a serious problem for me. Are you all from that region once listed on maps as hic sunt dracones? The Borgia Map has a location described as: Hic etiam homines magna cornua habentes longitudine quatuor pedum, et sunt etiam serpentes tante magnitudinis, ut unum bovem comedant integrum ~ is that you? If so, let me know, please. I'm also interested in communicating with dragons and if you have some I'd like to know.

Anyway... I can't give an accurate number for the pron searchers this week, but it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 190 still searching for variations of L l K and ending up here.

It's Eye Roll Day

Snow again last night, just a dusting, but schools were delayed. Why? Who knows.

~ ~ ~

And I thought the housing market in the Northeast was insane:

Tiny London apartment on sale for $335K.

But this is London and the 77-square-foot former storage room — slightly bigger than a prison cell and without electricity — is going for $335,000.

A coffin-sized shower is en suite, and storage is provided by a shallow closet and 10-inch-deep shelves cut into the wall. Two hot plates and a small sink make up the kitchen. Two dirty windows allow light to filter into the basement room, and the fire escape could conceivably double as a shared patio.

With no electricity or heating, Scott said it would cost an additional $59,000 to make the room habitable.

Makes Manhattan seem down-right cheap.

~ ~ ~

If you haven't heard new passport rules go into effect:

Americans flying to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean made sure to bring their passports Monday because of a new rule going into effect Tuesday that requires them to show one to get back into the country.

Starting January of next year we'll need passports to drive or cruise outside of the US.

Winter has finally arrived.

We're not having any snow but it's gotten quite frigid in these parts. It's a normal January day for a change.

So Senator Clinton is 'In'. Who the heck isn't in the race for 2008? Just me and my cats?

The Idiot in Chief is going to talk to the Nation tomorrow night. Do I watch? I might have to get a perscription for tranks first. It's already out there that he's planning a tax increase. He's really gotten into pissing off the Republicans, hasn't he?

The death toll in Iraq is out of control -- the deficit in the US is out of control -- his approval rating is in the low 30's. According to an article in the Washington Post, only 26 percent of Americans polled believe the country is headed in the right direction; 71 percent believe the country is seriously off track -- the worst ratings in more than a decade.

So, what's he going to talk about? He's spent two weeks trying to rally public opinion in favor of his troop increase in Iraq and that hasn't worked. Is he going to talk about how he's made the country safer since 9/11? 55 percent of Americans already believe that he has not made the country safer. His waving the bloody flag of 9/11 yet again isn't going to help that. So, what's left? He's going to ask Congress to renew the No Child Left Behind law... because that's been such an amazing success. He's also going to discuss balancing the budget in five years - that must be the comdedy relief section.

Bit 'o trivia - the only President less popular than Bush on the eve of the State of the Union address was Richard Nixon, eight months before he resigned.

First snow

We've had our first snow of the 2006/2007 season. Just a dusting and it'll be gone soon.

~ ~ ~

Rebuke in Iran to Its President on Nuclear Role

In the hazy world of Iranian politics, such a public rebuke was seen as a sign that the supreme leader — who has final say on all matters of state — might no longer support the president as the public face of defiance to the West.

It is the first sign that Mr. Ahmadinejad has lost any degree of Ayatollah Khamenei’s confidence, a potentially damaging development for a president who has rallied his nation and defined his administration by declaring nuclear power Iran’s “inalienable right.”

It was unclear, however, whether this was merely an effort to improve Iran’s public image by lowering Mr. Ahmadinejad’s profile or was signaling a change in policy.

Surprising. I'm wondering, as everyone is, why the Ayatollah would be pulling back on Ahmadinejad's strings. Western opposition and objections have never dictated policy in the past... so why now? Something else, other than the UN resolution and losing economic stability (nothing to be sneered at but it's not a huge issue yet), is going on. It'll be a while before anyone figures out what the other issues are, I'm sure.

~ ~ ~

"The administration's reservoir of historical analogies seems limited to the 1914-1991 period. And it's all about Europe," said Adam Garfinkle, a former Rice speechwriter who edits the foreign-policy journal The American Interest. "No one in a senior position in this administration seems to have even the vaguest notion of modern Middle Eastern history."

That's surprising? How Rice Uses History Lessons is an interesting article in the WSJ. It's only available for today, unless you are a subscriber.

