You won't believe it....

Everything happened! Here's the sequence: Thurs nite, went to shut down this machine. It wouldn't. Finally gave up and turned it off manually. Friday, after getting home from breakfast on the hotel patio, turned it on. It refused to load Windows XP Home. Just cycled and cycled round and round to the "safe" page.

That did it. I hauled it off to Peter, the genius computer guy at Micro-Mechanics. Half hour later, Peter calls and tells me to bring the disk. He may have to reinstall Windows. YIKES!!! I bring the disk.

Sat afternoon, late, I phone Peter. He believes the hard disk is contaminated. So far, he's tried five different de-contaminiation programs with no success and is carrying on. Told him to save whatever he could.

Sunday. Peter's not working.

Monday: He's working on it...

Tuesday (today): Peter calls and says, "Come and get it." I'm out the door in a split second. Peter has saved everything. It's working beautifully. I ask what was wrong. And he says, "orphaned files". "Say what? What are those?" To which Peter asks, "When did you last defrag this computer?"

Now that's an "oh, shit" question for sure. I wince and admit that I never had. And that was the problem. So much stuff saved, files flung all over, got so bad that Windows couldn't locate the file it needed to open Windows. Peter had defragged. Now I'm on cable, but defragging increased the speed! Promised Peter I'd defrag every month without fail. And he charged me only $70!!! Don't know when I've ever felt so damned stupid.

Talk about being cut off from the world! I read everything in sight. I tied up all the cords into neat little bundles. I looked at photo albums. And when I got this computer home this afternoon, it had 451 emails waiting.

But it's Tues, and so at 4:50 this aft, I headed for the writers' gathering in Old Town. Got back at 7:45 this eve or thereabouts and have been dealing with email since. Still have 48 to go. Will do those tomorrow. Enough already!

Was just tickled to have an email from CB (Colby Buzzell)--the guy in the Stryker Brigade in Mosul, Iraq, whose blog, "My War", drew so much attention, the brass shut him down. And now that he's back, he's just had the 2nd in his series of articles published in Esquire! He said he'd never in his life dreamed he'd be writing for Esquire! Or writing, for that matter. And like always, he's telling it like it is and mincing no words.

Was damned neat to have your comments waiting too! And now I'll go see what Workaholic and Cate have been up to....
Wrap...

Just Observing

Just Observing

Well hell. Looks like another blog has been lost.
Wrap.

Well, the Ides of March passed yesterday and St Patrick's Day hits tomorrow, and Sat the 19th--this coming Saturday marks the start of 2003's "Operation Iraqi Freedom". Sunday is both the start of Spring and Palm Sunday, so things are moving right along. And then there's Purim--the day Jewish folks feed everybody they can lay their hands on. Always did love Jewish food. Have two great Jewish restaurants in San Diego--D.Z. Akins and--Damn! Forgot the other one's name. No matter. It will come to me. When it does, I'll just put it down here in capital letters. I may have to email one of the other writers to tell me. Okay. I just did that. One of them will surely know. I'm thinking it's Samson's but am in no way sure. I hate it when this happens. Gawd!

So now the Repubs can start drilling for oil in Alaska's beautiful and pristine wildlife preserve. Heard on Air America this morn that the equipment is already up there, ready to go. They must be so proud of themselves...especially after pulling off their horrible bankruptcy bill. If they manage to get Bush's nominated people for the Supreme Court, we are well and truly screwed. Can Justice Rehnquist make it for another three years? We'd damned well better hope so. Sandra O'Conner? Fingers crossed. Same for the others. So far as I can tell, none sitting now are fanatics, though a couple of them skate the edge now and then--Thomas and Scalia.

Couple of big court cases wrapped up today: off goes Scott Peterson to San Quentin and the death penalty. He'll spend many, many years there, going through one appeal after another, but I doubt it will do him much good in the end...unless we abolish the death penalty. Highly unlikely. And Robert Blake has been pronounced innocent. So he falls right into the hands of Barbara Walters this very night. Am I gonna watch it? Hell no. Sheesh!

And Congress takes up the matter of steroid use. If the "national pastime", baseball, weren't involved and the records of the players, I doubt they would have...kids using steroids or no. Congress is full of sports fans and they want those record-setting players to have won those records without cheating with steroids. You don't mess with the National Pastime!!!

Next up is Tom DeLay, Repub Minority Leader in the House of Reps. That crooked individual has ethics problems up to his eyebrows...so many that his fellow Repubs are getting upset with him for maybe making them all look bad. Couldn't be partially due to their own behavior, could it? Like getting rid of the Repubs on the Ethics Committee who had censored him and putting Repubs who owe him in their places could it? So now there are 3 Dems and 3 Repubs on that committee. And will they call him up for questioning/investigation? Not likely...not yet. Hell, they've even said that if DeLay is indicted, he can keep his position as Majority Leader. Damned fools.

What really torques me is that the person in the White House who tipped Robert Novak the name of Joseph Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, CIA, is still running free. That was a Federal Crime, dammit! And a crime for Novak as well.

Okay... I'm gonna go with Samson's Deli. No telling what the writers are up to since none has emailed yet. Soon as I sign off here, no question but what they will.
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Definition: Tyranny

Following quote is courtesy of www.independentclearinghouse.com Thank you ICH!

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." James Madison. Federalist 47."

Thus, BushCo. And so what does a republic such as the United States do about tyranny? Isn't this something that BushCo would say requires "regime change"? And just what country is going to declare unilateral war to free us? We have a problem here. BushCo is determined to make sure the judiciary is in his hands, since he already controls majority of the legislative and all of the executive branches of our government.

"Our" government? Need to think about that a bit.

Lincoln stated a government Of the people, By the people, For the people. And what do we come up with? A tyranny. The people have done an incredibly stupid and self-defeating thing. We put a tyranny in power.

People like this: A TV show, "Street Smart" I believe, goes around asking people to fill in the blank with the correct word. So they ask this person A something like this: When people see another person acting as though he/she has no sense at all, they say, "He has......... in his belfry." And the word, person A gives is "bells". Or, What is the name of the famous intern in the White House Linda Tripp is famous for secretly taping? And person B says, "Bill Clinton".
Thus we end up a nation ruled by tyranny....voted in.

This is disgusting.
Wrap...

Military Videos

The LA Times has an article on the military in Iraq. Many of the troops carry video cameras with them and film during combat, then return to their base, edit, and add hard metal music. Seems some of them are extremely gory. When their families see those videos, some don't react well, which leaves some of the soldiers puzzled because "that's their life" in Iraq. Other soldiers know their folks won't want to see them.

But many of the videos are now on the internet, and the brass knows that once they're out there there's no way to get them back.

This is one documented war, thanks to technology and the troops' desire to have people at home know what they're going through. Maybe they hope seeing their videos will help to discourage future wars. I don't think so...now that we're madly developing robot soldiers. Consider the Predator robot planes already flying. The future, if technology succeeds in one side having robots and the other side not having them...well, can you imagine being attacked by an army of robots? Not unlikely. We have a couple of them that were supposed to "die" quite a long while ago, roving Mars even now.

The future...who knows?
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

This from International Herald Tribune tonight--will be published in the NYTimes tomorrow.

Liberal bloggers unite to get media attention
By Jonathan D. Glater The New York Times
Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Read the article here: http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/14/business/bloggers.html

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Just Observing

Just Observing

Go immediately to http://smokymtgirl.blogspot.com and read that short short story, titled: "Conjurations". Gave me a shiver!
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Hell...don't even need hackers to get that personal info! J, one of the writers, emailed this to me yesterday:

"'Twas trapped in the carwith radio yesterday and came across Kevin Mitnik
(yep, ye olde reformed hacker), talking about hacking into cell phones.

He gave a great example of people's stupidity, relating it to big business
and 'these are the people--the mentality--working for you...'

Seems there was a big trade show in London and some cellular provider did an
experiment with giveaways. They gave away a box of pens to anyone who would
tell them their (the individual's) voice mail password. Nine out of ten
people gave it up for a box of pens.

The company found it fascinating. So the trade show, they experimented
again. This time the prize was a chocolate easter egg. Seven out of ten
took the egg and revealed their password.

Any wonder why there's so much hacking going on? And according to Mitnik:
the provider easiest to hack and most often hacked: T Mobile.

'Twas a painless drive. Wish I'd heard the whole show...
************************
And then, today, J adds:

"The thrust of what he (Mitnik) was talking about (and what his new book is about) is
how important it is for companies to stress to their employees the necessity
for keeping private information private and for company employees to
understand how vulnerable they make the company when they shoot their mouth
off at the wrong time/wrong place.

The interview aired on KFI-AM Radio in Los Angeles on Sat. 3/12 on The Tech
Guy's show."
*************************

Tell you what...people who'd swap that info for those items...What the hell were they thinking? Guess they weren't. Hoo-boy!
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Nope. Both blogs appeared this morn, but still can't post a comment on other blogs. However, Blogger is working away on it. They sure have their hands full. Have confidence they'll find a way to fix things.

