...LBJ told the world he was hangin' up his spurs, the lascivious old bastard.
I was tuned into POTUS08, XM radio 130, this morning when I heard his gravelly Texas drawl oozing out of my speakers mid-speech.
I remembered that in '68 Johnson had surprisingly announced that he was no longer in the running for re-election. It oocurred to me that this was probably the anniversary...why else would they be rebroadcasting one of his speeches? He would have had to have done it this time of year...
The speech was apparently 35 minutes long, so I guess I caught the last 20 minutes or so.
The announcement, at the very end, was jarring different from the tone of the rest of his speech. Much of what I heard was devoted to recapping history and progress in Vietnam. I enjoyed getting to hear most of it today, even though the whole time I kept thinking about the awful parallels with Iraq.
If only Bush had had such qualms in 2004, maybe we'd be out there by now. But no...he is not only ignorant, he's stubborn.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
All Hail The Idiots In Our NCAA Pools
You know who the idiots are that you work with. The idiots in your NCAA pool.
They're the pack of Neanderthals who pick all their winners based on whether or not the mascot of one team could eat/kill the mascot of the other team, if they were animals engaged in mortal combat on Animal Planet.
They're the gang of jerks who give you score updates of tourney games in progress "after the first period."
They're the sort of dummies who couldn't tell Digger Phelps from Dig 'Em Frog.
They're the kind of morons who pick all four number 1 seeds to go to the Final Four.
And more than likely, these geniuses are winning your pool. Nice job, Brainaic.
They're the pack of Neanderthals who pick all their winners based on whether or not the mascot of one team could eat/kill the mascot of the other team, if they were animals engaged in mortal combat on Animal Planet.
They're the gang of jerks who give you score updates of tourney games in progress "after the first period."
They're the sort of dummies who couldn't tell Digger Phelps from Dig 'Em Frog.
They're the kind of morons who pick all four number 1 seeds to go to the Final Four.
And more than likely, these geniuses are winning your pool. Nice job, Brainaic.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
1-888-995-DOPE
How hard is it to read a phone number aloud?
Apparently, this was fairly challenging for 43, who screwed it up the last time he tried it, too.
Can't remember the number?...turn around, W - it was on a big freaking banner behind you.
Apparently, this was fairly challenging for 43, who screwed it up the last time he tried it, too.
Can't remember the number?...turn around, W - it was on a big freaking banner behind you.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
McSurge, With a Side of Rice?
Rice-A-Phony, the San Francisco Treat, er, Ex-Stanford Provost Freak...
Condoleezza Rice, of Chevron shipping fame, is apparently looking to pad her resume before she interviews for the NFL Commish job she' s been cravin'. She attended a Grover Norquist-run conservative function earlier today, which triggered speculation that Condi wants to be considered for McSurge's VP slot. Go for it, girl.
What better way to tie McSurge permanently and fatally to Bush & Cheney and their failed Administration?
Condoleezza Rice, of Chevron shipping fame, is apparently looking to pad her resume before she interviews for the NFL Commish job she' s been cravin'. She attended a Grover Norquist-run conservative function earlier today, which triggered speculation that Condi wants to be considered for McSurge's VP slot. Go for it, girl.
What better way to tie McSurge permanently and fatally to Bush & Cheney and their failed Administration?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Ceasefire, Please!
It has been awhile since the last primary. We're still 4 weeks away from the Pennsylvania primary. I wish the Democratic candidates and their moronic surrogates would kindly shut up 'til then.
In the last couple of weeks we have learned many things. We learned that Obama has a pastor who's a little bit crazy and a whole lotta hateful for a Christian. And we learned that something about a cute 8-year-old girl bearing gifts on a Bosnian tarmac convinced Hillary Clinton that snipers were emptying their rifles on her and Chelsea and Sinbad and Cheryl Crow.
We learned that Obama's advisor, Samantha Power, thinks Hill is a monster. We learned that Bill Clinton fantasizes about a race where both candidates love their country. We learned that James Carville thinks that Bill Richardson is like Judas.
Here's a thought, people. The Republicans are going to dip into the sewers to develop phony ideas to base their fall campaign on. There's really no doubt. No lie is scurrilous enough not to repeat; no rumor too disgusting or seedy not to mention. So let's let them wallow it this stuff. Let's stick to attacking our real, common enemy, the person we will rally against in the fall, regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination. St. John McSurge.
