Certainly it's nice to see the wheels of justice actually turning in the right direction for once, and it is cause for celebration, but Sen. Kennedy reminds us what this is about:
Today is an ominous day for the country, signifying a new low since Watergate in terms of openness and honesty in our government. This is far more than an indictment of an individual. In effect it’s an indictment of the vicious and devious tactics used by the Administration to justify a war we never should have fought. It’s an indictment of the lengths Administration officials were willing to go to cover up their failed intelligence, their distortion on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and their serious blunders on the war. It is an indictment of their vindictive efforts to discredit anyone who challenge their misrepresentations.
The American people know the high cost of this misguided war – 2,000 U.S. soldiers dead, more than 15,000 wounded, hundreds of billions of dollars spent with no end in sight, and a continuing shameful effort by the White House to silence those who try to tell the truth about the war. Dissent is the ultimate form of patriotism, and it’s time we return to having an honest discourse in this country about changing direction and paying attention to the needs of the American people.
The President should take this opportunity to do everything he can to heal the country by not interfering with the prosecution of this case or the continuing investigation, and by cleaning house at the White House to immunize the country against any further corruption and dishonesty. As the President promised, anyone still in the White House who had anything to do with this scandalous plot or the cover-up should be dismissed immediately, whether or not they have been indicted. Something has to give — America can’t stand three more years of this failed Bush presidency.
Friday, October 28, 2005
Scooter, No Not That Scooter
From Atrios.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Free Enterprise?
This is how Wal-Mart makes those billions. Remember, the grapic in the link is only for Wisconsin. Let's all praise Wal_Mart now. Every company on the list ought to be ashamed.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Rosa Parks, R.I.P.
Something postive from the 1950's. Via Raw Story.
"The act of defiance launched the modern civil rights movement and was to change the course of American history."
Abducted, Abducted
So a big shout out to Curtis for last week's Grantsburg snark. I'm still here. My blogging has been on a bit of a hiatus while I formulate a post that involves a leather recliner, Fitzmas, milkweed fluff, & peace & freedom, substitute teaching, & the inability to think. Plus the Packers just stink, but the Badgers are still rolling. I'll be back.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Yep. Kos Sucks
Like the writer of this piece, I only occassionally go to dKos these days. It's bad enough to be marginalized by the ReThugs, but then to have someone who supposedly is on the same team denigrate what we have done for so many years, well, I guess I've had enough. I wish dKos & Kos well, but I won't be listening, much.
"Poor, poor Old School Activist. See how shabby and shoddy (and frankly a little thick around the middle) he looks next to svelte, shiny New School Activist’s carbon-composite cyberbody. Oh wait. Where is New School Activist? Since no major social policy change has been driven by activism since the 1960’s, no one is really sure. Maybe he’s off raking in the cash at some tech company, but you can be pretty darn sure he still knows everything about everything, all the time!! And one of these days, he just might decide to do something! You never can tell with these crazy kids today."
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Not Much
Slow day to blog even with the rumors of a potential Cheney indictment. I would have to get drunk & spread the good news. I sat around today & stripped milkweed seeds from the fluff. I make paper out of the fluff. The bast fiber from the stem of the milkweed makes better paper, but the fluff is nice too. I watched the tiny & stupid McClellan lie to the press again today. I don't know why I punish myself like that? But I remained relatively calm & had no desire to throw a cement block through the screen. I'm also getting more pissed about supposedly progressive bloggers like Kos & Oliver Willis - two morons, in my books, yes, I have more than one. Kos thinks older progressives should just get out of the way so the young, cool kids can do, well, elect Bush again, I guess & Willis supports the Redskins & has the gall to call Jesse Jackson a racist! Well, fuck them both. I need to think, I know, watch out.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Sports Sunday
It's been a good sports weekend, sort of. Yesterday, the kid & son-in-law & friends from Madison, WI, went to the Badgers/Gophers game in MN. I turned the game off with two minutes left & the Badgers down by 10 points. Needless-to-say Wisconsin pulled the game out in spectacular fashion. The kid & son-in-law said it was the most exciting two minutes of football they had ever seen. A big plus, of course, was being a Badger fan. Then the most hated of all college football teams, Notre Dame, lost in the last seconds to USC. Wonderful. Plus, Penn State, a team I used to cheer for, until I found out that the dimwit coach is a wingnut ReThug, lost. The Minnesota Vikings, what a sorry excuse for a team, got wiped out today, that's good, since they are the second most hated football team in this house. & the best news, the Packers had a bye week, so they couldn't embarass the state like Rep. Mark Green (ReThug-DeLay). Green won't return the corrupt DeLay's money. Yes, a great fall, midwest weekend, sun, falling orange/yellow/red leaves, Wisconsin won, the Harley started, the horses escaped, but came quietly home, & I made a kick-ass ham & aged cheddar sandwich.