She tends to portray events, particularly the clash between what she calls "moderation" and "extremism" in the Middle East, as driven by huge, almost inevitable forces that make diplomacy impractical, or even irrelevant. Critics say such a view has made Washington's top diplomat less flexible in policy making -- and less adept in old-style negotiation and hand-holding, whose results also can be hard to quantify in the short term.

Those who clamor for sitting down with Syria and Iran are out of touch with what Ms. Rice calls "the underlying forces."

"There's a tendency to think about diplomacy as something that is done untethered to the conditions underlying it or the balance underlying it," she said. "In fact, that's not the way that it works. You aren't going to be successful as a diplomat if you don't understand the strategic context in which you are actually negotiating. It is not deal-making."

What I've believed all along is that a she's unsuited to the job because Security and Diplomacy require opposing mindsets. Can one be good at National Security and Diplomacy? Perhaps, but it was take an extremely well-rounded, well-educated and naturally diplomatic person to accomplish that. I don't think Rice is any of those things - hence, her inability to deal with the nightmare she had an huge hand in creating.

~ ~ ~

I wonder if anyone is listening.

Fed Chief warns of crisis over elderly entitlements:

"If early and meaningful action is not taken, the U S economy could be seriously weakened, with future generations bearing much of the cost," Bernanke said yesterday at a Senate Budget Committee hearing.

I've never believed in the US governments ability to provide for me in my old age. I don't believe any government should provide for its citizens from cradle to grave. Social Security distributions, when I'm in my 60's, if they materialize, will be for added savings or nice "extras" like travel - it's not going to support me. Anyone in my age group needs to wake up to the realization that our Social Security deductions are funding our parents retirement - that money will not be there for us in 30 years. If you're over 30, you better be socking away 25% of your gross income each year to live on when you are 65. Otherwise, you're screwed. That 50 inch HDTV with all the bells in whistles won't provide you with a roof over your head or food on your table 30 years from now. Make do with fewer latte's and vacations so you can survive your senior years in comfort instead of worry. Do you really want to be robbing Peter to pay Paul when you are 65? 70? It sucks enough now as it is, doesn't it?

[/end lecture]

~ ~ ~

Forgot the pron update. Since January 15th there have been 237 visitors. Of that number 214 have arrived here searching for variations of L l K.

Maybe I should contact these women and sell them some ad space here?

Stories like this make me wish I lived somewhere else.

According to Snopes, this is a true story.

Man pays $200 for 3 snowballs for daughters:

Chris Hansen, a firefighter from Milford, Conn., said he bought the snow for his daughters, ages 12, 14, and 16.

Fools and their money are soon parted. Why couldn't that fool be from Rhode Island or Vermont?

~ ~ ~

I didn't watch The Decider on 60 Mintues last night. I don't need the aggrivation. AMERICAblog covers it quite well.

My favorite quote from the show:

“Well, I strongly disagree with that, of course,” Bush says. “So I strongly reject that this administration hasn’t been straight with the American people. The minute we found out they didn’t have weapons of mass destruction, I was the first to say so.”

What? WHAT? When the hell did that happen?

Never, is the answer. Infuckingcredible.

If The Decider got paid by the lie we could pay down the debt load he's left us.

Impeachment still off the table Ms. Pelosi?

~ ~ ~

Ever since I posted the January 9th blog entry I've had the most amazing upsurge in visitors. 385 in less than a week, when most weeks barely pass 30. There are three little words to explain what is going on here. I'm not telling you what they are (you can guess) because I really don't want Google to continue to spider me when it goes out to search for those three little words. If you search those three little words you will find me at number three on the Google list.

For the most part this is funny, but I gotta wonder about people. The visitors are from Greece, North Korea, Japan, India, Turkey, Iran, Canada, several locations in the UK, Pakistan, Sweden, France, Spain, Italy and my all-time favorite, Unknown, with a whopping 129 visitors, which beats number three, Canada, with only 35 visitors. 49 countries in all. I love that I have an international "audience", but not so much for the topic, you know? I don't care what ya'll do in the privacy of your own home, but being associated with pron (mis-spelled on purpose) isn't exactly something that fills me with the warm and gigglies. And yet... it's very funny too.

So, international blog lurkers, come for the pron, stay for the insanity, okay? Oh, and post once in awhile. Just don't complain about the lack of pron here.