Here's what we've learned lately about McSurge. The country is in recession, and he's admitted he doesn't know much about economics. To reassure us on that front, his top economic advisor is former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Deregulation), who spent his entire career stripping oversight from our financial markets.
On the religious front, we learned that McSurge actually solicited the endorsement of Minister John Hagee, who says the Catholic Church is the "Whore of Babylon."
We learned that Johnny Mac is so clueless, he needs Rape Gurney Joe Lieberman (R-Arizona) to prompt him for the correct foreign policy answers. We learned that McSurge thinks Purim is the Israeli version of Halloween.
We learned that McSurge has broken the spending caps according to federal election laws, and that media is continuing to give him a free pass.
Hillary, Barack,...and all of your surrogates...there is plenty to shoot at here. There's really no need to keep shooting at each other.
In the last couple of weeks we have learned many things. We learned that Obama has a pastor who's a little bit crazy and a whole lotta hateful for a Christian. And we learned that something about a cute 8-year-old girl bearing gifts on a Bosnian tarmac convinced Hillary Clinton that snipers were emptying their rifles on her and Chelsea and Sinbad and Cheryl Crow.
We learned that Obama's advisor, Samantha Power, thinks Hill is a monster. We learned that Bill Clinton fantasizes about a race where both candidates love their country. We learned that James Carville thinks that Bill Richardson is like Judas.
Here's a thought, people. The Republicans are going to dip into the sewers to develop phony ideas to base their fall campaign on. There's really no doubt. No lie is scurrilous enough not to repeat; no rumor too disgusting or seedy not to mention. So let's let them wallow it this stuff. Let's stick to attacking our real, common enemy, the person we will rally against in the fall, regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination. St. John McSurge.
Here's what we've learned lately about McSurge. The country is in recession, and he's admitted he doesn't know much about economics. To reassure us on that front, his top economic advisor is former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Deregulation), who spent his entire career stripping oversight from our financial markets.
On the religious front, we learned that McSurge actually solicited the endorsement of Minister John Hagee, who says the Catholic Church is the "Whore of Babylon."
We learned that Johnny Mac is so clueless, he needs Rape Gurney Joe Lieberman (R-Arizona) to prompt him for the correct foreign policy answers. We learned that McSurge thinks Purim is the Israeli version of Halloween.
We learned that McSurge has broken the spending caps according to federal election laws, and that media is continuing to give him a free pass.
Hillary, Barack,...and all of your surrogates...there is plenty to shoot at here. There's really no need to keep shooting at each other.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Salamanders, Crocodiles, and the War
DARPA is good for something besides weapons of mass destruction, after all.
Funded by a million dollar DARPA grant, some scientists think they are well on their way to solve the problem of mammalian limb regeneration, perhaps within 10 years or so.
Salamanders can regrow limbs quite easily. And like mammals, these amphibians have limbs with complex joints, bones, cartilage, nerves and blood vessels similar to mammalian limbs. And before you pooh-pooh the idea because of the size differential, the authors point out that crocodiles can even regenerate whole tails, which are comparable to human limbs in girth.
According to the article in this month's Scientific American, one of the key differences that prevents us from regrowing limbs is that mammals have fibroblasts that promote fibrotic scarring instead of making a layer of regenerative cells.
So if we can trick our cells into bypassing this fibrotic scarring, and supply the severed area with enough nutrients, we should be able to someday restore all these poor soldiers who are coming back from Iraq with missing limbs.
Funded by a million dollar DARPA grant, some scientists think they are well on their way to solve the problem of mammalian limb regeneration, perhaps within 10 years or so.
Salamanders can regrow limbs quite easily. And like mammals, these amphibians have limbs with complex joints, bones, cartilage, nerves and blood vessels similar to mammalian limbs. And before you pooh-pooh the idea because of the size differential, the authors point out that crocodiles can even regenerate whole tails, which are comparable to human limbs in girth.
According to the article in this month's Scientific American, one of the key differences that prevents us from regrowing limbs is that mammals have fibroblasts that promote fibrotic scarring instead of making a layer of regenerative cells.
So if we can trick our cells into bypassing this fibrotic scarring, and supply the severed area with enough nutrients, we should be able to someday restore all these poor soldiers who are coming back from Iraq with missing limbs.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Your Future Robot Boss is a Fashion Challenged Perv
With a See-Through Head
Weird commercial today, shown during the NCAA tourney.