Hell, Yeah
Wolcott does it again.
"In the calm, autumnal reflection of Sunday morn, it is impossible to shoo away the sad conclusion that Bill Keller and Pinch Sulzberger have fucked the dog. Screwed the pooch. Hijacked the greyhound."
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Idiot America
Idiot America needs to be literally destroyed. I never thought that in this country going backward would not only be an option, but encouraged. Jeez, Louise.
"You would be surprised at how much email is sent to me telling me to stop being so derisive, that harsh language and ridicule turn people off and repel the very ones we're trying to persuade. My reply is like the one above; by refusing to ridicule the ridiculous, by watering down every criticism into a mannered circumlocution, we have created an environment where idiots thrive unchallenged. We have a twit for a president because so many people made apologies for his ludicrous lack of qualifications—we need more people unabashedly pointing out fools."
Miers
Well, I'm satisfied. The outpourings of a mind beautiful:
"'I am respectful of both of your great many time commitments and I realize you receive many, many requests,' she wrote. 'Of course, I would be very pleased if either of you is able to participate. However, I will be pleased with your judgment about whether participating in this event fits your schedule whatever your decision. . . . I feel honored even to be able to extend this invitation to such extraordinary people.'"
This Is Not Good
This is really bad news. But the important thing is to free the drug companies from those pesky lawsuits, now that is a healthy approach. Dickheads.
"A strain of H5N1 bird flu virus found in an infected Vietnamese girl is resistant to the drug being stockpiled by more than a dozen countries, including the United States, as a defense against a possible global pandemic, researchers reported yesterday."
This Is Good
Gov. Doyle rightfully realizes that these are political views, not moral beliefs.
"'Medical decisions should be made by the patient and the doctor based on what's best for the patient, not on the doctor's political views.'"
Friday, October 14, 2005
Don't Bogart
That joint, my friend, I need more brain cells & well, where are the munchies, man.
"'This is quite a surprise,' said Xia Zhang, an associate professor with the Neuropsychiatry Research Unit at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon."
Friday Random 10
Some Of These Days - Kermit Ruffins
I Keep On Drifting - Champion Jack Dupree
Shake For Me - R.L. Burnside
Heaven By Seven - Anders Osborne
I Can't Stand The Rain - L.J. Porter
Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right - Kenny Neal
Dog Hill - Boozoo Chavis
To Be Next To You - Sue Foley
Zydeco Zambada - Terrance Simien
Going Back To New Orleans - Snooks Eaglin
I Keep On Drifting - Champion Jack Dupree
Shake For Me - R.L. Burnside
Heaven By Seven - Anders Osborne
I Can't Stand The Rain - L.J. Porter
Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right - Kenny Neal
Dog Hill - Boozoo Chavis
To Be Next To You - Sue Foley
Zydeco Zambada - Terrance Simien
Going Back To New Orleans - Snooks Eaglin
Play along with your MP3 player or whatever. No cheating, i.e., not putting down the ABBA.
Duh #3789
Detest puts too fine a point on it, I believe.
"'African Americans were not supporters, but I don't think that they outright detested him -- until now,' Hart said. 'The actions in and around Katrina persuaded African Americans that this was a president who was totally insensitive to their concerns and their needs.'"