Remove the wrapper from the turkey before cooking

The US-Iran-Iraq-Israeli-Syrian War:

At a not-for-quotation pre-speech briefing on Jan. 10, George W. Bush and his top national security aides unnerved network anchors and other senior news executives with suggestions that a major confrontation with Iran is looming.

Commenting about the briefing on MSNBC after Bush's nationwide address, NBC's Washington bureau chief Tim Russert said "there's a strong sense in the upper echelons of the White House that Iran is going to surface relatively quickly as a major issue - in the country and the world - in a very acute way."

Russert and NBC anchor Brian Williams depicted this White House emphasis on Iran as the biggest surprise from the briefing as Bush stepped into the meeting to speak passionately about why he is determined to prevail in the Middle East.

"The President's inference was this: that an entire region would blow up from the inside, the core being Iraq, from the inside out," Williams said, paraphrasing Bush.

I watched this on MSNBC Wednesday night. While the men were serious and little freaked out by the briefing, I doubt it's had much impact on them. When the conversation got to this point:

MSNBC's Chris Matthews then interjected, "And it could be the rationale for going into Iran at some point."

Russert paused for a few seconds before responding, "It's going to be very interesting to watch that issue and we have to cover it very, very carefully and very exhaustively."

I laugh out loud. It was not a happy laugh. The 4th Estate has done a seriously piss-poor job for the past six years. I have no faith, no hope, in that changing.

So, Bush's actions and rhetoric over the past several weeks continue to mesh with a scenario for a wider regional war - a possibility that now mainstream journalists, such as Tim Russert, are beginning to take seriously.

Don't count on it Mr. Parry.

See the Professor's take on the attack of the US Embassy in Athens. And expect this to happen with more frequency folks.

~ ~ ~

There is hope for this sorry-assed country afterall: Bush's approval rating hits new low.

Public approval of Congress has edged up a bit now that Democrats are back in control, but it's still nothing to write home about. Approval for the way Congress is handling its job rose to 32 percent in the latest AP-Ipsos poll, up from a meager 27 percent a month earlier. That puts Congress on par with President Bush, whose 32 percent approval rating represents a new low for him in AP-Ipsos polling.

Will you put impeachment back on the table now, Ms. Pelosi?

Oh, and while you're at it, Ms. Pelosi, do something about this wonderful economy Mr. Bush has given us:

Study: 744,000 Are Homeless in US:

"In the last 12 to 18 months, the homeless population has essentially exploded in Philadelphia," said Marsha Cohen, executive director of the Homeless Advocacy Project, which provides free legal services to the homeless in Philadelphia. "We are seeing big increases in singles and families, both on the street and attempting to enter the homeless system."

"It's a whole influx of new people, and that's the really scary part," Cohen said.

Please take a look at Homeless & Crisis Assistance, at Charity.com; it's a list of charities which provide help to the homeless. Give if you can.


~ ~ ~

Alaska stargazers excited about comet:

NASA astronomer Tony Phillips says Comet McNaught is the brightest comet visible from Earth in 30 years. It is six times brighter than Hale-Bopp in 1997, and 100 times brighter than Halley's Comet when it appeared in 1986, Phillips told The Associated Press on Thursday.

"It will remain a spectacular comet for weeks, perhaps months, in the Southern Hemisphere," Phillips said. "It could emerge as the brightest comet in recorded history."

Cool! Actually, COLD! 40 degrees below zero. It's information like that that keeps in me in New England. One of these days I'll get to Alaska, just not in January.

I'm not a happy camper today.

I listened to Bush's speech last night. He threatened Iran and then we invaded the Iranian embassy in Iraq, in effect making good on this threat.

He's pursuing global war, in my opinion. I have zero faith in the Congress stopping him. He has issued over 700 signing statements to legislation passed by Congress which were sent to him to be signed, effectively changing the intent of Congress without anyone stopping him. He has stated that the Constitution is "just a goddamn piece of paper", proving, in my opinion, that he feels he may do whatever he damn well pleases. He will just sign us off into global war and Congress will do nothing.

See Informed Comment.



In other news, the other Senator from Connecticut, Christopher Dodd, has filed to run for President in 2008.

Dodd is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic during the 1960s. He is a leading voice in the Senate on Latin American issues. He is also known for his work on health care and children's issues.

