Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 130.6 miles sunny, mild
99 recordings of 25 types.
Rasmussen: -12: 48/52
"we elected a President we got a princess" --Rich Karlgaard (Forbes on Fox)
Our geocaching group adopted a mile of the American River Parkway, and we thought this would be a good day to contribute our time for cleanup. We took the dog and a grabber, and off we went. What a nice day for this! The actual geocache is up a hill. It was easy enough getting up, a little difficult going down. Lots of pretty flowers, 4 recycleable bottles, a bag of little pieces like foil wraps and ciggie butts. What a pleasant day!
Then tonight I used the rest of my prize, the marinara sauce, in their recipe:
Penne with Cabbage, Sausage and Marinara Sauce
1 lb. Rao’s Penne Pasta 1 jar of Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce 1/4 cup of Rao’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil 4 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed (which I forgot, but oh, well.) 1 pound Italian sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces (I got 3/4 pounds of chicken Italian-style sausage. The caloric difference wasn't so big, but the calories from fat were a lot better.) 1 pound savoy cabbage, cooked and chopped into bite-sized pieces Salt and Pepper to taste Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)
Heat Rao’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil and garlic in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add sausage, and sauté until meat is cooked.
Add cabbage, salt and pepper to taste, and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of Rao’s Marinara Sauce, and cook for 3-5 minutes, until flavors have blended.
Meanwhile, cook Rao’s Penne pasta in a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente. Drain pasta and return to the pot with ½ cup of sauce. Stir for one minute over high heat. Place on a serving platter and pour remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with Pecorino Romano cheese, if desired.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 128.9 miles sunny, mild
101 recordings of 24 types.
Rasmussen: -12: 48/51
I'm down 3.1 pounds. I need to lose another 2 or 3 before we go to Washington, to meet my goal that I had for Vince and Niki's wedding. I have high borderline Blood Pressure.
Today we met Bernadette and the kids at CalExpo for the county fair. I took charge of Gareth, Rich had the stroller. G. started running. I made him hold hands till we got out of the parking lot, then gave him his head, and we ran past everything, then turned back, then ran some more (I tried to point out horses) but Gareth wasn't looking, he was just moving) into a building, out of the building, and around, but finally, after about 15 minutes, he began to whimper. We showed him Mommy was right there, Djadja was right there, and put him into the stroller. Then we could finally look at stuff.
"How to Attack a Prize Ship." A picture of Alan Greenspan made of credit cards. The Wheelbarrow gardens. Exotic animals. Pictures. But, alas, no models of missions. When we were in the echo-y part of the building, Gareth started to cry. OK, time for lunch.
Joanna agreed. Gareth didn't want to share our meals, but was happy with the fruit cup Bernadette had brought for him. Then he was satisfied to come with us to the rest of the fair. (I was laughing with Bernadette about Rich, who seemed to think we would see the fair.) The animals are so much easier to see here than the crowded State Fair. There are pedal tractors, but Gareth isn't ready for those yet. He did look around a bit more. I took him out so he could see the monkey, but who knows if he actually did. He kind of petered out after another hour so we left. It was fun, small, and we'd seen it all. I think next time I take Gareth out, it'll just be to a park... this was enough enrichment for the moment. He has to internalize it before I confuse him with more stuff again.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 127.0 miles rain, cloudy
103 recordings of 27 types.
Rasmussen: -16: 45/53
I finally made it to the Retreat House this morning. Father David's sermon was about fear and the mob and he applied it to Arizona. It gave me pause, but no, I still favor SB1070.
Then tonight we went over to the Aerospace Museum for the opening of the Star Trek exhibit. There was a Klingon at the door (of course.) Then the food came from the Star Trek cookbook.
We saw an old friend from softball and bowling. He doesn't look a day older than what, 15 years ago?
There's a simulator that spends a lot of time upside down... I would object to the enclosure, Rich would object to the motion, I think we'll pass!! The rest of the exhibit is fascinating. The time line confused me, since they put the most recent movie at the end instead of the beginning. Oh, well. I'm looking forward to seeing this again with Vince.
So I was watching an old SVU episode, and thought the black woman looked familiar. Oh, it's Jill Scott!!! Of course, she's Precious Ramotswe. And then there's her "son", the actor who played Michael Ower in the Blind Side! Familiar faces but couldn't place them.
Yesterday I ran the bath mat through the wash three times, because Abby's been spraying it. (and gets remarkably high.) We've been putting it upside down on the side of the tub to discourage her usage of it. So, first thing I put it back, I note she used it even though the rubber side was up. I quick washed it, then decided in future to hang it on the shower curtain rod. It clashes badly with the curtain that close together. Damn cat!