The New York Times ran a long article yesterday on these "news" video releases BushCo's people are putting out on the wire services. Apparently these started during Clinton's admin, but the Bushies have taken that propaganda tool to the extreme. When the TV people run one during their newscasts and don't bother to tell viewers that they're government produced, that the "reporters" aren't reporters but actors...as are the rest of the people in that "news" clip, then, as far as I'm concerned, major frauds are being committed on the nation. The PR people hired by BushCo are very damned good at their jobs. Do they care that the news isn't news but propaganda? One of their actor-reporters flat says she doesn't see anything wrong with what she's done. I say she's stupid.

There are gullible citizens, there are suspicious citizens, there are citizens who are downright enraged about this...and citizens who have no interest in the matter whatsoever. I give the NYTimes credit for getting their real reporters on this story, and then running it. Such deceit is major news and they've treated it at such. Good. Problem is, not everybody reads that paper. They read their hometown papers, watch hometown TV, listen to hometown radio, and haven't a clue to who's feeding them fake news..or even that it is fake. And of course, the newspapers, TV stations, radio stations...they're all innocent. They pulled the fake broadcasts off the wire services. This in spite of the fact that there's a rule that the sources of the news be told the citizens. And that's not happening. Some ethical behavior, huh? They serve themselves. Save money by using those fake news clips...don't have to hire more reporters. Seems they don't have to hire factcheckers either.

Video Monitoring Services of America (VMS) found out just who has been running the fake news clips. Monitoring services don't advertise. What they do is scan all the news services in a certain area.

Here's how it works. Say you call in to some radio talk show, some TV show. No matter where you are in the nation, VMS has an office taping talk and TV news shows. Okay. You call in and complain about the service you're getting from say, your local Ford dealer. That's taped by VMS. Within an hour or two, one of the people monitoring at VMS has the facts of that--station, time, all, put on paper. Paper goes to the sales dept. Sales dept phones the PR department at Ford headquarters. Tells them what you said. Asks if they want that clip. If they do, they'll have it within 24 hours.

Burrells monitors newspapers. All newspapers.

So the NY Times phoned VMS to find out who ran those fake news clips. VMS enters a "keyword" into their computers, and every single radio or TV station in the areas they cover (and remember they cover the entire United States), having been monitored, is identified. Info then delivered to the NY Times reporters. And thus the article is produced.

And if you think BushCo doesn't have the same info, think again. The WH communications department would absolutely want to know if their propaganda is being used to "inform" the public.

And now, Bush has nominated Karen Hughes to take over communications at the State Department. Doesn't that reassure you that the nation's news from the State Dept will be accurate, honest and unbiased? Karen Hughes from Texas who is closer to Bush than anybody but Rove...and maybe even closer. Karen Hughes, spokesman for his first run for Pres. Karen Hughes, even more loyal than Condi Rice if such is possible.

This nation is getting rolled by BushCo day and night.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Lost a blog. Have no idea where it went. Comments are screwed up again. I may work up to a case of serious frustration. But no. All may be well in the morning. There's no way of knowing. Now that's "faith".

Am sad that William Murray has died. He and Dick Francis wrote mystery novels about horse-racing and the characters at the tracks. Don't know about Francis, but Murray dearly loved horse-racing. Moved to Del Mar to live practically atop the Del Mar Racetrack and when the season came, he attended every race, every day. Just a very nice guy, too. Hard to lose him.

Not going to write more. Don't know if this will post or not!
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Just Observing

Just Observing

In the interest of fairness here is a Letter to the Editor published in the LA Times today, from Sen Joe Biden, in which he explains why he voted "Yes" on the Bankruptcy bill:

March 12, 2005


LETTERS TO THE TIMES

In his zeal to attack the bankruptcy reform bill, Jonathan Chait's March 4 commentary, "When Democrats Join the Dark Side," mischaracterizes the legislation. In 2001, a similar bill passed the Senate 82 to 16. The provisions affecting consumer bankruptcy were identical to those Chait criticizes.

At the outset, I refused to support bankruptcy reform until fundamental changes were made. I fought to establish a "safe harbor" for those below their state's median income. I also insisted on a provision requiring lenders to post a clear warning about the dangers of making minimum monthly payments, one of the worst debt traps for consumers.

This bill establishes unprecedented protections for child support and alimony, making bankruptcy part of the enforcement system for women and children, who now will be at the head of the line, in front of every other creditor. Is this bill perfect? No. But over several congresses it has earned the kind of bipartisan consensus only balanced legislation can achieve.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Delaware
***********************
At least he making an attempt to explain that vote, so I'll give the man credit for that. I wonder what readers thought of that explanation.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Marvelous story written by a Spec Forces guy in Afghanistan, involving cows. http://sfalphageek.blogspot.com/ Won't talk about it cause don't want to ruin anybody's pleasure in reading it. That's not nice.

Blogger has the comments problem fixed. Really glad about that. Sure didn't take them long. Asked J to make some comment here and see if she could or would get that screen. At the time she did it, it worked, said there was one comment, but she checked and couldn't find it. Then, after a bit, I checked and there it was. So that's settled. Now I can forget about that business.

Realized this morn at breakfast on the hotel patio that I'd been calling Robert Crais' terrific new novel, The Invisible Man, when its title is The Forgotten Man.

Thinking about it, invisible would be forgotten in a way. I read once that when someone dies, they live until there is no one left who mentions their name and they are forgotten entirely. Then they truly cease to exist. Not before.

Which causes me to remember, when I was a teen, a girl named Marilyn. Marilyn struggled with a bad complexion and wore very thick glasses but had one hell of a body. So she met an Army guy home on leave....and he seduced her. Her first time. Away he went again, but they wrote constantly. She was madly in love, they were gonna be married, she was sure. He gets discharged, comes back, admits he was already married and it was over for them. About two weeks later, I learn that Marilyn had walked, one night, down the railroad tracks straight into an on-coming freight train. The engineer was incredibly upset. He said he'd tried to stop, blew his whistle, surely she saw his light, but she just kept coming....

She lives still, in my memory.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

This is an FYI....There are several bloggers I enjoy reading and I often make comments on their blogs about whatever they're writing about. So...yesterday I tried to comment in another person's blog. Strange thing happened. Screen pops up. Says that site can't be found! So I click the rectangle centered in that same screen that says, "Back to dashboard". Instantly, I'm back on my own blog!!!

Emailed Blogger about that. Rec'd an email back. They're working on Comments. I sure hope so! Anybody else have this problem?
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Need to find out who these "New Democratic Coalition" individuals are and blow 'em outta Congress at the first opportunity. Found this info in "The Hill" paper in DC. Just look at this!

Coalition backing
The New Democrat Coalition endorsed bankruptcy reform in a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) on Monday, urging that he bring the bill swiftly to the House floor. “We believe that responsible bankruptcy reform embodies the New Democrat principles of personal responsibility, while at the same time adding important new consumer protections such as requiring enhanced credit card disclosure information and encouraging participation in consumer credit counseling,” wrote coalition Chairwoman Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) and others. The New Democrat Coalition endorsed a bankruptcy reform when it reached the House floor in the 108th Congress.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Sen Hillary Clinton did not cast a vote on the bankruptcy bill. She was not there. She was at the hospital with Bill while he underwent surgery, so don't yell at her or accuse her of "triangulating". There are priorities in life and the ones you love take precedence over the most of the others. I think folks forgot she was at the hospital when they saw she hadn't cast a vote.
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Just had an email bulletin from ABC that the Senate has passed the bankruptcy bill. So now it goes to the House, which says it will run the bill right through, no problem, so long as it remained unchanged...no amendments. And from there to Bush's pen. May his fingers all break and shatter into little pieces before he can sign it. No more than he deserves. Where's the mob when you need them? Sheesh!

Sat down to read Robert Crais's "Invisible Man" last night, got captured by it, and didn't get to bed until 2AM. Damned near finished that novel. And I will tonight. You betcha! Monster writer, that man is. He sucks you in so fast that time disappears and you notice not at all.

Perfect on the hotel patio this morn. J arrived before I did. Had finished all her breakfast but for a few bites of biscuit with grape jelly on it, and was reading away. I forget the name of the novel, but it was one I'd loaned her a few days ago. We pass 'em back and forth. She loaned me "Invisible Man" Tuesday at the writers' gathering in Old Town.

Little cloudy this morn, but blue and gold the rest of the day. Getting toward sundown now and I still have the mail and both morning papers to read.

Indy-weblog blogs gets more and more interesting every day. One of the members put together a list of all 437 bloggers' URLs and each one has the last three posts the blogger has written. If you'd like to take a look, go to: http://www.drlaniac.com/feeds/
She updates the whole batch, I don't know how many times a day. Talk about a varied group of people! I see that The Left Coaster's last post is headed: "18 Democratic Senators Sell Out Consumers To Pass Bankruptcy Bill Today".