Product: Degree® deodorant/antiperspirant.
Plot: Hip young man of the future, getting ready for his busy work day, has Degree automatically applied to his pits via long robotic arms.
His commute into work is a Fifth Elemental amalgam of dangerous, high-speed near misses apparently inducing perspiration.
Conclusion: He enters his Robot Boss' office. Robot Boss scans Young Man's armpit areas, and satisfied that they are "under control" tilts his head and smiles approvingly.
Questions raised:
1) Why is the clearly male Robot Boss scanning his male employees?
2) I appreciated his yellow power tie, but why is the Robot Boss wearing suspenders? For that matter...why is he wearing clothes?
3) Why is Robot Boss' head see through? Wouldn't that be distracting to the employees of the future? Seeing crap flying by behind his big clear head while he's talking?
Weird commercial today, shown during the NCAA tourney.
Product: Degree® deodorant/antiperspirant.
Plot: Hip young man of the future, getting ready for his busy work day, has Degree automatically applied to his pits via long robotic arms.
His commute into work is a Fifth Elemental amalgam of dangerous, high-speed near misses apparently inducing perspiration.
Conclusion: He enters his Robot Boss' office. Robot Boss scans Young Man's armpit areas, and satisfied that they are "under control" tilts his head and smiles approvingly.
Questions raised:
1) Why is the clearly male Robot Boss scanning his male employees?
2) I appreciated his yellow power tie, but why is the Robot Boss wearing suspenders? For that matter...why is he wearing clothes?
3) Why is Robot Boss' head see through? Wouldn't that be distracting to the employees of the future? Seeing crap flying by behind his big clear head while he's talking?
Happy Easter!
I like Easter. My reasons are more attitudinal than religious.
I just get sick of winter. As I get older, I find that I dislike the cold & snow & ice more and more. I can handle it in small doses, but by the end of February I'm ready to purchase a flamethrower and just torch every organic object within 50 miles, if that will help me keep my core temp up.
And there is absolutely zero reason to tie Jesus' resurrection to chocolate bunnies and marshmallows and jelly beans, but I do share the joy kids get out of these rituals.
We held our annual family Easter egg hunt, and our new puppy joined in the festivities as well.
So spring has gotten off to an excellent start. Pass the Peeps.
I just get sick of winter. As I get older, I find that I dislike the cold & snow & ice more and more. I can handle it in small doses, but by the end of February I'm ready to purchase a flamethrower and just torch every organic object within 50 miles, if that will help me keep my core temp up.
And there is absolutely zero reason to tie Jesus' resurrection to chocolate bunnies and marshmallows and jelly beans, but I do share the joy kids get out of these rituals.
We held our annual family Easter egg hunt, and our new puppy joined in the festivities as well.
So spring has gotten off to an excellent start. Pass the Peeps.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Spring Has Sprung
the grass is riz,
I wonder where
the flowers iz...
Finally... a sunny, relatively calm day here in Rhode Island...after many windy and overcast days in a row. So wonderful to be able to take a walk at lunchtime and not have a gust of wind dislocate your shoulder. And the flowers are nearing riz. Our tulips and daffodils are beginning to stick their heads out through the mulch.
Compared to the weather our friends in the Mississippi Valley are enduring, I have nothing to complain about. The flood coverage is heartbreaking, watching whole towns and villages getting drowned.
But all of the drowned places will recover, eventually. They will be reborn; very much an Easter theme. Hopefully people will not rebuild so close to the rivers, next time. The silver lining is the silt deposited in all of the nearby farmland.
I wonder where
the flowers iz...
Finally... a sunny, relatively calm day here in Rhode Island...after many windy and overcast days in a row. So wonderful to be able to take a walk at lunchtime and not have a gust of wind dislocate your shoulder. And the flowers are nearing riz. Our tulips and daffodils are beginning to stick their heads out through the mulch.
Compared to the weather our friends in the Mississippi Valley are enduring, I have nothing to complain about. The flood coverage is heartbreaking, watching whole towns and villages getting drowned.
But all of the drowned places will recover, eventually. They will be reborn; very much an Easter theme. Hopefully people will not rebuild so close to the rivers, next time. The silver lining is the silt deposited in all of the nearby farmland.
