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]

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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?

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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?

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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.