My dad always used to say, "What goes around, comes around." Tell you what...I'd like to see some "coming around" descend on BushCo, Congress, Justice Dept, Cabinet Seats, regulatory agencies, Courts, and the whole damned mess of them who have followed along in whatever BushCo wanted or wants...and pay no attention to what the nation needs or wants...to say nothing of our troops and vets.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

http://atrios.blogspot.com/ Go there, scroll down to the post headed, "Addicted to Porn" and read all about our moralistic congresspeople who raise hell about indecency, then turn around and get donations from the porn industry. Atrios just lays it out, but click the link he has to read the actual report...scroll down on that until you find the handy-dandy little chart that names every one of those virtuous people and how much $$$ the porn industry has given them. People like Joe Liebermann and John McCain and....other hypocrites.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Here's a great post on the GOP's "Compassionless Conservatisim" . He really tells it like it is:
http://kerryforpresident2008.blogspot.com/2005/03/republican-bankruptcy-laws.html

In spite of the "Kerry for Pres 2008" title, this is an individual's blog and not connected with the Kerry people.
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Aha! Not only did the lost post appear, but it appeared just where it was supposed to be. In this case, marvelous technology.

In this case, not so marvelous. Lexis-Nexis, the monster search engine has been hacked. Not good. L-N has an incredible amount of information on everybody, including Soc Sec numbers.

Taking Social Security in another way...we don't have any anymore. Not when it comes to privacy. Nor freedoms. The things our flag stands for...well, that flag is getting pretty tattered under this administration. It's not enough that citizens are being assaulted from outside the nation, they're being assaulted within the nation too. BushCo has pulled off a two-for. We're not only fighting other nations, we're fighting each other. What the hell does he want? Civil war? He's sure done enough to divide us, and I'm getting damned tired of him and his neocon buddies.

I wonder who they think provides the work that has made them rich? They're so arrogant, I suspect they think they did it all alone. No help from anybody. The products they sell were produced by magic, maybe? Purchased by ragged poor people? I surely miss having faith and trust in a decent government.

Tom DeLay is in it up to his ears. Shit, that is. Now there's the perfect example of corruption, that individual. What's worse, there are a whole lot more just like him.

Gov Arnold's people produced a newscast. A fake newscast. And parts of it were shown on various real TV newscasts and written up in newspapers. Is that anywhere near honest? This ain't the movies, buddy. Didn't take long to get fed up with him, lemme tell you. And no. I didn't vote for him. May be dumb, but I ain't stupid.

Amazing how short-sighted government can be. Don't know how many of you have ever visited San Diego and travelled to Old Town State Park where San Diego began, and while there visited the Mexican themed Bazaar del Mundo. Absolutely marvelous place. Little shops and two restaurants inside the Bazaar. One is Italian--Lino's, and one is the much larger and more festive Casa de Pico. Most of it is outside. Umbrella tables. Strolling mariachis playing and singing.
There's a grassy square in the center of the shops and restaurants with a fountain and a gazebo, and often, an Andean music group--flutes made of bamboo. Beautiful music. It sort of floats through the air. Never seems loud, but everybody in the Bazaar can hear it. Diane Powers put the whole thing together where once there was a broken down motel. But now flowers and music and laughter. More income for the State than any other State park in California, and that's saying something.

So what does the State do up there in Sacramento when lease renewal time came up? Law says there must be bids. Here comes this east coast company--Delaware something. Known for it's touristy kitschey stuff people pay a high price for. They bid. They offer more money for that lease. They say they're gonna make their place more historically accurate. And Sacramento gives it to them.

Historically accurate! Know what was there in the 1800's? Dirt and cactus and a few old buildings. Know visitors and residents both are gonna get all excited about visiting a place like that.

The Bazaar del Mundo will move out by May 1st. Damned fools these mortals be....
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Think I just lost a post...but it may come up later. It's happened before. In any case, a writer friend of mine just emailed me his comment on the bankruptcy bill and with his permission, I'll post it here. Far as I'm concerned he said it beautifully and he's dead right.
Here it is:

"I can't believe the Senate passed that bankruptcy bill. I've assisted with 55 bankruptcies in the past 14 months and 9 out of 10 had credit cards maxed out to pay bills, buy food and pay rent. The fat cats get bigger and the rest of us are put on a Government diet to make us money thin without taking a pill. One day very soon the have-nots and haves will no longer have a middle class to cushion the shock between the two - and then - all hell is going to break loose in this country."

******
There just isn't any way to put it better. Thanks, Ray.

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Just Observing

Just Observing

Started to write something, changed my mind, began deleting, and damned near deleted half the blog address where this post will go before I realized what I was doing. The mind does wander once I look out the window.

Don't admire what I see either. The marine layer has moved back in and it's all gray sky. Sheesh!

One of the writers sent an email which perfectly gave his opinion of the bankruptcy bill. Have asked if I can post it. If he says yes, I will. That bill stinks to high heaven...as does Bush's Soc Sec plan, to say nothing of his insistence that his tax cut be continued. What an ass he is.

A marine says the capture of Saddam in that hole in the ground was faked. You can read about it on UPI or www.rawstory.org

And today, Dan Rather wrapped up his anchorship on CBS Evening News. Sad. I really hate that. They really did a job on him.

Gonna read the morning papers...
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Just Observing

Just Observing

That's weird. Post repeated itself. No doubt I did something to help that along. Gawd!

The rate Liebermann is going, he might as well declare himself a Republican and be done with it. This bankruptcy bill is a huge gift to the credit card companies in Delaware, and since Sen Joe Biden is their senator, he's going along with it. $$$ you know. And since they're Republicans, and it's their bill, the GOP members of the Senate and House will vote on the side of the corporations every time.

Same with Social Security. When it comes to citizens who are not wealthy, the Repubs have no interest in doing anything helpful for them...or even anything that doesn't hurt them. Unless you have money, you're on your own regardless of circumstances. One exception...they'll give you bonuses if you'll join the military to fight the neocons' wars. And that's it. What a pathetic, miserable mess of individuals they are.

Slowly, but with increasing speed, they work their way toward turning the United States into their version of a fascist state. Not a doubt in my mind but what they're planning madly even at this moment to put another neocon like Bush into the White House in 2008, and increase even more their majorities in the Congress and to get their hand-selected judges onto the Supreme Court and in power there. They're long term planners. With enough money, they'll have most churches and congregations conned into supporting them.

Citizens do not pay enough attention. Not even to local politics. Just listening to an LA radio news station on the way home from Old Town. Reporter out on the streets asking people if they know there's an election there tomorrow for Mayor. Nothing else has gotten so much LA air time, newspaper time. And yet there were people who had no idea the election for Mayor of LA is tomorrow. So it's easy to see why citizens voted for this administration. They just pay no attention. They'll wish they had.

Writers got into telling jokes tonight, so much laughter. Talked some about the military bloggers and about how easily the entire nation could be sent into blackness with electromagnetic bombs...which we have but so far others don't have. Just more generalized talk tonight. Workshop leaders of the past and such. But as always, we had a great time...just relaxed and social. Nice.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Another 45 minutes and I'll be heading for Old Town and the usual Tues gathering of writers. Heavy overcast this morn, but blue, sunny and beautiful right now. At breakfast on the hotel patio, C said that it had rained in the night, but I never heard it. B was there before C and I arrived, eating biscuits and reading USA Today. B being former NSA, we got into a discussion about electronic surveillance capabilities today....and from there, straight into politics.

And since I expect that will be one of the subjects of conversation this evening, I'll save that till later.

Home and on my email. Had one from a writer in Colorado who is setting up a series of workshops if anyone is interested. Since he's one of the most noted workshop leaders ever, I expect people will be flying off to Colorado for the chance to work with him.

Interesting thing about that Italian reporter who was a hostage and whose car was shot at by Americans at a checkpoint in Iraq on that 7-mile stretch of road leading to the airport. She now says she thinks that they may have been wanting to kill her. I'm thinking she's full of shit for this simple reason. If they'd have wanted her dead, under those circumstances, she'd damned well be dead. Just that simple. Gawd. And I'm still waiting to find out who the hell was driving the car she was in. Not one word so far about that person. Why?

Later.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Another 45 minutes and I'll be heading for Old Town and the usual Tues gathering of writers. Heavy overcast this morn, but blue, sunny and beautiful right now. At breakfast on the hotel patio, C said that it had rained in the night, but I never heard it. B was there before C and I arrived, eating biscuits and reading USA Today. B being former NSA, we got into a discussion about electronic surveillance capabilities today....and from there, straight into politics.

And since I expect that will be one of the subjects of conversation this evening, I'll save that till later.

Home and on my email. Had one from a writer in Colorado who is setting up a series of workshops if anyone is interested. Since he's one of the most noted workshop leaders ever, I expect people will be flying off to Colorado for the chance to work with him.

Interesting thing about that Italian reporter who was a hostage and whose car was shot at by Americans at a checkpoint in Iraq on that 7-mile stretch of road leading to the airport. She now says she thinks that they may have been wanting to kill her. I'm thinking she's full of shit for this simple reason. If they'd have wanted her dead, under those circumstances, she'd damned well be dead. Just that simple. Gawd. And I'm still waiting to find out who the hell was driving the car she was in. Not one word so far about that person. Why?

Later.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

YAAYYYY!!! I suddenly have Sitemeter!!! There it is, at the bottom of these blogs, all up and running. I don't know how it came to be there. Has to be their techs were able to finish what I couldn't. No matter. I'm damned pleased. This is good. Just thought I'd say so.
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Just Observing

Just Observing

Hah! Tomorrow morn, the Chef at the hotel patio is going to make my special breakfast sandwich, even though he'll be working in the main kitchen instead of out front where the breakfast buffet and the omelet pan is. That's really special because that sandwich is not on their menu in any way, shape or form. You become a regular at a Marriott Hotel dining room and it is just a matter of time before they spoil you rotten. That's a fact.