Friday, March 21, 2008
1% Smith
from USA Today:
"One in six were too young to buy a beer. About two dozen were old enough for an AARP card. Eleven died on Thanksgiving Day, 11 on Christmas, and at least five on their birthdays. One percent were named Smith."
The article goes on to provide more demographic breakdown on the war's impact. You might think that reaching a milestone like 4,000 dead U.S. soldiers could give Americans heartburn, if not remorse. But you're probably wrong.
"Whether anyone pays attention to the benchmark is something else. "People tend not to be numerologists," says John Mueller, an Ohio State expert on war and public opinion. "These milestones basically have little effect on public support for a war. It's not like the stock market; people are more affected by events in wars than numbers."
"One in six were too young to buy a beer. About two dozen were old enough for an AARP card. Eleven died on Thanksgiving Day, 11 on Christmas, and at least five on their birthdays. One percent were named Smith."
The article goes on to provide more demographic breakdown on the war's impact. You might think that reaching a milestone like 4,000 dead U.S. soldiers could give Americans heartburn, if not remorse. But you're probably wrong.
"Whether anyone pays attention to the benchmark is something else. "People tend not to be numerologists," says John Mueller, an Ohio State expert on war and public opinion. "These milestones basically have little effect on public support for a war. It's not like the stock market; people are more affected by events in wars than numbers."
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Five Years Ago for the Iraqis...
Yesterday I wrote about the U.S. casualties.
Today is dedicated to the Iraqi victims of this illegal war. Click on "IRAQI SECURITY FORCE & CIVILIAN FATALITIES.
Regardless of whose numbers you choose...they are in the six figures.
from npr.org:
World Health Organization: 151,000 (May 2003 - Nov 2007)
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health: 650,000 (March 2003 - July 2006)
I'll take Johns Hopkins and WHO over any BushCo jive.
And I've heard estimates of 80,000 Iraqi refugee women forced into prostitution in Syria and elsewhere.
Let us pray that this is the beginning of the end.
Today is dedicated to the Iraqi victims of this illegal war. Click on "IRAQI SECURITY FORCE & CIVILIAN FATALITIES.
Regardless of whose numbers you choose...they are in the six figures.
from npr.org:
World Health Organization: 151,000 (May 2003 - Nov 2007)
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health: 650,000 (March 2003 - July 2006)
I'll take Johns Hopkins and WHO over any BushCo jive.
And I've heard estimates of 80,000 Iraqi refugee women forced into prostitution in Syria and elsewhere.
Let us pray that this is the beginning of the end.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Five Years Today...
Approximately 4000 American lives lost.
Over 20,000 injured soldiers.
Over 500,000,000,000.00 spent.
But after all of this, we are only sure of three things.
Bush thinks he was right.
Cheney thinks Bush was right.
And the American people know they are both wrong.
Over 20,000 injured soldiers.
Over 500,000,000,000.00 spent.
But after all of this, we are only sure of three things.
Bush thinks he was right.
Cheney thinks Bush was right.
And the American people know they are both wrong.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
2008: A Space Eulogy
So my favorite Sri Lankan writer has died. Sad. He apparently loved diving, and Sri Lankan waters were the closest thing to space he figured he'd ever experience.
Towards the end he began to resemble another hero of mine, Buckminster Fuller, and Clarke was at least as bright and worldchanging as Fuller was. I'll have to reread my Fuller books to see if he commented on Clarke's idea of geosynchronous communication satellites.
I also see that Clarke's novel Rendezvous with Rama is being made into a movie...I'm curious to see how that turns out. I loved Kubrick's 2001, and I'd love to see that on the big screen one more time before I die.
Towards the end he began to resemble another hero of mine, Buckminster Fuller, and Clarke was at least as bright and worldchanging as Fuller was. I'll have to reread my Fuller books to see if he commented on Clarke's idea of geosynchronous communication satellites.
I also see that Clarke's novel Rendezvous with Rama is being made into a movie...I'm curious to see how that turns out. I loved Kubrick's 2001, and I'd love to see that on the big screen one more time before I die.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Hyenas in Baghdad
Joe Sudbay makes a great point...
If things were going so well -- five years later -- why would Cheney need a surprise visit?
Cheney was so confident about being greeted as a liberator, why does he sneak into Iraq?
Why not announce the visit in advance so the Iraqis can plan the parade?
St. John McSurge is also skulking around the Green Zone with Lieberman and Lindsay Graham.