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 127.0 miles fair, then rain
103 recordings of 31 types.
Rasmussen: -22(!): 43/56. No *wonder* he's testy.
Scott Ott: New Trifecta episode, in which I coin the phrase "walking on tenterhooks." For you malapropism afficionadi, this one will set your teeth on the edge of your seat.
I discovered this morning that Yo Gabba Gabba would have a live show here in November! Facebook friends could get them early, starting at 10 a.m. I cued up the website and prepared to wait. Then the phone rang. A cacher was having trouble with one of our nearby caches and was calling to ask for help. He wanted to meet at the site at 10 and I told him 10:20.
10 O'clock! I clicked on, and apparently I had not registered with the site after all. Meanwhile, Rich was asking about the cachers. I shut him down, registered, ordered the tickets, and on the final check-through realized that I was actually registering for Portland! Eeek. Portland is two lines up from Sacramento, and has the Memorial Coliseum rather than the Memorial Auditorium. I nearly blew $150 that I wouldn't have been able to use. So I cancelled those and ordered the right kind, and we have tickets in the front center section, right behind the VIP section. (for $130 each, we could have had a party with the characters and pictures. I don't even know that Gareth will still like Yo Gabba Gabba in 6 months, and the chances of the characters scaring him are enormous.)
So then, because this took longer than I'd expected, we drove down to the cache. The puzzled cachers are very nice people. We helped them find the cache, then were all chit-chatting. A neighbor came over to see if we were looking for that hidden box, we said yes, and she was relieved. Though apparently she also sees some more nefarious activities at the place as well. We told her what would be OK, and what she should worry about.
Then this afternoon I went to get Pharaoh's heartworm medication. Who knew it was going to be this much hassle? They were all suspicious because he had his test in January but we didn't get the meds then. They were convinced I'd been skipping. Not so.... I had pills left over when Sailor died. I may have missed one month in the last 18, but no more, and not since his test. I had to sign that if he got sick, they weren't liable, before they let me have 6 months worth. I was really annoyed by that, and also because the receptionist was either deaf or stupid, "HUH?" or perhaps both. "HUH?" Oh, well. He'll have to have his test in November.
Rationing Panel. I suppose somehow that sounds better than "death panel."
This links up a bit with the bubbling controversy over whether Joe Sestak was offered a job in exchange for not running against Sen. Arlen Specter. One furthers the knife in the "open, honest, transparent" theme that has been on life support since health care, and the other furthers the knife in the "neither big government nor small government but efficient government" theme that has been on life support since the stimulus. The administration will need to fight these two issues immediately, consistently, and relentlessly.
Allahpundit. The irony? One of their big messages for November is to point to health care and financial reform and say “See? Democrats can govern!” And now voters are going to point to the spill and say … no, you really can’t. I wonder what message they’ll fall back on.
The Hypocrisy Act of 2010. .."it manages to both increase the deficit and hike taxes, a rather neat little trick that one might think would embarrass even Democrats in 2010. "
It’s still the highlight of his career IMO. Good Solid B-Plus on May 25, 2010 at 11:29 PM
You’re forgetting his closing of Gitmo, ending of rendition, bringing the troops home from Iraq, lowering the seas, cleaning the air, and creating 32.79 billion new jobs.
How soon you racists forget. Bishop on May 25, 2010 at 11:32 PM
Instapundit: LIBERALS, DEMS OBJECT TO THE TERM “ObamaCare.” Funny, it was supposed to be so wildly popular that you’d think they’d want credit. . . .
Doctor Zero The sloppy craftsmanship and outrageous over-reach of ObamaCare make it a “magic eye” portrait of an incompetent president and party. As you stare at the countless little fraudulent cost estimates, unplanned side effects, and economy-killing mandates, a 3-D image of an upraised middle finger materializes.
Ed Koch Speak softly and carry a big stick, Teddy Roosevelt said. President Obama speaks apologetically and carries no stick at all. No wonder North Korea torpedoed that South Korean warship, something they would not have done in all probability if China had not quietly approved. No wonder Brazil and Turkey thumb their noses at us. We have become a laughingstock.
The Anchoress Go to Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day? Not me, I’m just the Commander in Chief. Obama seems profoundly bored by any aspect of the presidency that does not advance his domestic agenda. What does not bore him, inconveniences him, like the oil spill in the Gulf. This will be his second “getaway” since that happened, what, 35 days ago? And patriotic stuff like observing Memorial Day appears to both bore and inconvenience.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 127.0 miles fair, then rain
88 recordings of 28 types.
Rasmussen: -20: 42/56. Is it his Katrina yet?