He is also an idiot. And yet, he could barbeque kittens and roll little old ladies for their Bingo money and this freakin' State would still send him to the Senate. The only good thing about Dodd is he isn't Lieberman.

Now for something completely useless

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Blessed Art Thou

The above painting is by Kate Kretz of North Carolina.

"My intention was to ask a question and get people to think," Kretz said in a telephone interview Friday from Miami. "I had no idea so many people would be asking a question and thinking."

On her blog, Kretz, 43, said the painting addresses "the celebrity worship cycle." She said she chose Jolie for the subject "because of her unavoidable presence in the media, the worldwide anticipation of her child, her 'unattainable' beauty and the good that she is doing in the world through her example, which adds another layer to the already complicated questions surrounding her status."

~ ~ ~

God Denies Talking to Pat

It's all about freedom

Public service announcement: Gradatim Ferociter.

~ ~ ~


Democrats eating their own will not help anyone: Ex-Dem. Party boss blasts Kerry in book. They need to come together with a cohesive strategy to fix the nightmare mess Bush has left this country in, instead of Monday-morning quarterbacking a campaign from three years ago. No one needs to read about Affleck and Paltrow making out a decade ago either.

~ ~ ~



Extremism never works: Atheists challenge the religious right ~ and I'm all for that. But, as the article points out:

These offerings are so intolerant of religion of any kind - liberal, moderate, or fundamentalist - that some scientists and secularists have critiqued their peers for oversimplification and for a secular fundamentalism.

"They undermine their own case by writing in a language that suffers from many things they say are true of believers - intolerance, disrespect, extremism," says Alan Wolfe, a professor of religion at Boston College, who is a secularist and author of several books on American religious perspectives.

On the one hand you could say that Dawkins and Harris are only fighting fire with fire. But it will backfire on them. I think most people, theist or not, prefer a more moderate stance. Religious, dogmatic, people piss me off to no end, and I've ranted about it often enough. People of faith I can deal with because they usually have no agenda, no need to force me into their mold. The dogmatic atheists are no different from the fundamentalist religious - they are as determined to force the people to see the universe only from a rational point of view, just as the religious insist on the rest of us viewing the universe from a god-centered point of view. I, and I think many people, aren't going to listen to either side and will just be put off both messages.

Many nontheists don't share this militant perspective, but have decided that keeping silent in religious America no longer makes sense. They are astonished that a majority of Americans question evolution and support teaching intelligent design in the science classroom. They are distressed over polls that show that at least half of Americans are unwilling to vote for an atheist despite the Constitution's requirement that there be no religious test for public office. And they contend that in recent years, Congress has passed bills and the president has issued executive orders that have privileged religion in inappropriate and unconstitutional ways.

As a result, seven organizations of nontheists - including atheists, freethinkers, humanists, and agnostics - began the Secular Coalition for America (SCA), a lobby seeking to increase the visibility and respectability of nontheistic viewpoints in the United States.

Sadly SCA also stands for SCA, which is bound to confuse the hell out of everyone. Anyway, if they stick to their stance: "Still, the group makes clear on its website that while it promotes reason and science as the bases for policymaking, it also supports religious tolerance." they'll have my support.

~ ~ ~

This is the internet as it is meant to be. How to go to M.I.T. for free.

"We believe strongly that education can be best advanced when knowledge is shared openly and freely," says Anne Margulies, executive director of the OCW program at MIT. "MIT is using the power of the Internet to give away all of the educational materials created here."

OCW

Space, the final frontier

From Monmouth County, New Jersey. This 'rock' crashed into someone's home on Tuesday night.

Police received a call Wednesday morning that the metal object had punched a hole in the roof of the single-family, two-story home, damaged tiles on a bathroom floor, and then bounced, sticking into a wall.

Yesterday it was announced that Saturn's Moon Titan a world of rivers and lakes. Sadly we can't go swimming in them.

Titan is the only moon in the solar system to have a dense atmosphere with thin layers of methane and nitrogen clouds--a setup similar to that of early Earth. Atmospheric methane is destroyed by sunlight over time and must constantly be renewed. Scientists thus speculated that lakes or even oceans of methane might exist on, or just beneath, the moon's icy surface and that evaporation from these liquid bodies was replenishing the atmosphere. The first confirmation of this thinking came last July when Cassini's radar spotted more than 75 large, dark patches around the surface of the moon's northern pole.