I'm about halfway through reading former FBI Gene Riehl's novel, "Sleeper". It deals with a female North Korean assasin...she was born an American, but doesn't know it. Riehl writes a complex book, but that's what counterterrorism is: complex. As is terrorism itself.

As is the Mideast. At this point, it's very hard to tell just what Bush has set off in those countries with his attack on Iraq over the non-existant WMDs. Very hard. Meanwhile, a minimum of two of our troops are killed every day, to say nothing of the number of Iraqis who also die.

And now we learn about Bush and Ashcroft's quiet Unit that deals with religion. Which really torques me. Everything about this administration torques me.

Additionally, San Diego's mayoral problems go on and on. The new City Atty is raising all kinds of hell. The newly appointed pension board may or may not release the info necessary for the audit to be completed so the city can begin to get out of the finanacial mess it's in...and the freight train engineers are about to be attacked by the wealthy downtown residents they wake in the dead of night by blowing those whistles long and loud at intersections. One resident calls one of the engineers a s.o.b. sadist.

Ah, the joy of city living!
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Just Observing

Oh what fun. Still wrestling with Sitemeter. Now it says I have to "republish blogger pages". Republish? What the hell are they talking about? Swear to God, these people have their own language. Why can't they just say, Go here--and say where the hell here is? Say how to find it? That's so I could "do this". And they ask where the urge to kill comes from. Sheesh! As a writer, I can tell you that one of the major capital sins in writing is to "assume knowledge on the part of the reader." Tech people too often assume people trying to do what they're telling them to do, have knowledge in their field. Trust me, I for one, do not.

I owe "Special Forces Alpha Geek" a bundle because without his assistance, I wouldn't have got this far. So thanks again, SF!!!

Another great and most applicable quote from "Independent Clearing House" for which I thank them:

"As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless." : U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 - (letter to Col. William F. Elkins) - Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)

* * * * *
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/west_wing_reportage/
Go here to read a blogger's first visit to the White House Gaggle and Briefing. First time a blogger has been allowed.
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Just Observing

Gawd!!! Tried to install sitemeter--1st thing they do is have you log out--and trying to log in again, realized I'd forgotten my password. Had a hell of a time getting a new one, but finally have. Have given up on sitemeter until tomorrow.

Don't know how to install links to other blogs I read. Don't know how to install headers on a blog. Don't know how to how to make it possible for readers to just click on a URL I mention in a blog and go there without having to type the whole thing out. I can tell you in detail how to take apart and put back together an M-60, but these blog details come in another language...pure code far as I'm concerned.

Ain't life grand?
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Just Observing

Ahoy, Jodi!!! You find me yet? Got into a knock down, drag out brawl with that rabbit critter that Cate sent in her comment. Try that one for size.
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Just Observing

Guess we're a minority group with disproportionate influence!

"Currently, some 27 percent of online U.S. adults read blogs, and 7 percent pen them, according to The Pew Internet and American Life Project."

Another thought...Wouldn't it be great if the nation could have Eliot Spitzer as our Atty Gen rather than torturer Gonzales? Bush has this nasty habit of appointing dishonorable people to office.

Now here is a perfect example of wrong antecedent--the writers have been chewing antecedents over for a couple of weeks now. Finally asked Barb, who will nail any of us anytime when we use one. She says: "While pushing the 5th floor button, the elevator door closed on Joe's box." NOTE: Elevator doors do not push buttons! Got it?

Headline writers are notorious for writing wrong antecedent headlines and some are so hilarious that people publish examples of them. I thought of one: "As the boat drifted away, she looked at the moon." Hah! "She" being the boat. Boats do not look at the moon. Need a lady's name there. See what I mean? So don't do that!

Okay, you workers of the world, Sen Rick Santorum (Rep, PA) is doing his damndest to pave your way to poverty. Don't believe it? Just take a look at these paragraphs:

"Killing Overtime: It gets worse-- the 40-hour work week would be abolished and companies would not have to pay overtime if they cut hours the next week. The proposal is called "flex time", but workers would have no say in the matter. Their hours could be rearranged, upsetting child care and other weekly routines, and companies would no longer have the deterrent of having to pay overtime as a way to encourage giving workers a regular weekly schedule.

Banning State Minimum Wage Laws: But here's a kicker from a GOP supposedly dedicated to states rights. Santorum's bill would ban states from requiring employers to pay tipped workers with a guaranteed wage. Employers could pay tipped workers nothing and force them to live off tips, while states would be preempted from creating a higher wage standard for tipped workers."

Want to see the sickening rest of this scumbag's plans for you? Take a look at: http://www.nathannewman.org/laborblog/archive/002263.shtml

I'm for putting Santorum on the nearest Georgia chain gang...with no rights whatsoever, no pay, no mercy. That individual needs a strong taste of his own medicine.

Just Observing

Just Observing

And another thing: It's dawned on me that one of the champions for the poor, and the women of the world, is an Op-Ed Contributor for the NY Times, Nicholas D. Kristoff. You'll recall the young Pakistan woman whom the tribal council ordered to be raped by four men to punish her family? That's his topic today at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/opinion/05kristof.html?hpt

And it's well worth reading. Those guys have now been freed from prison, some from death row.

It's time, I think, to stop yelling at the Major Media as a whole and take notice of the really fine reporters who consistantly report the news accurately and with care. They do not deserve to be tarred with the same brush as someone like Bob Novak has earned.

Decent and honorable reporters should be acknowledged. The nation is damned lucky to have them.
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Another of the good quotes from the Independent Clearing House blog:

"It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear."
-General Douglas MacArthur, Speech, May 15, 1951

Now I ask you...anything familiar there?

Little things....writers were talking about grammatical errors and such last Tues nite and also down on the hotel patio at breakfast last week sometime. So what do I read in the very first paragraph of "Column One: A Death in the Family" on the front page of the LA Times this morning? This sentence: "If one of them was attacked..." Grammatical rule: When "if" is used, then it is never "was", but always "were". Thus that sentence should read, "If one of them were attacked..."

That being said, David Zucchino, the reporter, wrote one hell of a fine article from Muqdadiya, Iraq, about Lt. Col. Roger Cloutier's battalion and the way the shit hit the fan when one of his men was killed on his very first day on patrol. Take a look at Column One at www.latimes.com It's worth a fascinated read.
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Rain just will not stop. Having steady showers and it just pours down with each one. Whole weekend is gonna be like this, which means I'll be heading straight for Old Town and the hotel patio for breakfast until next Sat. morn at least. Which is just fine with me.

So four of us at breakfast down there this morn. J, C, B and me. And the hotel mgr, who has just returned from an Hawaii vacation with his wife stops by and gives us each a candy...coconut candy. Little white chunk. Sort of a hard candy. J, C, B all liked it. I about gagged and spit it out. Weird, cause I like fresh coconut, coconut pie, flaked coconut, etc. But that candy is godawful.

C and I headed outta there and went to the movies. Saw "The Pacifier" with Vin Diesel. Was a fun movie. Enjoyable and lived up to expectations in almost all ways, in spite of the opening scene on the beach. I'm there in my seat, straight up like a board, going, Oh no. No, no, no. Not in this life would the SEALs do that. Once they're in the water, okay. But no way that bit on the beach. Know why the writers/director did it, but man, the SEALs are gonna about perish when they see it. Ouch! No matter. It's a fun film and worth seeing.

I have yet to see a film that gets the SEALs or their ops right. I'll never forget sitting in a theaters among a mess of them to see "GI Jane". Talk about some grim looks walking out afterward. Right off the top, I can tell you there is never gonna be an operating SEAL female. Demi Moore did a great job, even went to SEAL Team over on Coronado, but there or no, that's not gonna cut it.
Ain't gonna happen.

Was damned pleased and totally surprised to find an email from DC in my inbox this afternoon. Thought of him a lot reading a book that had to do with Khe Sanh in Vietnam. He was among the Marines there during that battle. Hell of a fine writer. Hilarious guy. Just disappeared. So now he's up in northern Calif and happy as hell and married. Very cool. We all missed him...and he's been a topic of conversation among us for the last two weeks...and bam! Here he is! Excellent.

Raining like hell again. Sheesh!
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Just Observing

Sometimes a quote will hit me just right...and this is one of them. From Information Clearing House:

It is part of the moral tragedy with which we are dealing that words like "democracy," "freedom," "rights," "justice," which have so often inspired heroism and have led men to give their lives for things which make life worthwhile, can also become a trap, the means of destroying the very things men desire to uphold. Sir Norman Angell (1874 - 1967), 1956.
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Just had a feeling I should pick up the latest copy of Esquire this afternoon, so I did. I pay attention to those kinds of off-the-wall instincts.

Damned good thing I did. Remember Colby Buzzell's blog from the Stryker Brigade's base outside of Mousul (I know damned well I'm not spelling that right), Iraq? cb's blog? And suddenly they made him quit...shut him down?

Hah! He who laughs last.... There he is with an article in Esquire! The first in a series, that starts off with how he came to be in the Army in the first place.