Anybody else watching Fox and Friends with Laura Ingraham? Really – on Memorial Day weekend, this douche is NOT going to Arlington National Cemetery, is NOT going to the Gulf Coast, but is going to Chicago for parties? Good Lord. Marcus on May 25, 2010 at 8:19 AM
“I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” –Barack Obama, 2008
The failure of this promise will turn the left. The only unicorns in the offing are covered in black, slimy oil. And The President is golfing. He seems to believe it is an honorary title he holds, with no real responsibility. petunia on May 25, 2010 at 11:56 AM
0bama on Katrina, "we are not going to forget about the Gulf Coast."
Today we went to Dixon on a caching trip. There were 28 caches there and we added one at lunch, found 26, went past one twice but there were people there, and couldn't find two. This was better than I hoped. The route I'd set out for this 20 square mile search area was perfect, the weather held off till the very last cache, when it started to rain, and we finished earlier than I'd feared. Lunch was at Shaw's Family Restaurant. Downtown Dixon is about 2 blocks, and one of them is chockablock full of restaurants.
I remember when Dixon got a McDonald's in the late 70s or early 80s. The teenagers were thrilled, at last somewhere to go. Now there are lots of fast-food places along the highway. Gerhard and I had breakfast at a Jack in the Box (not along the highway but in sight) when I helped him get his VW repaired. (aha. we didn't go past that garage this time. When I was cleaning out the place, Rich and I found it and the guy was about to retire, but he bought both of GoE's VWs.) The guy that bought Gerhard's house has a Ford dealership in Dixon. Pagan used to drive down Dixon's main street to go to work near Fairfield. And I remember one time we were coming with GoE back from the Bay Area and stopped at a little Mexican place, another stop we didn't make today.
Of course, the biggest memory Dixon has for me, quite literally, is the huge fiberglass brachiosaur Dixie. When they moved Dixie, we got up at dawn's early crack to watch, and this Sikorsky helicopter hooked up and took her away. The highway patrol shut down the Interstate to do this. I said to one of the CHiPs "Did you picture this when you chose your career?" Bernadette and Rich got interviewed for the paper. I had a great "flying brachiosaur" page on my old journal, and the Davis wiki and a geocache have used one of the pictures without crediting me. I mentioned this to the geocache hider and must nag the wiki author. And I should re-create the page. Till that happy day, the pictures are here.
Dixie is now dead. Sigh.
Anyway. We were finished by 2 and home before 3, which is when I thought we would have to leave Dixon so Rich would have time to do Sharing God's Bounty. He set that up and then came to get me for the Historical Society meeting which was about Underground Sacramento. This woman just finished her Master's Thesis on the forces of nature vs. the ingenuity of man, as exemplified by the Sacramento pioneers raising the town a story in the 1860s. There will be tours this summer. She was fascinating. Rich expected more on "how" but her focus was more on "why." She's more a social historian than an engineer. Still, neither of us fell asleep!
We were in Arizona in 2004, and loved it. But even then it was an armed camp. Parts of Organ Pipe National Monument were closed off, and there are towers along the I-20. Some linkage:
Land was barren, left as ruin, not wanted, rejected, someone works hard and brings it to fruition, suddenly it’s demanded from them by whoever it was (Mexico, Palestine, Arabia) who abandoned or rejected it before.
Same thing.
This is true, too, about both areas…California was literally not wanted, not used, REJECTED by Mexico *until* it was shown to be productive and in use by others.
Not to mention that Mexico sold the darn place, which they always forget.
Lourdes on May 19, 2010 at 3:05 PM
Laura Ingraham: demonstrating the tone-deafness of those very large Obama ears, the First Couple put on the ritz like never before for el Presidente Diminutivo Calderon of Mexico. If someone insulted Mexico on Calderon's turf the way he insulted America by attacking Arizona's immigration law, he would have been treated to something simple--maybe takeout from El Chipolte. Instead, the bash Michelle & Barack threw--complete with a performance by Beyonce and a guest list that included actress Eva Longoria--lavished Calderon. But perhaps that was just a coincidence, given Barack's history of insulting our best allies. After all, the dinner was yet another garish display of Obama narcissism. Michelle even insisted that they fly in a Chicago celebrity chef for the occasion! The bigger, more "special," more celebritified these events are, the more they reflect the awesomeness of the Obamas.
As Economic Worries Worsen, White House Puts on the Glitz the fact is, at this particular moment, Americans are enduring lots of hardships, and lots of anxieties to go with them. Is transforming the White House into a glam nightclub the best message for Barack and Michelle Obama to send to a suffering and nervous nation?
[Oh, my, it's another ugly dress for Michelle. Looks like a blue tarp. And her HAIR, oh my goodness!]