The Sky Is Falling!

God Told me of 'mass killing' in 2007

Ya'know... if an astrologer came out with such a statement, perhaps changing "stars" for "God", they'd be laughed at. Pat says God talks to him and nobody laughs or says he's crazy.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (AP) -- Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday that God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would cause a "mass killing" late in 2007.

"I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network.

"The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."

Robertson said God told him about the impending tragedy during a recent prayer retreat.

God also said, he claims, that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September.

Robertson suggested in January 2006 that God punished then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a stroke for ceding Israeli-controlled land to the Palestinians.

The broadcaster predicted in January 2004 that President Bush would easily win re-election.

Bush won 51 percent of the vote that fall, beating Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

In 2005, Robertson predicted that Bush would have victory after victory in his second term. He said Social Security reform proposals would be approved and Bush would nominate conservative judges to federal courts.

Lawmakers confirmed Bush's 2005 nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. But the president's Social Security initiative was stalled.

"I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss."

In May, Robertson said God told him that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America's coastline in 2006.

Even though the U.S. was not hit with a tsunami, Robertson on Tuesday cited last spring's heavy rains and flooding in New England as partly fulfilling the prediction.

~ ~ ~

Bush has "written" an OpEd piece in the WSJ. He's still waving the bloody flag of 9/11 and still a complete moron. Go read it for yourself, if you've the stomach for it.

Iraq Civilian Deaths Hit New Record - Ministry

Happy New Year

Take twelve fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate, cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past—have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time. Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time.

Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing— don’t do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution. Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

Anonymous

in the end, only kindness matters
Jewel

I hope 2007 will be healthy and peace-filled for all of us. Everyone stay safe over the holiday weekend.

Rest in Peace

Former President Ford dies at 93

Not imperial. Not reclusive. And, of greatest satisfaction to a nation numbed by Watergate, not dishonest.

With all the trips to the hospital he's had in just the past year, it's not very surprising he's passed away.

Full Coverage: Gerald Ford, 1913 - 2006

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum

It is Friday

and I have no pictures for you.

The Donald and Rosie both need a new hobby. Even the Aussies are talking about this stupid feud they've got going.

Oh, and Rosie? He's been married three times.

"You know, it really doesn't matter what [the media] write as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass." Donald Trump. Always a class act.

~ ~ ~


Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now.

I'm outta here until after the first of the year, I think. I might pop in between now and then. So have yourselves a Merry little Christmas and a Happy and safe New Year.

Monday Fun and Games

You are 90% knowledgeable regarding Christmas culture.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU DID IT! YOU PASSED! Now you're ready to go on to gotoquiz.com/how_christmas_are_you Have a blessed Christmas!

THE CHRISTMAS QUIZ
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Chapman Lake, actually.

You are 83% Scranton!

Pretty Good! You probaby live somewhere in NEPA, maybe Wilkes-Barre or the Poconos. Or maybe you are from New Jersey and and graduated from "Da U." You know enough to get around and have some fun, but there's still lots to learn about Scranton.

how Scranton are you?
Quizzes for MySpace

My Mother grew up in Scranton.

Fun quiz - dang, looks like nothing has changed since I was a teenager.

War of the Worlds

There's no revolution in Belgium. Really.

What moron thought this would be a good idea?

Even the Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister from neighboring Luxembourg, was angry and let it be know at the opening of the European Union summit. "This is not the kind of issue you play around with," he said.

The RTBF's phony newscast reported that the "Flemish parliament has unilaterally declared the independence of Flanders" and that King Albert and Queen Paola had left on the first air force plane available.

I can't even begin to guess, off the top of my head, how many Heads of State have actually had to flee for their lives because of a coup just in the last 100 years. Constantine of Greece, Michael of Romania... this shit isn't funny nor is it a way to spark a debate. It's a good thing for the morons at RTBF that His Majesty can't have people flogged for this. Hell, I'd feel this way if NBC pulled this stunt saying Bush was leaving the Office and the White House on Marine One. If it isn't true, don't put it on the news!

The RTBF's phony newscast reported that the "Flemish parliament has unilaterally declared the independence of Flanders" and that King Albert and Queen Paola had left on the first air force plane available.