And, he's working on a book! The editor's letter talks about him, there's a pic of him in the Contents list, and finally the article himself. Only Colby writes like Colby, is all I have to say. Damned fine to have him back!
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Okay...drive yourself nuts with this one!

Click on red square, move it without touching black shapes or walls, and see how long you can last.

http://www.mtbireland.com/dodge.html

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Just Observing

It is very very important to read exactly what Sen Byrd said about retaining the right to filibuster in the Senate...and why it's important and crucial to our freedom. Go to:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030305B.shtml

for the full speech. It isn't that long. More, he's accused of saying the Repubs are Hitler-like, which in fact is not the truth. So read what he said for yourself.
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THIS IS A CHRISTIAN?!!!!!

Westboro Baptist Church Documents:
Flyer against John Edwards | Letter to Howard Dean

http://rawprint.com/spaulding/westboro.php

I don't shock easily, but THAT is just about one of the sickest things I've ever seen. This guy is both evil and demented. No question about it.
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Just Observing

Plain truth: I'd love to see most of BushCo down the drain. Don't like their attitude, their arrogance, their anything. Not one bit. He's never been and never will be "my" president. In my thoughts, this admin is a completely different matter from the Repubs I know and love and admire and think the world of. They are many and varied and I wouldn't part with a single one of them, and I don't care who they voted for. They have that right every bit as much as I do. So that's that.

And then there's this business about Repub Rep Jim Gibbons of Nevada...who sits on all kinds of intel committees and chairs some of them. Ed Schultz, on Air America, was having a fit this morn about that guy and well he should have. Seems Gibbons went off to a fund raiser or whatever in Elko, Nevada, and flat said some very unseeming things about Dems. Especially Hollywood Dems. Absolutely uncalled for things. Which he's had to apologize for. Think I accept his apology? Not a chance. The man is a hate-monger, as Ed said. So what'd he say?

Well, he's said that people who protest the Iraq war are Communists. But, on March 1st, he elaborated a bit when talking about the "liberal" Hollywood people who have spoken out against this war. Said they ought to be shipped over to Iraq to serve as human shields for the insurgents. Which means, of course that they should be killed....by our troops. Now the reporter for the Elko free press is concerned for his own well-being and thinking maybe he shouldn't have reported what Gibbons said. Or at least not all of it. Not the above part. I disagree. That reporter did good. That reporter is a journalist. He wrote the truth. He heard it, he wrote it. Good for him.

A Reno station reported Gibbon's apology, but did not include the bit about human shields. And I do wonder why. Lack of courage? Pressure from their station's owners? Far as I'm concerned, old Gibbons should catch billy-hell for those viscious remarks. Just check his website--google it--and see the chairs he occupies in intel committees in Congress.

Ed Schultz is offering $500 for an audio tape of Gibbon's speech. Wonder if somebody taped that sucker.
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So. Group is suing Rumsfeld on behalf of people who were tortured. But Atty Gen Gonzales can't/won't take it up because he's liable too. Should have an Independent Counsel take the case, but Gonzales is not about to appoint one. Not sure I've got that straight, but glad people are pursuing those wretched, low-down individuals. Sick is what they are.

It being Tuesday, the writers gathered tonight. No, nobody wanted to adopt a "10 year old, sweet and gentle pit bull". Sheesh! Then came a conversation about all kinds of dogs. Consider that Afhgan Hounds were used to chase lions down. Which they did, and caught them too. They are FAST and can about leap tall buildings. But one of the writers asked if the rest of us knew they were terrible thieves as well...

Seems she had a plumber over. Plumber was lying on his face under the kitchen sink. Had his tools next to his thigh. He'd reach down to get one, and it would be gone. This went on awhile until he got nervous enough to mention it to the Hound's owner. Whereupon she walked him out to the back yard and there, in a pile, lay all his missing tools.

Next thing...people talking about encounters with snakes...then rats, then Bush cutting veterans benefits, then Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ"...which led to much discussion about what was historically accurate and what wasn't.

And talk about the virtues of a Carne Asada Burrito with sour cream and guacamole as opposed to the Sour Cream Enchiladas, who could eat those hot carrot slices and who couldn't. And how to reset the computer to a past date so that mistakinly deleted address could be retrieved, and iPod broadcasts taking the place of radio, the time that the writers who are going to a grade school in the morning to read aloud to the kids should arrive.

Then requests for the URL of the hilarious guy who blogs about the 10 things he's done that day--http://10thingsididtoday.blogspot.com/ --and I don't know what all else. The waitress who takes care of us each Tuesday has decided we're all nuts.
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The whip hand? What the hell does "The Note" mean by that?

"WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 —

NEWS SUMMARY
The horrific car bomb explosion outside of Baghdad — killing more than 100 and sure to dominate cable and network news all day — shows just how politically strong President Bush is right now.

We only reluctantly draw political lessons from human tragedy, but today's news is yet another reminder that on a range of issues — national security, foreign affairs, budgeting, dealing with the nation's gathered governors — the President has the whip hand.

Events and positions that would have brought hailstorms down on past presidents (say: Bill Clinton) don't seem to be seen as "political" problems for this administration right now.

In fact, with the oh-so-prominent exception of Social Security, it is amazing how relatively free and unscathed the White House is to pursue its at-home and abroad agendas."
* * **

Zogby has Bush down to 46% approval in his latest poll. Doesn't sound like a "whip hand" to me. Seems to me that the moderate Repubs have the whip hand if anybody does. They vote with the Dems, Bush is screwed as far as scamming Soc Sec, cutting Medicare, et al.

Sen Joe Biden thinks Hillary Clinton is about a shoo-in to win the Dem nominee for prez in 2008, but he may run, himself, anyway. One of the bloggers thinks---thinks, I say---that he's read that Hillary sits on the board of Wal-Mart, and if she in fact does, he'd absolutely refuse to vote for her. But does she? I have zero idea. Doesn't seem like a smart thing to do, and she's no dummy.

And now Gonzales has announced he'll be very stern and prosecute indecency wherever he finds it. He'd best start with prosecuting himself first. Torture is about as indecent as it gets.

I'm hoping Chief Justice Renquist can hang on until BushCo is out of office or impeached, one. Personally, I prefer impeachment. That would keep those corrupt, arrogant and greedy bastards busy enough so that maybe they can't focus so much on ramming through their horrible ideas.

DeLay is in a world of crap again too. Apparently there's an outfit that's been sending scary scam letters on Soc Sec to people, and they warn those people not to tell, after they ask for donations. Then they use those same donations to pay for DeLay travelling overseas or wherever. Nice. All the more reason it was so very important to gut the House Ethics Committee.

Want to see a selection of what a group of Dem bloggers has to say? They're pretty stringent. Go to: http://indy-bloggers.com
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And....here's another one! http://impeachcentral.com/ Wonder if the two groups will eventually link up?

In the matter of Bush's trip to Europe, it seems our media reported one story and the Europeans reported another. Take a look at:
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=2222

Enjoyed the Oscars tonight. Nice to see awards go to a wider selection of people and movies and all. Very pleased that Jaime Foxx won Best Actor, Clint Eastwood Best Director, Hillary Swank Best Actress and pleased for all the other winners too, especially Morgan Freeman. Chris Rock did a good job, but I swear he looked terrified a couple of times. He had cause. There was one awesomely huge audience watching all over the world.

So now I'll go finish reading at least the Sunday edition of the LA Times.
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Geez! Bored outta my skull watching that parade. Seems like everything is flat out canned/phoney/scripted/pedestrian for both interviewer and interviewees. Will go back to tv at 8PM when they all have their rearends in the seats and the actual Oscars broadcast begins. Until then, forget it.
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Okay...it's Oscar night. Gonna be interesting to see how Chris Rock does as MC. The pressure on him must be something else...as is the responsibility he's carrying for the success of the show. In a couple of minutes--it's almost 3PM (PT) they'll be walking that infamous red carpet. Whether I have anything more to say tonight is anybody's guess, but I'm for Jaime Foxx for Best Actor. Here we go!
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Just Observing

Well!!! Check this out: http://www.votetoimpeach.org/ And it's not just for Bush! Ambitious group here, to say the least, considering the Repubs are in control of the House Judiciary Committee...and they're the ones who bring impeachment charges.
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Just Observing

This thing about drove me nuts! Thought I had it then realized it
was upside-down. Now I realize that in dealing with the digital, I didn't deal with the analog. Blast! Enjoy!


http://t2.technion.ac.il/~snoom/3dc2.swf

This is some fascinating work from Israel. Once the image comes up, move
your mouse around, and the image will react to your movements. Eventually
you will find the spot on your screen where the analog clock is in sync with
the digital, and moving in the right direction.
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I just wonder how many folks know about directional mics, framing, and such that produced the scene that brought Dean down and that he's still being tarred with now that he's Chair of the DNC? Let's hope they read the Miami Herald. Here's their article:

'Dean Scream' Clip Was Media Fraud
By Edward Wasserman
The Miami Herald

Wednesday 23 February 2005

The news media got an unusual bashing during last year's bitter electoral campaigns. They got slapped around from all sides, and everybody argued about how the media tried either to undermine Bush or discredit Kerry or both.