My emphasis. & not just African Americans. This bonehead detests anyone not of his class.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Time Bomb Slowly Beginning To Explode
This is what is really going to hurt. Yet, the American people voted in Bu$hCo twice & have elected a ReThuglian Congress. How is that going to help them when the chips are really down. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my sister's son developed a strange & wicked foot infection while in NYC. He was hospitalized, the infection stopped & he was released. He has a job as a bellboy (person?) at a hotel in Colorado. His hospital bill came to $38,000. This kid, with no insurance, has a bill of $38,000. Now, he had about $2000 in savings, mostly for rent. They took all of his savings & reduced the bill to $21,000 - how generous. Now this kid faces eviction, since he has no money to pay for rent. How, in this country, can a situation like this be allowed? Because, people have voted in the ReThugs - & this is how they repay those votes - by destroying the middle-class & the young, not just in Iraq. Well, this makes me sick.
"...that our health care woes are all the fault of cosseted middle-class employees who avail themselves of the medical system at the drop of a hat. As if we really enjoy the paperwork, the maddening insurance company phone trees; as if we're not facing ever increasing premiums and co-payments.
"Back in the '90s, the Times -- fat with ads from drug companies -- strongly suggested that managed care was a magic bullet for our health care woes, and scolded us just the way Muris is scolding us now. Yeah, managed care -- that was really an efficient solution to our problems, wasn't it?"
For Crying Out Loud
An example of the complete failure of the American education system.
"Michelle Duggar just delivered her 16th child, and she's already thinking about doing it again...."
Doing what again? Oh, I get it, I think.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Theocracy
Josh Marshall has this interesting post about Bu$hCo's nomination of Sister Harriet.
"At the same time, President Bush argues for Miers' confirmation neither on the basis of her 'judicial temperament' nor her judicial philosophy or ideology but because she is a staunch evangelical Christian."
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Good Horse News
Actually, almost all horse news is good news, but the resurgence of this wild horse is exceptionally good news. I'll bet Bu$hCo doesn't give a crap.
"But even the Mongols never managed to domesticate the wildest of horses, a species known as Equus ferus przewalskii, or P-horse for short. It is one of just two extant species of horse. All the breeds of the familiar domestic horse, from Shetland pony to Clydesdale, belong to the other species, which submitted to the bit and bridle 6,000 years ago. Przewalski's horse (pronounced zheh-VAHL-skee and named for the 19th-century Russian explorer who first identified it) is about the size of a large pony, with a stocky body in shades of tan to tawny, short brown legs and a dark mane that stands straight up."
I saw a couple of these horse several years ago at the Minnesota Zoo. They were spectacular. Now, with this article, I also know how to pronounce the name.
Gone, Gone
I've been gone for a couple of days. Down into the big city looking for some furniture. Found a recliner & a couch. Bought them, but won't be bringing them home for a few weeks. Something about how much it would cost to stock furniture items, so each purchase is then ordered from the "vendor". When I hear words like vendor, I get nervous. It's this jargon thing I have - I hate it. It might save this furniture store some money, but it's going to cost me another tank of deisel fuel. But I'll get to see the kid, et.al., again - that'll be good. So I'm stuck sitting in a regular chair that I don't find comfortable, it's not a recliner - how can a person blog without a recliner? I'll keep trying - for my loyal four readers. On a brighter note - I saw a mature bald eagle, sitting in a dead tree eating something, with the sun behind its tail - alas, no telephoto lens. I think I need a new digital camera that can use a telephoto lens. So, I've been gone a couple of days, the next couple of days I will be working, L.D. subbing. It'll be great. So, until early tomorrow morning or tomorrow night - keep a good watch on the moron Bu$hCo & keep me informed, so I can inform.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Choice, My Butt
You & I need to constantly talk loudly about this travesty as much as we can, especially to the type of person who claims to be a ReThuglican with a conscious. Via Atrios.
Sad, Indeed.