The broadcast showed jubilant demonstrators waving the yellow-and-black flag with the Flemish Lion outside the legislature. A small crowd of monarchists rallied outside the royal palace waving the Belgian flag.

Reporting that the royal family fled did not go down well at the palace, which said in a statement the hoax was in "bad taste."

This isn't bad taste, it's sheer stupidity.

About the only people who enjoyed the program were the separatist far-right Flemish Interest party. It wants to get rid of the king and thought it could see a flash of its future in an independent Flanders.

"I want to congratulate the RTBF for this daring show," said Flemish Interest leader Filip Dewinter.

Moron.

So This is Christmas

Senator Tim Johnson Is in Critical Condition

A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie, and allow the GOP to retain Senate control.

This is what the media is talking about. I'm thinking about his family. Dad's not much past that age and after two ocular strokes this year, well... let's just say I feel worse for that family than I do for the US.

~ ~ ~

Judge Upholds Detainee Rights Terror Law

"This is the first time in the history of this country that a court has held that a man may be held by our government in a place where no law applies," said Barbara Olshansky, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has handled many detainee cases.

Bush got what he wanted for Christmas.

~ ~ ~

Sudan dismisses Darfur 'threats'

However, the BBC's correspondent says that, while Mr Natsios said the talks had been productive, there is still no sign that Sudan's government will agree to a UN force.

There is a growing sense of frustration and urgency in Washington over the situation in Darfur, he says.

I'm not quite clear on what a No-Fly Zone or naval blockade would do to ease the horrendous situation in Darfur. George Clooney is in Eqypt appealing for help after trying to talk the Chinese into backing the UN plan to send in more troops - which Sudan would consider a threat to it's sovereignty and therefore is unwilling to accept. I wish him and everyone else trying to end this disaster well and hope they succeed soon. You can read more about Sudan, Darfur and the nightmare there on the BBC site: Sudan: A Nation Divided.

AmeriCares
Disasters Emergency Committee
Heifer International
Medecins Sans Frontieres
Oxfam

It's a dark and dreary Wednesday

Hat Tip to Lynn Hayes for point out Michael Lutin's article in Vanity Fair entitled Special Alert: Horoscope U.S.A. I've enjoyed Michael's writing for years and this article is an excellent example of his style and depth of knowledge.

~ ~ ~

Interesting article on Truthdig entitled Was Nixon Worse?, which gives a rough overview of the two Presidents.

This comparison of war casualties in Vietnam and Iraq has one flaw: The war in Iraq is not over. Bush says he has no intention of ending it promptly. He wants U.S. forces to remain until “the terrorists” are “defeated.”

~ ~ ~


The Nightmare Scenario will not leave you with that warm holiday feeling.

Moscow views the new U.S. drive for military superiority and nuclear war-fighting capability in the context of a geopolitical full-court press against Russia, aimed at reducing her influence in the post-Soviet space and attaining maximum control of hydrocarbon resources in the area. Recent U.S. interest in possible deployment of ballistic missile defense components in Poland and the Czech Republic is seen by Moscow as proof that NATO’s eastward expansion is motivated, among other things, by the American determination to undercut the Russian strategic deterrent. The Bush Doctrine of “democracy promotion” by means of fostering regime change in countries considered adversarial has exacerbated the sense of heightened insecurity in the Kremlin: The Putin regime considers itself one of the targets of this policy.

By the way, did you see Israel actually admitted it has nuclear weapons? And, hmm... seems the Saudi Ambassador has left DC. Georgie's got more problems than you can shake a stick at.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

No, really, it's not.

Yeah, it really is!

I swear I'm bi-polar.

I love the season, the lights, the decorations, the baking, the music - I loathe the shopping, gift receiving, make-nice-to-relatives-I-don't-like parts.

I'm half Scrooge, half Martha Stewart this time of year. Thank the beybey Jebus for rum punch and the internet for shopping ~ or am I'm supposed to thank Al Gore for the internet? Well, thanks to whomever came up with online shopping. You deserve a Nobel for that. If I have to step foot into a store between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day people will die. Slowly, painful, damning commercialism, Santa Claus and me to Hell in the process.

Not that I would care. Hell, I'd probably love every minute of it.