Still, it's never clear why some media wrongs are made into a big deal while others slip by. Take the CBS "60 Minutes" report on Bush's military nonservice: The story itself was old, the dubious evidence was of dubious importance, and the broadcast had no discernible effect. It became a major scandal anyway.

On the other end of the scale is an instance of clear-cut media wrongdoing that involved unquestionably fraudulent evidence and had dramatic consequences. This one, however, has gone largely unremarked. It is the famous incident involving Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean that is known as The Dean Scream.

And with Dean's recent appointment as Democratic Party chairman it's being hauled out as constituting the ceiling on whatever political ambitions he might still have, proof that he's shaky, unstable, unfit to serve - Howard Dean's Chappaquiddick.

You've seen the clip. After Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the Super Bowl, it's the most famous news video of 2004. Dean is addressing campaign supporters after he lost the Iowa party caucuses in January. He's screaming for no apparent reason, practically shrieking, ticking off the states where he's vowing to continue the race. His face is red, his voice breaking. He looks deranged. It's a portrait of a man out of control. It's documentary evidence that Dean lacks the temperament for high office.

In fact the Dean Scream was a fraud, probably the clearest instance of media assassination in recent U.S. political history.

Last year, a young cable news producer attended one of our twice-yearly Ethics Institutes at Washington and Lee University, in which students and journalists gather to discuss newsroom wrongdoing. He brought two clips.

The first was the familiar pool footage of Dean in Iowa. The candidate filled the screen, no supporters were visible. Crowd noise was silenced by the microphone he held, which deadened ambient sounds. You saw only him and heard only his inexplicable screaming.

The second clip was the same speech taped by a supporter on the floor of the hall. The difference was stunning. The place was packed. The noise was deafening. Dean was on the podium, but you couldn't hear him. The roar from his supporters was drowning him out.

Dean was no longer scary, unhinged, volcanic, over the top. He was like the coach of a would-be championship NCAA football team at a pre-game rally, trying to be heard over a gym full of determined, wildly enthusiastic fans. I saw energy, not lunacy.

The difference was context. As psychiatrist R.D. Laing once wrote: We see a woman on her knees, eyes closed, muttering to someone who isn't there. Of course, she's praying. But if we deny her that context, we naturally conclude she's insane.

The Dean Scream footage that was repeatedly aired rests on a similar falsehood. It takes a man who in context was acting reasonably, and by stripping away that context transforms him into a lunatic.

But that clip was aired an estimated 700 times on various cable and broadcast channels in the week after the Iowa caucus. The people who showed that clip are far more technically sophisticated than I and had to understand how tight visual framing and noise-suppression hardware can distort reality.

True, some network news executives commented afterward that perhaps the footage was overplayed and offered the bureaucrat's favorite bromide, that hindsight is 20/20. But the media establishment has never acknowledged this as a burning matter of ethical harm.

That's because the Dean Scream incriminates the entire professional mission of television news, which is built around the primacy of the picture. TV producers don't profess to offer meaning and context; they get you the visuals, unless they're gory or obscene. The notion that great footage would be not shown just because it's profoundly misleading - that's a possibility few TV news executives would entertain.

That's why they're not eager to see the Dean Scream enter the canon of journalistic sin. And if that leaves Howard Dean's political future hobbled by a lie, so be it."
* * *

So....how's that for responsible journalism? The existance of the article above shows responsibility. The writer tells the truth and the publisher publishes it. Getting to be very rare in television and some other forms of media. Radio is very very bad. Too many bloggers are not careful. It pays to cross-check what one hears and reads and sees. Because of the internet, we can read overseas reports and check them against our national reports, and we damned well should.

Do keep in mind that nobody working professionally can be really objective. That's because that professional has X amount of material, there's just so much space or time and so one has to make a choice of what items have to be left out. That choice is almost always subjective, and has to do with what makes the best story, article, newscast, etc. There's a point to be made...that's slant. Mess of other things to think of as well. Bottom line is that nothing can be completely objective, so don't expect to get the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Sad but true.
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"I guess Bush/Cheney supporters must be very proud to know that their champions are universally despised, have been illegally bribing newspeople to spread their propaganda, coddling fake gay newsmen in the press corps, making utter fools of themselves internationally, blatantly lying about Social Security, covering up their failure to prevent 9/11, outing an important CIA operative, ruining the U.S. military, failing to find bin Laden, being outsmarted by the Iraqi religious leaders, bankrupting the U.S. economy, and etc., etc. When will it ever end? Or is this it? The end of the American century and American democracy. Stay tuned, things can only get worse."

Just read the above on:
http://morialekafa.blogspot.com/ , one of my favorite blogs. The guy who writes it is "A retired UCLA Professor of Anthropology" and he does NOT appreciate this Bush administration one damned bit. An interesting and intelligent thinker.
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I have always liked Joe Biden because he's about as plain spoken as a six term Senator can be. When he's pleased, you know it. When he's pissed, you know that too. I believe he has character and strength and would make a terrific president...and I don't think the Repubs have anybody who could stand up to him in a fair fight. I sure hope he decides to run. Yeah!!!

Feisty Biden toying with run for president
6-term senator on California swing to gauge interest
Carla Marinucci, Robert Collier, Chronicle Staff Writers

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Outspoken Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware confirmed Wednesday that he is seriously testing the waters for a 2008 presidential run -- even as he acknowledged that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be "the overwhelming, prohibitive favorite'' to become the nominee of his party.

"I'm sounding it out,'' said Biden, 62, during an interview with The Chronicle editorial board. "In all my career, there's more at stake than any time since I've been a senator ... (and) I have some pretty clear ideas about what I think should be done.''

But Biden acknowledged that his reputation as a blunt, plain-spoken critic on foreign affairs issues -- on display recently during his confirmation hearing grilling of Condoleezza Rice -- could affect his chances. "I just don't know, very honestly, whether the Democratic Party is ready for me ... (and) would be comfortable with me as the nominee.''

Read the rest at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/24/MNG2PBG2K11.DTL

Apologies for not hot linking that URL, but I don't know how to get that done here.
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Hah! Hunter Thompson's parting shot...

">"He knew who I was, at that time, because I had a reputation as a writer. I knew he was part of the Bush dynasty. But he was nothing, he offered nothing, and he promised nothing. He had no humor. He was insignificant in every way and consequently I didn't pay much attention to him. But when he passed out in my bathtub, then I noticed him. I'd been in another room, talking to the bright people. I had to have him taken away."
> --Hunter Thompson, on meeting Dubya at a Super Bowl party in Houston
> in 1974

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Well! Just learned that novelist, Anne Rice (Interview With A Vampire, et al) has paid $8 million for a villa near downtown La Jolla here in San Diego. The 11,000 square foot, furnished, six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, panoramic ocean views, house was built in 1993, so it should be in excellent condition. Let's hope it's not to close to the edge of a cliff or, considering what's happening to others with this damned continual rain, it could slide right off and land in pieces on the beach below. Or whatever is below.

Tornado drifted over Chula Vista this afternoon, but never touched down. Sheesh!

Back to Anne Rice: When her husband died in 2002, she stayed on in their home in New Orleans for awhile, then sold it. At that time, she said she was through writing vampire books...and her fans were getting more and more demanding. Showing up at her house and all such rude behaviors. So she bought some other place and lived there, but wasn't far enough away for privacy. So now she'll be here. Privacy will be no problem. The Bush twins could walk down 5th Ave through the Gaslamp and except for press, about the only reaction would be that people dining in the sidewalk cafes might glance at them and say something like, "wonder which club they're hitting" and that would be about it. Most of us really don't care about celebrities. They're just people after all--and mostly they're nice people, so leave them alone.

Writers are lucky. The great majority of folks have no idea what they look like, so they can go anywhere. Was sitting on the patio at the Marriott Yacht Club one evening when Pierce Brosnan walked past to his table. Had he not walked close to my table, I wouldn't have noticed him at all. I glanced up, had this quick thought that his eyes really are that sort of sparkly, icy blue, and never thought another thing about him. That's just the way it is.

Now that the rain is mostly gone for the moment, maybe the hillsides and the eyucalptus trees will quit sliding down and falling over. What a mess. Floods and sinkholes. Good that tornado never touched down but just continued on toward the mountains. With luck it will just fizzle out.

Drove out to La Mesa early this afternoon, had taxes done. Glad that's over with. Now trying to catch up with all the papers I didn't get read from Sunday on. Also have a manuscript to read. Author lives up in Hemet. Hope it's a good read and doesn't need much work. She brought it to the conference, and somehow, I've ended up with it.

New waitress at the breakfast hotel. Name is Rachel. Geraldo brought her out and intro'd her. Nice gal. Had breakfast by myself this morn. Read the paper, smoked, enjoyed toxic amounts of coffee. Couple of tables of men on the patio from whatever group is meeting there. Mostly they were on their cell phones. Was nice.
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Man, I don't think this storm is ever gonna go completely away. About every 20 minutes there's an absolute downpour. Flood warnings all the time. I'm not happy.
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

The writers' conference goes forward. Once it's started all you can do is stand back and let it roll. The attending writers just take over, and they're now having a blast. Mark Clements' read and critique Rogue workshop started at 9 last night and wrapped up at 6:01 this morning. Did I or did I not warn that the writers' don't have sense enough to sleep? I did, and they don't.