Being from the midwest northern woods, the New York Times always seemed a wonderful way to see the world. I remember how excited I was when a really nice older women managed to get me a Sunday Times delivered to her gas station every week. I mean, it was a way out of this forest, a forest I would never leave anyway. I love it too much. But the Times helped me be a better person of the world. & now the Times seems unable to see what it has done to itself. & the country is poorer for this demise. Toward the end of this month I may attend a presentation on what the Forest Service calls "spruce decline." It is something I am interested in learning more about. Sadly, the NYT's decline is something I had hoped would not happen. This country needs leadership everywhere, & the Times, in many ways, exemplified leadership in the news, no longer. The paper now denies it's best columnists to its Internets readers & seems to have its institutional head in the sand(or up its ass) when it comes to Judith Miller. & that is really too bad.
"It is NOT unfair now to speculate that a New York Times reporter conspired with members of the Bush Administration in a scheme to discredit a critic of the Bush regime. It is NOT unfair now to speculate that the management of the New York Times is engaged in obfuscation and stonewalling in order to cover up its complicity in Ms. Miller's actions."
No Kidding
Bu$hCo compassion.
"And they shouldn't have to worry that their chemotherapy will be cut off for any reason."
re: Last Post
Before my sister gets home, I must make a preemptive strike. It is true that did not actually attend Apple Fest, but I was holding down the home place filled with many extra dogs. My sister & her Vinnie brought their dog, the kid & her Vinnie brought their dog, the friend & her Veronica brought their dog, plus the five dogs that live here. It was a daunting task, made easier by, well, you know what I mean. Much like our completely bogus president, I must proclaim that it's hard work babysitting dogs. I will be posting some very interesting pics of my sister, a.k.a., double super Leinenkugel superhero person. I hope they don't hit any deer on their way home.
Grantsburg Police Blotter
I just going to let y'all come up with the snarky comments. Apple Fest fatigue.
•Oct. 2, Michael J. Rivard, Star Prairie, was negotiating a northeast turn on CTH F when he encountered loose gravel, causing it to turn on its side. He was injured and taken to a nearby hospital for observation.
•Oct. 2, George E. Nutt, Grantsburg, was traveling north on Hwy 87/48 when a deer ran out in front of him. He suffered minor injuries.
•Sept. 30, Sandra L. Hero, Chanhassen, MN, was driving south on St. Croix Trail, when she swerved to avoid hitting a deer causing the vehicle to roll over. She broke the windshield to escape the vehicle but was not injured.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Liar
But anyone with a brain, that would not include Bu$hCo, already knew this, for crying out loud. Will it make any difference? A young friend of mine says all this talk & hope won't help - only decapitation will work. Of course, it's illegal & while I hunt & fish, I do carry those deaths with me permanently. I want this to make a difference, but I have no real answer for my young friend.
Good Joke For A Saturday
Via Mithras
"Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: 'Yesterday, two Brazilian soldiers were killed.'
'OH, NO!' the President exclaims with great emotion. 'That's terrible!'
His staff sits stunned at his display of emotion and nervously watch as the President sits, head in hands.
Finally, the President looks up and asks, 'How many is a brazillion?'"
You Go Girl #230
The GOP's daily abuse of power
"...the indicted Republican leader of the House of Representatives needed extra time to twist the arms necessary to pass a bill that is against the interests of the American people, against consumers, against taxpayers, and against the environment."
We need to continue to TALK LIKE THIS. If it gives me shivers, it will give everyone shivers, & this is a good thing.
Good Question
Who cares?
I guess Bu$hCo's really double super specific speech on terror changed the dynamic of the discusion on the war. I suppose the press has better things to do, like making gratuitous speeches in support of J. Miller, another traitor. What a bunch of effing tools.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Friday Cat Blogging - SideKick Style
The SideKick, again not quite qetting the SideKick thing, had me go over to his house the other day to check on his DSL. I, of course, thanks to CenturyTel can't get DSL, so the SideKick ticked me off a bit with this deal. Leaders lead, however, so I shouldered this problem & went & checked for him. Luckily, it was still out, so I took some satisfaction from that. The upside of this visit was I was able to have substantial discussions with Scooter & some cat named Rocky. Rocky is some sort of prettyboy & was put off by our talk of revenge. He really freaked out when I introduced him to Scooter's new friend, the Avenger. Ponder this SideKick & sleep well tonight.