My sister has organized a cookie baking soirée for Saturday night. My contribution to this cookie extravaganza will be my peanut butter cookies and cherry and white chocolate chip cookies (see below). How all six of us, the draftee's, are going to do this in a two oven kitchen is beyond me - we're usually more spread out. As long as there is rum punch and my Kitchen Aide I really won't care too much.

The Italian tradition of baking a gadzillion cookies each December, just to give them away in anticipation of receiving the exact same cookies from someone else, was new to me in the early 90's after Dad had remarried. Bizarre, even. I love to cook so I was willing to join in even though this whole process didn't make a lot of sense to me. If you are going to get the same type of cookies back, why not just keep the one's you've baked? That is not the point, however.

The difference between the Anglo-Irish families and Italian families is a lot like the differences between cats and dogs. Cats are aloof, cold, independent creatures. Dogs are affectionate, familial, pack creatures. The Italian stepfamily, also known as La Familia, is an extremely large pack of friendly dogs. Being one of the Cat People I found this pack of dogs to be very strange in the beginning. But there are cats who actually like dogs, who will elect to spend some of their time in the pack, though usually only on the fringes, with the most cat-like dogs available. That's me. La Familia, being of the accepting dog nature, let me do this. I weave my way in and out of Familia gatherings, sticking to the fringes, only to disappear from time to time. There's only so much affection and attention a cat can take, afterall.

So this Saturday night will be one of the nights I choose to participate. Cookie baking with my sister, Mom, one sister-in-law (who is Irish and was just as floored by this family as I was) and three of my nieces. The numbers are dwindling each year. In the past there were several kitchens around Fairfield county baking like crazy and the people in them telephoning each other with comments and questions on recipes. I think the phone rang more often than the timers went off. It also used to take all night but now it's just around six hours. In between mixing ingredients and getting trays in and out of the ovens we decorate the house to the sounds of Christmas music. Dad, being a Cat Person as well as a Scrooge, hides on the porch watching CNN and reading and hollering every hour or so "aren't you done yet?"

"We'll be done when we're done, you grumpy old man", I'll bark at him.

Mom will enquire if he's tired, if we're too loud, if he needs anything and generally just fuss about him like he's Santa Claus or the beybey Jebus. She'll tell us to quiet down, hurry up, then ask Dad, again, if he's okay, does he need anything... not that he answered her the first time. She'll make him some tea and bring him some cookies and he'll complain about how long this stupid process is taking and I'll tell him to shut his gob and eat his damn cookies.

And Dad will smile and eat his damn cookies and complain to no one in particular what bratty kid he's got. Mom will respond, "Well, your Mother always said she's just like you."

La famiglia è il mondo intero.

Cherry and white chocolate chip cookies:

For this recipe you will need a very sturdy hand mixer or a Kitchen Aide.

The ingredients are:

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups of flour, well sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 package of white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups of dried cherries
1 cup of cashews, coarsely chopped

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line up your baking trays and line them with Silpats if you have them.

In a large bowl, place the butter, both sugars, eggs and vanilla. Cream the ingredients together using either a hand mixer or a Kitchen-Aide at a medium speed for several minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda and mix them together well. Slowly add the add flour mixture to butter mixture until both are well combined. Next, stir in white chocolate chips, the dried cherries and the cashews. Spoon a tablespoon of cookie dough into your hands and roll into a ball. You should get 16 small balls on each baking tray. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are a light, golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack quickly. This recipe should make about 4 dozen cookies.

Favorite Things

School shuns tech, teaches fountain pen.

How cool is that?

Okay... I have several fountain pens so of course I think it's cool. They sit upright in a old Waterford cream pitcher next to my computer at home.

"The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem," principal Bryan Lewis said. "Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been."

"I don't see fountain pens as old-fashioned or outmoded. Modern fountain pens are beautiful to use; it's not like in the old days of broken nibs and smudging," Lewis said. "We have a particular writing style and we have developed it very carefully and found a way that allows left- and right-handed people to write without smudging."

I'll preen a tad and admit I've always been complimented on my handwriting ~ it's even better when I use one of my fountain pens. I have one Montblanc (my parents picked it up for me in Europe a couple of years ago) and the rest are Waterman's. The pens I've bought for myself I have found at eBay.