Blue skies and sun for most of the afternoon, but just before noon, the second I hung a left off Rosecrans for Shelter Island Drive, one of those clouds burst and damned near couldn't see the surface of the street, the rain was pounding down with such fury. Then the wind direction changed and that storm headed east. From there on, we were tucked in and content on that walkway, just smokin' and talkin' and drinking whatever.

Learned a little goody today: One of the guys said yesterday that if you add the words, "in bed" to the fortune in any fortune cookie, it makes perfect sense. I said he had to be kidding. Today he comes with a strawberry-colored fortune cookie. Tossed it across the table to me. The fortune said: "You will be in the best position." Add his two words yourself. :)

That went around the table, and left everybody laughing. I'd bet money that before the weekend is over half of them are gonna go out and eat Chinese just to double check.

Agents' panel this afternoon. They were asked what absolutely turned them off and caused them to reject a manuscript before they finished the first page. Misspellings. Bad punctuation. Not formatted properly. "Cute" fonts. Bound pages. Not all those things at once--just the sight of any one of them.

Which caused me to think that entirely too many emailers are extraordinarily careless with proper language regularly, and if that carelessness causes them to continue in other areas, it could cost them dearly. Corporations are currently forced to spend money sending their people to writing classes so they can write a decent report or whatever it is they need to write at work.

Didn't want to hang around for the banquet. Stopped on the way home and got a cheeseburger at Carl's. Just had a yen for one. Don't know when I last had one, but it was the only way to go tonight. I'm content.
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

From Information Clearing House:

"What country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms." -- Thomas Jefferson - (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President Source: in a letter to William S. Smith, 13 November 1787

Our Founding Fathers were some plain-spoken people! The Information Clearing House--I don't know the URL or I'd post it--always opens with wonderful and very pertinent quotes. This administration should be reminded of the FFs statements from time to time...
Wrap

Just Observing

Just Observing

Norton anti-virus is running now and slowing things down a bit, but no problem. I'm in no hurry.

The writers' conference kicked off today. Hotel is full of people who've flown in and driven in. Haven't seen some of them since last year, and one literary/screen agent and I hadn't seen each other for many years. Some serious hugging going on at that conference, with folks just delighted to be together again.

Batch of us at breakfast on our usual hotel patio this morn too. Had to put three four-top tables together so everybody could sit. In spite of the fact that people ordered breakfast whenever they got there, Geraldo, master waiter, covered us all...no sweat.

And over at the conf hotel, I find Dario behind the bar. Next thing I knew he had a pot of coffee, cups, an eight-top banquet table, complete with white cloth and ashtrays all set up for us on the covered walkway outside, next to the inside hall that leads from the lobby to the dining room and bar. Both hotels are damned lucky to have those two guys.

Took awhile before one of the hotel managers and the assistant director of the conference rolled a patio heater over though, but they did, bless 'em. Thought we were gonna freeze to death with that wind blowing straight from the Pacific into the harbor and onto the walkway. Man!

But the rain predicted didn't fall. Cloudy mostly, but full sun and blue skies did appear for a couple of hours. In any case, I left at 5:30, having nothing really to do, and with the sun setting it was just too damned cold.

Good thing too. Had a phone call from a writer up in Hemet to return about a writer of his who will appear at the hotel for the conf in the morning, who he wants to talk to J and I about her book. He says it's ready for an agent right now. If he says it, I believe him, since he's been published at least a dozen times himself and his books sell very well indeed. He'd know.

Have a raft of emails to go through, so....
It's a wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Let's talk about Robert Novak of the Washington Post. The guy who outed CIA's Valerie Plame. The guy who is letting fellow journalists from the NY Times and Time Mag take the fall for him. The guy who protects the source in the White House who gave him the Plame info and who also will not come forward to save two journalists from going to jail for not revealing his identity. Talk about covering your ass!

Fact remains that Novak, in spite of the WH leaker/source calling five other journalists...none of whom printed a word about Plame, knowing that to reveal her name is the next thing to treason and is indeed a crime...Novak put it in print. If anybody should be going to jail, it's Novak. Having done what he's done, there he is, still on CNN, still working for the Washington Post, still going to DC parties...

That individual is despicable. But in this administration, he fits right in. I no longer will read him, I no longer will see any tv program he's involved in. In my world, he's blackballed. He has no honor.
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Question: Any of you guys out there ever sported a Mohawk haircut when you were a kid? If so, I have a little tale to tell you.....

Yesterday, in a town in northern Illiniois, T took his son, C, off to the barber and C got a Mohawk. The grade school C attends held what they call a "Wild Hair Day" today, and the kid with the wildest hairdo earned an award.

C was all kinds of excited. Home from the barber, C pulled a muscle man pose and did his best to look mean and tough so his mom could take his picture. He could hardly wait to get to school.

So this morning, his mom gets a phone call from the principal, telling her to come get C. Seems the his 5th grade class got as tickled and excited as C was about that Mohawk haircut and thus a "disturbance" was caused. Thus C would not be allowed back in school until his Mohawk was cut off.

Mom calls Dad. Dad goes to the principal's office. Wants to see the rules on paper that says anything about a Mohawk or any other hairstyle. There are none. Nevertheless, principal says C's out until. Dad asks the principal if she's gonna pay the ten bucks it's gonna cost him for the barber. Principal says no. She has clippers at home and will go and get them and cut off C's hair herself. Dad takes C to the barber and C not only misses seeing who won the award for the wildest hair style, but goes back to school...bald. And very upset.

Additionally, C has missed the awards ceremony.

Whatcha gotta say about that one?
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Well now, really!!! Take a look at this: http://www.batesline.com/archives/001274.html

The World Publishing Company newspaper--the only one--in Tulsa, OK, has threatened Michael Bates, a blogger there, with legal action for linking to their paper. Absolutely outrageous. Apparently the paper's lawyer has no clue about "Fair Use"...and linking isn't use at all! Pitiful.

Or that lawyer and paper know damned well they don't have a leg to stand on but just intend to try to use scare tactics on Bates so that he'll just buckle under and never be critical of them again. Got news for them. They picked on the wrong guy, for the wrong reasons. The high-rollers want to continue to run that city as they've long done with no interference. Bates protests and writes about it. He's opposition and they just can't tolerate it. Sorry about that. There's freedom of speech in this country, still.
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Just a couple of hours more and I'll be on my way to Old Town for the regular Tues writers' gathering. Lookin' forward to it...and watching the weather outside my office window here. Supposed to pour rain on and off through Friday. Sheesh! The SCWC*SD (Southern Californina Writers' Conference*San Diego) kicks off Friday. Trust me, we don't need any rain, considering the hotel where the conf will be held. That hotel has some of the worst excuses for patios I've ever seen. Many of the writers smoke, including me, so out on the patio we go, coffee or drinks in hand, since the interiors of everywhere in the State are non-smoking. One of those patios is only a single umbrella table wide...and umbrella tables are worthless when it rains. However, on the far side of the bar, with window-doors all along the hallway inside, there's solid overhead...and we can get a portable heater...and run the tables sideways. That's where we'll be, smoking and non-smoking writers both. That's the "living room" where everybody hangs out between workshops. Now, if the wind will just not be blowing in our direction, we'll have it made.

J, C and I all ended up down at our normal hotel on the patio for breakfast this morning. Gonna breakfast there during the conf and then drive over to Shelter Island where the conf hotel is. Will kick back until about 11:30 and then roll. Arriving at the conf hotel is like entering chaos. Writers are nuts. They won't go to bed. They're out on that patio or in one of the Rogue Workshops until the wee hours...talking.

The world of writing is a silent one. Maybe music in the background for some. Otherwise there's just the taping of keys or scratch of pen. Silence prevails when writers are writing. So when we get together with others who talk our language, man, nobody shuts up. Great fun! Most writers have day jobs...and some of those are fascinating. Do they matter during a writers' conf? No. Not at this conf. The only thing that matters is that the person you're talking to is another writer. That's important. Nothing else is. Whole different world. This conf--if you're interested--can be looked over at www.writersconference.com Just click on San Diego and you have us.

Or you can read a review at www.wordsandiego.com which is a rather new newspaper for writers here. They'll be at the conf too.

Think I'm gonna ask MSG to get a count of how many writers attending also write blogs. Now that should be interesting. I'm wondering because one of the writers here just emailed me to find out how to get one and get started. Wonder if he will. If he does, there'll be some interesting reading. Will let you know.

Meanwhile, C just ordered up a brand new Dell 3000 computer last night. But here's what we're trying to find out: the old computer has about $1000 worth of Everquest on it. But it's so contaminated with pop-ups and crap that it's unusable. So...is it possible to download Everquest onto a CD without the contamination and load it into the new Dell? One of the writers is gonna ask another who has a friend who came to the conf a couple years ago...and who is a chief animator artist for Everquest. If anybody can find out, he certainly should be able to. No way would C or I attempt to do it ourselves. Our usual compter tech gave an estimate of $70 to do that. So guess it is possible. I hope. Will see.
And that's a wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Happy Valentine's Day to all you romantic souls out there. Enjoy the champagne, the flowers, the chocolates, the laughter, the love, and be happy!