Priorities
The Great Lakes are a noble cause except in the eyes of the idiotic Bu$hCo administration. & they have the gall to blame nature, i.e., Katrina, rather that that complete snafu in Iraq, you know, the noble cause that none of the Bu$hCo younger generation seems willing to go fight for.
"After a year of promises to make the Great Lakes a greater national priority, the Bush administration is pulling back from an ambitious $20 billion plan to restore and protect the world's largest source of freshwater."
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Ha, One More Time
TBogg sort of hits a home run with this.
"For those keeping score at home, that's Neuticles 1, Bush Terror Speech 0.
No Surprise
That there is a new terror alert in New York. But I bet the real terror is in the White House. No one believes the stupid non-electred Bu$hCo. Keep it up America, you can still do it.
"PRESIDENT BUSH'S JOB APPROVAL
Approve
All
37% "
Yep, These Are The Guys
Wayne Allard - Colorado
Kit Bond - Missouri
Tom Coburn - Oklahoma
Thad Cochran - Mississippi
John Cornyn - Texas
James Inhofe - Oklahoma
Pat Roberts - Kansas
Jeff Sessions - Alabama
Ted Stevens - Alaska
They support torture & Jesus Christ. Just asking.
UPDATE:
Via No More Mr. Nice Blog.
I was more correct than I thought.
Kit Bond - Missouri
Tom Coburn - Oklahoma
Thad Cochran - Mississippi
John Cornyn - Texas
James Inhofe - Oklahoma
Pat Roberts - Kansas
Jeff Sessions - Alabama
Ted Stevens - Alaska
They support torture & Jesus Christ. Just asking.
UPDATE:
Via No More Mr. Nice Blog.
I was more correct than I thought.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Over at Sisyphus Shrugged, Julia has a list of senators who voted for torture:
Allard, Colo.; Bond, Mo.; Coburn, Okla.; Cochran, Miss.; Cornyn, Texas; Inhofe, Okla.; Roberts, Kan.; Sessions, Ala.; Stevens, Alaska.
Hmm, let's see:
Allard -- 100% ratings from the Christian Coalition in 2004 and 2003.
Bond -- 100% ratings from the Christian Coalition in 2004 and 2003.
Coburn -- right-wing religious zealot elected to the Senate in 2004 with endorsements from James Dobson and Gary Bauer; has been a Family Research Council board member.
Cochran -- 100% ratings from the Christian Coalition in 2004 and 2003.
Cornyn -- 100% ratings from the Christian Coalition in 2004 and 2003.
Inhofe -- 100% ratings from the Christian Coalition in 2004 and 2003.
Roberts -- 100% ratings from the Christian Coalition in 2004 and 2003.
Sessions -- 100% ratings from the Christian Coalition in 2004 and 2003.
Stevens -- 83% ratings from the Christian Coalition in 2004 and 2003.
Whom would Jesus waterboard?
Wouldn't It Be Nice?
To completely steal from other bloggers, but I can't help it - oh please, oh, please, oh, please, oh, please, oh, please, oh, please.
"...and have warned they cannot guarantee he won't be indicted...."
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Accountability Administration?
It's nobody's fault, says Goss, who glosses over this serious problem. He probably wants the Medal of Honor, like Tenet. What a shameful bunch of crooks.
"''After great consideration of this report and its conclusion, I will not convene an accountability board to judge the performances of any individual CIA officers,'' he said."
Remember, it's not my, my fault.
Explanation
It’s Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005. I had to work today, subbing for the French teacher. I tried encouraging my inner Frenchman, but it only worked for about a half an hour & of course, I was late for the sixth hour class. The principal was in the class & seemed OK with my goof-up. But the all day rain seemed to do something to the newer laptop & Windows won’t load - for reasons that are a mystery to me. So, I am typing this on the older laptop. The point of all this is that the Tuesday blogging is likely to be sparse to non-existent except for this. This old Dell keeps plugging along, the newer HP is much more powerful, but I’ve had a series of problems with it & now this, I hope it is easily fixed.