Man I feel sorry for whomever has to clean up after me when I'm dead. I've got the oddest assortment of stuff in my life: fountain pens, mis-matched Waterford crystal, colored glass collection, gemstones, Christmas ornaments, Spode, Lladro, Wedgewood, Royal Doulton (no hand-painted periwinkles however), tons of needlepoint and cross stich, quilts, hand-made pillows, lace work, and several lambs worth of yarn... and this is after two tag sales and giving stuff to family!

Do you collect anything? Do you have too much stuff in your life?

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Forgot to add that I won US$24 in poker on Saturday night.

Oh, and no one died from eating the cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies

For YaYa poker night my sister has asked me to bring my infamous heart attack on a plate cookies. I'm cheating and uploading my recipe (and story) from another site I posted it to a while back.

This recipe originally came to me from my maternal grandmother. Back in the day, she mixed this by hand, with a wooden spoon, in the large yellow bowl I inherited from her. The first time I made the recipe by myself I marveled at upper arm strength of that little lady. I couldn't make the dough budge! I needed a electric handmixer, which burned out by the time I got the dough together. As a result, I didn't make these cookies very often. Having to buy a new handmixer everytime I made these cookies made them too expensive.

Three years ago my parents gave me a Kitchen-Aide standmixer for Christmas. I was floored! I couldn't believe they would get me such a cool, and expensive, gift. The first thing I made in that mixer were these cookies. My stepfamily had never had them because they were just too expensive to make. Everyone loved them and they've become a staple of our Christmas cookie baking tradition.

Ingredients:

2 cups shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs, well beaten
1 jar of peanut butter, 18 ounces **
5 cups flour, well sifted
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

** Find the cheapest peanut butter you can. Generic works well. The brand name peanut butters on the market do not give you enough peanut butter flavor, in my opinion. Organic peanut butters work well, if you don't mind mixing the peanut butter together first. Don't skimp on the vanilla extract. If you can afford it, get the best extract you can find.

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Line up your baking sheets and, if you have Silpats, line your baking sheets with them. With the amount of fat and oil in this recipe, the cookies don't usually stick to the baking sheets, but using Silpat just makes clean up easier.

In a small bowl, crack your four eggs. Beat them well and then set them aside. In the largest bowl you have (five quarts is just big enough for this recipe) put in the shortening, sugar, peanut butter, extract and then add the eggs. Mix these ingredients together until creamy smooth. In a sifter, place the flour, baking soda and salt; slowly sift in the dry ingredients to the creamy mixture. Sift in about a cup at a time, mixing the dry into the creamy between cups. By the time you get the last cup of dry ingredients into the bowl, you will have either a sore arm or a burned out mixer.

I don't usually chill the dough before I begin baking. The choice is yours. I use a measured tablespoon to place the dough on the baking sheets. They are half round and I then use a fork to flatten them out, making the traditional cross-hatch pattern on the dough. I can get 16 cookies on a baking sheet this way. The entire recipe makes roughly 90 cookies. I say roughly because we eat the raw dough as we go, so I don't know, exactly, how many cookies this recipe is supposed to make. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes and place on a rack to cool.

If you have a heart condition and eat these cookies, I will not be held responsible.

Art Appreciation Friday

For Art Appreciation Friday I thought I'd share some of my favorite works of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.



St. Francis in Ecstasy




The Musicians




Bacchus




The Cardsharps

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Another YaYa Poker Night tomorrow. Looks like we're only going to have five people this time.

Back to the Moon

I'm not sure how I feel about the plan NASA has to take us back to the Moon by 2020. I'm on the fence because both arguments have merit. I want human beings to go back to exploring the universe in a more concentrated, intensive, way and I'm not sure having a Lunar base will aid the investigation of the cosmos. More than likely it will get bogged down in politics slowing the process of discovery.

Just an FYI: Space Shuttle Launch Visible Across Eastern US Thursday.

It's one of those days

Puking rain outside.

My computer is toast. Burned toast.

I'm working on a slower, inferior machine and I hate it. HATE IT!

All my bookmarks are gone and I'm trying to remember passwords and shit. Damn it, I'm 41 years old, I need technology to remember shit! It must work at all times or I am SCREWED!

sigh

Like I said, it's one of those days.

But I'm alive and well and sorta sane; I'm inside out of the rain; I can still feed my addictions to both coffee and the internet.

It ain't all bad.

I guess.