Flowers and chocolates, right? Five years, 4,000 American lives and 700 billion dollars later, and they are all still sneaking around like the hyenas in The Lion King.
If things were going so well -- five years later -- why would Cheney need a surprise visit?
Cheney was so confident about being greeted as a liberator, why does he sneak into Iraq?
Why not announce the visit in advance so the Iraqis can plan the parade?
St. John McSurge is also skulking around the Green Zone with Lieberman and Lindsay Graham.
Flowers and chocolates, right? Five years, 4,000 American lives and 700 billion dollars later, and they are all still sneaking around like the hyenas in The Lion King.
"Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones...
we got a thang, goin' on.... "
Somehow with all the other news of the world, Spitzer, McGreevey, McCain in Iraq, Cheney in Iraq, Bear Stearns in the toilet....I somehow missed the news about another faux memoirist, Margaret B. Jones.
"Me...ah, me...ah, Me and Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones....
we got a thang, goin' on...."
Somehow with all the other news of the world, Spitzer, McGreevey, McCain in Iraq, Cheney in Iraq, Bear Stearns in the toilet....I somehow missed the news about another faux memoirist, Margaret B. Jones.
"Me...ah, me...ah, Me and Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones....
we got a thang, goin' on...."
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Remember the U.S. Attorney Scandal???
I used to think that the Democratic leadership was dragging their feet on the U.S. Attorney Scandal because they feared it would distract from the presidential campaign, ensuring another Republican term.
Now I am not so sure. After the arcane parliamentary tricks they unveiled to stymie a FISA do-over, I'm now thinking they were/are taking their time so that the actual prosecution of the rats involved does not begin until AFTER Bush leaves office, thereby guaranteeing that Rove and Company do some hard time for peeing on the Constitution, and preventing Bush from issuing a sweeping pardon, as his father did with Cap Weinberger, et al.
Now I am not so sure. After the arcane parliamentary tricks they unveiled to stymie a FISA do-over, I'm now thinking they were/are taking their time so that the actual prosecution of the rats involved does not begin until AFTER Bush leaves office, thereby guaranteeing that Rove and Company do some hard time for peeing on the Constitution, and preventing Bush from issuing a sweeping pardon, as his father did with Cap Weinberger, et al.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Is the End Really Near?
We were good throughout this era, squirreling our money away and not refinancing every other week like the rest of the planet.
But it seems we'll get punished just the same when it all comes crashing down.
But it seems we'll get punished just the same when it all comes crashing down.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Denounce & Reject
It is Obama's turn again to denounce and reject someone else's idiotic rhetoric.
I'm reminded of the scene in A Few Good Men:
Lt. Weinberg: "I strenuously object?" Is that how it works? Hm? "Objection." "Overruled." "Oh, no, no, no. No, I STRENUOUSLY object." "Oh. Well, if you strenuously object then I should take some time to reconsider."
This storm will pass. The Right Wing Noise Machine is cranked up to 11, as it were. Nothing short of Obama's crucifixion on HBO will satisfy them. Whether or not Obama gets the nomination, this is how the dead-enders are going to campaign for Bush's third term. Hillary will get the same treatment.
Meanwhile, McCain's buddy Rev. Hagee is getting a pass. I haven't read the Federalist Papers in their entirety, but I'm pretty sure there's no mention of America being founded to destroy Islam in there.
Whatever happened to a) separation of church and state and b) freedom of speech?
It is going to be a long campaign. Ugh.
I'm reminded of the scene in A Few Good Men:
Lt. Weinberg: "I strenuously object?" Is that how it works? Hm? "Objection." "Overruled." "Oh, no, no, no. No, I STRENUOUSLY object." "Oh. Well, if you strenuously object then I should take some time to reconsider."
This storm will pass. The Right Wing Noise Machine is cranked up to 11, as it were. Nothing short of Obama's crucifixion on HBO will satisfy them. Whether or not Obama gets the nomination, this is how the dead-enders are going to campaign for Bush's third term. Hillary will get the same treatment.
Meanwhile, McCain's buddy Rev. Hagee is getting a pass. I haven't read the Federalist Papers in their entirety, but I'm pretty sure there's no mention of America being founded to destroy Islam in there.
Whatever happened to a) separation of church and state and b) freedom of speech?
It is going to be a long campaign. Ugh.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
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