As I posted yesterday, we have a new blogger north of Highway 8. shutterwi - the photo blogger. If we add a few more bloggers up here, maybe we can have a conference on blogger ethics. We won’t invite SueHank Martinsen, however, SueHank is beyond help, I’m afraid. Also, one of the new people at Drinking Liberally has a Harley, that makes three of us, plus D. has a Honda. Pretty soon we will have a crazy, liberal motorcycle gang - sounds like a winner to me. I just wish the rain would stop so I can keep practicing. I’ve been perusing the heated clothing & looking forward to wearing it. A slow, cool ride through the autumn colors sounds like a good idea to me.
Time to rub the sore, broken(?) ribs with some more pain relief stuff, a few more aspirins, the evening dosage of heart drugs & then into the world of changing levels of chemicals in my brain. I may even remember the dream(s), although I doubt it. I rarely remember those results of chemical reactions in my brain.
As I posted yesterday, we have a new blogger north of Highway 8. shutterwi - the photo blogger. If we add a few more bloggers up here, maybe we can have a conference on blogger ethics. We won’t invite SueHank Martinsen, however, SueHank is beyond help, I’m afraid. Also, one of the new people at Drinking Liberally has a Harley, that makes three of us, plus D. has a Honda. Pretty soon we will have a crazy, liberal motorcycle gang - sounds like a winner to me. I just wish the rain would stop so I can keep practicing. I’ve been perusing the heated clothing & looking forward to wearing it. A slow, cool ride through the autumn colors sounds like a good idea to me.
Time to rub the sore, broken(?) ribs with some more pain relief stuff, a few more aspirins, the evening dosage of heart drugs & then into the world of changing levels of chemicals in my brain. I may even remember the dream(s), although I doubt it. I rarely remember those results of chemical reactions in my brain.
11:01 p.m.
UPDATE: No dreams, sweet.
Monday, October 03, 2005
New Blog In The North
Hey kid, want to see some cool pictures? I can highly reccomend the following blog:
Now, truth is beauty & beauty truth & both are political. Apologies to Lord Byron.
Hey Musicians
Or those of you who enjoy music. Got the following info from the kid via a friend in New Orleans. This is important to the lives of the muscians that give us such pleasure. Donate, it is still not over.
THE NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS CLINIC- IN - EXILE
LAFAYETTE, Louisiana September 8, 2005
The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic (NOMC) is an innovative not-for-profit occupational medicine and wellness partnership offering comprehensive healthcare to our community's most precious resource: our musicians. Our sponsors are the Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans, The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, and the LSU Health Care Network. Dedicated on May 2, 1998, NOMC became the first such health initiative in the United States, addressing the health care needs of musicians and their families, an under-served segment of the population. To date our dedicated consortium of service providers has treated more than 1000 local musicians.
Our Lafayette iniative is not limited to our prior NOMC patients. It is open to all New Orleans musicians and their families. We are blessed that our partners at SWALHEC and H4M already had a wonderful health care system in place to serve musicians (utilize both FQHC clinics and the LSU residency program at UMC). Catherine Lasparges, NOMC nurse practioner, has relocated to Lafayette. A home health agency has offered her all monitoring equipment so that she can monitor and triage all New Orleans musicians into the well estbalished health system in the Acadian region of southwest Louisiana.
As you know, New Orleans music transcends all cultural barriers. Not only do we strive to affect an agenda of wellness in our musician patient population, we encourage our musicians to become advocates for early detection, prevention, and treatment for others facing the same catastrophic risks. Our hometown musicians travel the world, making them the coolest people in their neighborhoods. By targeting a group of thought leaders and cultural icons, we hope to influence a larger portion of society and begin to influence the healthcare seeking patterns of our population at large.
WHERE TO DONATE:
We are still have no access to our NOMC bank accounts in N.O. so we must start from scratch raising money:
Please make donations to the SWALHEC/ NOMC Relief Fund ( a 501 c3 under the Foundation for the LSU Health Sciences Center 72-1115391)
Iberia Bank
acct 170 700 9057
200 West Congress
Lafayette, La. 70501
( bank phone 337 521-4616)
This fund goes directly to sustain our NOMC-in-Exile operations until January 2006 and to provide direct assistance to musicians ( from purchasing gasoline to school uniforms for their children and everything in between.)