Just Observing

Just Observing

Here's a bit of background...short, sweet and effective. So...

To learn the truths about the Social Security Insurance problems or lack of problems, go to: http://boxer.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=232056 Just highlite that URL, copy, and paste into your search bar and you're there...or type it in. Believe me, it's worth it to just get the whole deal in clear and simple language. Sen Boxer talked about SS in a speech at a Senior's Center and laid the whole thing out. I had no idea the Repubs have been working on getting rid of SS for the last 60 years!!!

Once again, it's a case of follow the money...to Wall Street. Sen Boxer was once a stock broker, and she lays out just who wins and who loses and why...and where the $$$ are gonna go.

On to other things: Remember my talking about the head maintenance guy down at the hotel where we breakfast on the patio in the morning? And that Tommy works as a pro bouncer on weekends...and that he was hired to be a bodyguard for the birthday girl at a Sweet 16 party downtown that MTV filmed? Well word came out in the paper this morning in Diane Bell's column. Here it is:
Extravagantly Sweet 16
MTV seems to have found a party niche in San Diego. Last month the lavish coming-of-age celebration of two La Jolla High students was aired on MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" show. On Tuesday, the same MTV program is broadcasting Natalie Viscuso's birthday bash with about 700 young guests at her father Mike's On Broadway nightclub downtown. MTV cameras trailed the La Jolla High student for about a month prior to the glitzy event, which took place Jan. 30. Her Hollywood-themed party featured several DJs, go-go girls, tattoo artists, chocolate fountains, eight cakes, 14-foot gold Oscar-style statues, an ice sculpture, a 20-foot-wide screen Play Station and a miniature HOLLYWOOD sign. The only ingredient missing from the disco scene was booze, but this underage crowd made do with an oxygen bar and plenty of Red Bull energy drink – not that these teens needed more energy, says On Broadway party planner Jill Hauser. She isn't disclosing the exact price, but says when the accounting is complete, it could run up to $200,000 (with staffing and security being the highest costs).

Hah! This should be a blast to see. Tommy will be the bald, black-suited, black shirted, black tie guy sticking close to the girl...even on the dance floor.
That's a wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

http://www.intel-dump.com has some excellent posts on the subject of torture....and the man has the background qualifications to talk about it.

And this guy knows computer security and cryptology! Amazing! Go to www.schneier.com He even has a free monthly newsletter, Crypto-Gram.

Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Down at the conv ctr are some of the tallest escalators around. Of course everybody has ridden escalators many many times in every kind of place--airports, department stores, whatever. I've seen young adults, male and female, running up and down them, skipping steps, little kids trying to climb the steps, people with dogs, people crowding two or more on one step, guys with baggy trousers, women with long skirts, etc. And none of them seemed aware that they are riding one very dangerous piece of machinery.

Along the sides, about an inch or so from the bottom, there's a row of brushes. Guys have been known to polish their shoes against them as they ride up or down. What they don't know is that the machinery just behind that row of brushes can grab that loose shoestring and quite literally tear their foot off from their ankle. A long-haired young woman leaned down to pick up something she'd dropped. Her hair got grabbed and she lost a large piece of her scalp. Little kids have fallen on those steps and lost their fingers when they fell. If you want to have your hair stood straight up, just Google "escalator accidents".

So here's the way you ride one. One person per step. Stand in the middle of the step. Hold that handrail with both hands if possible, but at least one...in case of a sudden stop. Keep any part of yourself or clothing or bags or packages away from the sides. Do not ride with shots untied. Don't lean over the rail to look down on the floor below or you chance losing your head as the escalator going up rides close to the wall above, forming a very solid V shape. Hold onto children's hands at all times. Don't walk up or down those steps when the escalator is stopped unless directed to do so. Just remember that escalator can weigh up to 60,000 pounds and it is a machine with moving parts....and a machine can fail at any moment.

Okay? Okay. Stay safe.
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Now this should be one interesting news site. Certainly worth keeping an eye out for. Be very nice to be assured of getting honestly reported news. Wonder how much of the world they'll end up covering. Also need to check these folks' backgrounds once we can see who all is involved. Yes? Yes.
So take a look at their news:

2/11/2005
Writers, publications to launch open source alternative press association
Filed under: General— site admin @ 2:24 pm Email This


Writers and Progressive Publications to Launch Alternative Press Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Larisa Alexandrovna | Associate News Editor – Raw Story
http://www.rawstory.com | laraw@gmail.com

February 10, 2005 – Raw Story editors, along with several other independent progressive journalists and publications, will be launching the Open Source Press Association (OSPA) as an alternative to media agencies such as the Associated Press.

The OSPA will function on four levels: ethics in journalism, alternative press membership, networking and projects, resources, anti-smear council, and resources and distribution.

The Ethics in Journalism Board will vet journalists, publications, freelance writers and organizations for free membership, monitor unethical reporting, and present annual excellence in writing, reporting and publication awards. The board will be made up of founding publications, journalists, blogs, and organizational representatives that run the gamut of progressive press.

The alternative press, including publications, journalists, writers, and organizations, will allow for members to share resources, funding and act as a more inclusive fourth estate. This body will not be a corporate; it will not be beholden to anyone to report on certain topics. The ethics board will provide stringent reporting standards for journalists, publication, etc., and various other standards to be followed by other writers writing in different sub-genres of journalism.

The Networking and Projects arm will allow for a collaborative, safe, environment for publications to post projects in need of writers and for writers to post work in need of publication. The collaboration will be Web-enabled or function through an office.

The Fairness in Journalism Council arm of the OSPA will function as a safety for members who are attacked, threatened, smeared or discredited unfairly for reporting the truth.

The arm of Resources and Distribution will allow members to share legal council, have free access to knowledge bases; including a proprietary OSPA knowledge base, provide a single RSS feed of information, syndication and aid in distribution. Members will have access to publishing, agents and educational resources as well.

The OSPA is designed to bypass the sometimes inaccurate and unquestioning reporting of the mainstream press. It

is designed so that journalists like the late Gary Webb are able to find work; so that publications working hard to get the truth out are not silenced by financial burdens or smear campaigns. It is designed to allow for the true fourth estate – the media – to be reborn in truth and founded in ethical principles, not corporate bottom lines.

Journalists, publications, and reporting organizations are welcome to submit statements of interest. OSPA hopes to begin credentialing membership organizations soon.

Contact Larisa Alexandrovna at laraw@gmail.com to express interest. The group will be setting up an autonomous website soon.

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Copyright (c) 2004, 2005 by Raw Story

Just Observing

Just Observing

If you can possibly watch this series on your computer, do so. As the crew travels across the red states, Chris talks to everyday citizens about who they voted for and why. Absolutely fascinating. Day 10 he's in Crawford TX where Bush's ranch is, and talks with the publisher of the Iconoclast newspaper there that endorsed Kerry for prez. Do scroll down and start with Day One. Each video clip is about 3 minutes long. Just click, on the right, which video player you want to use and off you go! I wouldn't miss a day!

VIDEO SPECIAL: Chris Hume | "Red State Road Trip" Day 10
http://www.truthout.org/multimedia.htm
Wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Almost forgot. Saw something today that I've only seen in drawings before. Right here in the neighborhood, about a mile away, coming back from breakfast. House on my right, in the middle of the block, had an American flag flying from a regulation size flagpole. But that flag was flying upside-down. That's a distress signal. Will watch in the morning to see if it's still in that position.
That is a wrap.

Just Observing

Just Observing

Just back, on this rainy night, from Coronado. Drove over to attend Roger Conlee's book-signing at Bay Books. Been so long since I've been over there, I'd forgotten the bookstore's location. Had to drive around a bit, but found it. Was surprised not to see some Navy SEALs there. They usually are. Did see a couple of writers who've attended the writers' conference. Brought back memories of my book-signing there one summer eve. Took I-5 over and back. Quicker to hit the freeway, but commuter traffic was still rolling.

Listening to LA News on the drive home, heard there's a section of one of the freeways up there where cars are suddenly getting flat tires. Whole mess of vehicles pulled over with drivers out changing tires. That's damned miserable, something like that. I feel for them.

Also heard that the auditing team sent to Los Alamos absolutely couldn't get into Dept X. Scientists and managers in that one do top-secret nuclear work and flat would not let them in, even though the auditor told them the audit was a matter of national security given the materials they work with absolutely have to be accounted for. This is the department that allegedly lost two hard disks of their work to China. Not the kind of hard disks you want to escape the US. Think the stuff is gonna hit the fan on this one. Los Alamos security has not been what it should be, by any means. Something to keep an eye on here. You'd think a "black op" was going on in there. Don't like this at all.

Anyway, I just lit a smoke and rolled on home.

This privatizing Social Security bit is a shell game. Don't fall for it. Really torques me. And BushCo has totally blown the North Korea nuclear business, with his big mouth. Meanwhile, they're carrying on talking about Iran the same way they hyped the war with Iraq. Even using some of the same language. Mess of liars in the White House. And now they've passed or are about to pass a bill that gives Homeland Security permission to ignore any law that interferes with whatever they want to do. Is there trouble in River City? Damned straight...and it's getting worse by the day. Gonna be a hell of a ride until 2008.
Wrapped.