There is a second fund ( simulatenously) which we are in the process of establishing: As soon as possible we want to begin paying musicians to perform in the schools and shelters throughout La.. At the moment I can not provide firm details, but I can assure you that by Monday, September 12 we will have a firm system in place.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR IDEAS, PLEASE CONTACT:
Marsha Broussard ( 504 491-4420), the director of the Rural Health Iniative, has volunteered to be the Executive Director for the NOMC-in -Exile and to assist in fascilitating the goals of the coalition of those working to provide services for our musicians.
Johann Bultman, Chairman of the NOMC ( 504 899-3066/ 504 388-4396) remains in New Orleans where his immediate goal is to return to the NOMC/DOC clinic as soon as the water goes down to retrieve vital records and to begin rebuikding the actual clinic site.
He is also insuring that all donations we receive will be appropriately processed, acknowledged, and spent effectively. Many of you know that the NOMC has a formula for aid-- for every $1 we raise we provide $12 worth of services. We strive to weave together existing services and rally donated services and goods whenever possible.
Bethany (me), the NOMC Outreach Chair, struggles with spotty telecommunications in Natchez, Mississippi. I am conducting fundraising and serving as laison with the NOMC staff in Lafayette.
337 200 1707 or 601 442-6776 (I can rarely call out, but seem to be able to receive calls.)
Each of us from New Orleans faces uncertainity, each of us shares the determination to sustain our beloved culture. And each of us is committed to this mission for the long hall. We not only will settle the musicians and their families in the Lafayette community, but we will resettle them in New Orleans.
We appreciate your advice, your prayers and your support to aid us in keeping the music alive in Louisiana!
Bethany Bultman
NOMC co-founder and Outreach Chair
337 200 1707
This Is What I'm Talking About
Why is it so hard for these Democrats to understand? Read this post & see if you agree. I'd add Feingold to this list, my ex-senator. I tried, John Nichols, but it was to no avail, & I'm sorry comrade.
"Listen up, Hillary, Lieberman, Biden. Pay attention, Obama & Feinstein. You too, Leahy.
We are mad at you because the country sucks, and there are all these simple, little things you could do to stop it, but for some reason, you just WON'T."
What It Means
I have been getting more & more uncomfortable reading The Daily Kos. His posts are making it clear that it is Kos who is out of touch. The highlight of our local Drinking Liberally meeting last week was a report from a woman who spent some time in Washington, D.C., protesting the war. Kos would dismiss her, I'm afraid, because (a) she was protesting outside in the open air & (b) she was middle aged & (c) she was still pumped after a 38 hour round trip. Read more from a different voice here.
"And that, I’m afraid, is the endpoint of the vaunted Kos revolution: a few new faces taking (appropriately compensated) seats around the same goddamn old conference tables. But now they’ve all got Blackberries!"
Boy, I wish I'd have said that. More here.
Just Keep It Coming
Happy, happy.
"A Texas grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on a new charge of money laundering Monday, less than a week after another grand jury leveled a conspiracy charge that forced DeLay to temporarily step down as House majority leader."
Photos Courtesy of the SideKick
Mrs. SideKick, proving that you can take the girl away from the Massachusetts farm, but you can't take the farm out of the girl. Mrs. coldH2O is being shy. She was also mad at coldH2O because he did not approve of the manner in which she "cleared" the pole barn. Mr. & Mrs. SideKick saw/heard a divine outrage from the nubile & attractive Mrs. coldH2O. If we could only translate that to the..., oh, nevermind.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Frank Rich
Everything was going just fine in the newest Frank Rick column. Then at the end Rich somehow manages to link John McCain to truth, honor, justice, & the American Way. Sad. But the rest is good. Here's some of it:
"Those who still live in the reality-based community, however, may sense they're watching the beginning of the end of something big. It's not just Mr. DeLay, aka the Hammer, who is on life support, but a Washington establishment whose infatuation with power and money has contaminated nearly every limb of government and turned off a public that by two to one finds the country on the wrong track."
....
"Those tons of Republican money were deposited in the favors bank of K Street, where, as The Washington Post reported this year, the number of lobbyists has more than doubled (to some 35,000) since the Bush era began in 2000."
....
"The most important plot development of the past two weeks, in fact, has nothing to do with Mr. DeLay (as far as we know). It was instead the arrest of the administration's top procurement officer, David Safavian, on charges of lying and obstructing the investigation of Mr. Abramoff. And what an investigation it is: The F.B.I., the I.R.S., the Treasury Department and the Interior Department have all been involved. The popular theory of the case has it that Mr. Safavian, a former lobbying colleague of both Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Norquist, is being muscled by the feds to rat on the big guys in Washington -- much as another smaller fish may have helped reel in Mr. DeLay in Texas."
....
"We've only just learned from The Los Angeles Times that Joseph Schmitz, until last month the inspector general in charge of policing waste, fraud and abuse at the Pentagon, is himself the focus of a Congressional inquiry. He is accused of blocking the investigation of another Bush appointee who is suspected of siphoning Iraq reconstruction contracts to business cronies. At the Justice Department, the F.B.I. is looking into why a career prosecutor was demoted after he started probing alleged Abramoff illegality in Guam. According to The Los Angeles Times, the demoted prosecutor was then replaced by a Rove-approved Republican pol who just happened to be a cousin of a major target of another corruption investigation in Guam."
CBS Brings The Truth
Andy Rooney
Cranky Bastards
The official media cranky old men have been coming around recently. Rooney:
I'm not really clear how much a billion dollars is but the United States — our United States — is spending $5.6 billion a month fighting this war in Iraq that we never should have gotten into.
We still have 139,000 soldiers in Iraq today.
Almost 2,000 Americans have died there. For what?
...
We had a great commander in WWII, Dwight Eisenhower. He became President and on leaving the White House in 1961, he said this: “We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. …'
Well, Ike was right. That's just what’s happened.
-Atrios 8:02 PM
Does This Qualify As Corruption?
Just asking. Zien ought to be an embarrassment to his constituents & his colleagues & the state of Wisconsin.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Reason #6621 To Impeach
I'm no fan of the U.S. military, never have been, but this behavior from Bu$hCo & Rumsfeld shows just how bogus the ReThugs are in terms of their commitment to, not just those in the military, but to all Americans. If you are just a soldier you don't get the appropriate equipment to protect yourself, you also get to take ALL the blame for the torture. When will the the supporters of Bu$hCo wake the hell up? I suppose when we are all on one knee.
"Soldiers and their families have reported buying everything from higher-quality protective gear to armor for their Humvees, medical supplies and even global positioning devices.
'The bottom line is that Donald Rumsfeld and the Defense Department are failing soldiers again,' said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Operation Truth, an advocacy group for Iraq veterans."
I should have said ILLEGAL behavior. I would also suggest that Paul Rieckhoff effing do something about this problem. Like maybe organizing a bunch of Iraq vets & marching on the White House?
Abort All The Black Babies First
Then go after the public schools. Bill Bennett, values & all, is a fat, racist pig. Just the kind of person the ReThuglian Party loves to include, in fact, promote as the ideal of the true American.
"At any rate, since Mr. Bennett had been Secretary of Education I asked him to support the bill in the crucial stage when we needed Republican allies. He told me he would not help, because he did not want public schools to obtain new funding, new capability, new tools for success. He wanted them, he said, to fail so that they could be replaced with vouchers,charter schools, religious schools, and other forms of private education"
Just What Seniors Need
Senior citizens don't need confusion or choice, for that matter. What seniors need is free medical care & free prescription drugs. A rich, progressive, modern nation does not fill the mailboxes of seniors with junk mail instead of real help. It makes me almost wish Bu$hCo would get some disease for which the cure requires a drug that the drug companies will not make becauce they cannot make a profit on the sales of that drug. I would never wish that on anyone, would I?
"'I'm spending quite a bit of time getting my own staff trained to [answer questions] and if it's taking this much time to get our nurses and social workers trained, you can imagine how confusing it will be for the average retiree,' said Billie Johnson, executive director of the Area Office on Aging of Northwest Ohio."
Emphasis added.
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