Love the puppet. He’s got more facial expressions than Obama. Jaynie59 on May 22, 2010 at 9:35 AM
Proof a green frog could run the country better than a yellow Obama. Yoop on May 22, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Another ad should use the phrase uttered by Mexican President Calderon when asked by Wolf Blitzer of CNN the question, “What does your country do with illegals if they are found?” Answer; “We send back them” ted c on May 22, 2010 at 10:23 AM
Another ad should use the phrase uttered by Mexican President Calderon when asked by Wolf Blitzer of CNN the question, “What does your country do with illegals if they are found?” Answer; “We send back them” ted c on May 22, 2010 at 10:23 AM
That’s right they send them back, and they don’t give them taxpayer-funded lawyers or endless hearings and appeals first, either.
There were some other illuminating answers from Calderon in that interview. For example, when Blitzer asked the Mexican president if any foreigner can just come into Mexico and set up residence, he said (paraphrasing): No, they have to fill out an application first, and we have to conduct a background check to make sure they are who they claim to be, and that they don’t have a criminal record, etc.
Why is it perfectly acceptable for Mexico to have sensible laws limiting immigration and requiring would-be immigrants to be screened before coming into Mexico, but it’s not okay for the U.S. to do the same?
Blitzer also asked Calderon if immigrants in Mexico have to show their authorization papers to the Mexican police. Calderon said sure, because law enforcement have to be able to do their job. Again, it’s perfectly okay for them to do that, but it’s outrageously racist and a human rights violation if we do the same.
Blitzer also asked Calderon if illegal aliens can get jobs in Mexico. Calderon’s answer: No, of course not.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 125.3 miles windy, cloudy
92 recordings of 27 types.
Rasmussen: -17: 44/55, and 63% want the health care law repealed. "Just 27% are even somewhat confident that Congress knows what it’s doing when addressing that nation’s economic challenges. That figure includes only 6% who are Very Confident that Congress knows what it’s doing."
Ed comments: : "The more people discover about ObamaCare, the more they want an end to it. What does it say about the chances of Democrats in the midterms when support for their one legislative accomplishment (32%) gets outstripped by the number of Democrats who want it reversed (36%)? "
I’d expect to hear a lot about the Lily Ledbetter Act in October, because thanks to their singular focus on the ObamaCare hobby horse, Democrats have nothing else on which to run.
We’ve passed Waterloo and moved to Hiroshima territory. gsherin on May 24, 2010 at 2:26 PM
I’m guessing that the Administration’s revealed incompetence regarding the Gulf oil spill and foreign policy is now lowering people’s assessment regarding ObamaCare. --Posted at 1:45 pm by Glenn Reynolds .
Rich had a blood test, Rich had a followup with the surgeon, and Rich had bowling, so I was pretty well at home, apart from a little walk with Pharaoh.
A couple of months ago I sent a picture to psgettiface.com. It didn't win the tiny little red wagon filled with food, but I still got a consolation prize of cavatelli and marinara sauce from Rao's food. So today I tried their recipe. I really like the cavatelli. It's similar to gnocchi shape but made of wheat. Yum.
Cavatelli with Broccoli
1 pound Rao’s Cavatelli Pasta 1 cup Rao’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil [*one CUP??? I cut this down to about 1/3 cup!] 3 garlic cloves, peeled [I also crushed them so we didn't have huge pieces.] 1 pound broccoli, washed, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces ½ cup chicken broth salt and pepper to taste Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese [I've never had this stuff before and it's a pricy $14 a pound, but really really delicious.]
Add cold water to a large saucepan to a depth of at least 2 inches. Add broccoli florets and boil over high heat for about 4 minutes or until water turns green and broccoli is crisp and tender. Drain.
Cook Rao’s Cavatelli in a large, deep pot of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. While cavatelli is cooking, heat Rao’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic. Add the cooked broccoli, chicken broth, salt and pepper, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
Return drained cavatelli to the pot. Place over medium-high heat and stir in the broccoli mixture. Using a wooden spoon, toss together for 1 minute. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and serve, sprinkle with Pecorino Romano cheese.
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Zachariah), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, The Life of Man with God, Thomas Verner Moore, Wicked, Gregory Maguire, Don Quixote, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
When Failure is the Only Option. The Europeans have lived off of our system, both militarily and economically, for generations. Now we have a President who wants us to be more like Europe.
But we do not have anyone to support us in this folly, the way we supported Europe. It will not take two generations for the collapse with us.
Just two terms.
[Or, I'm afraid, only one.]
First Victims of 0bamacare The most historic administration "since the Great Depression" watched and waited and twiddled its thumbs and dawdled and ditherered and yawned and blamed others and did little when it counted most in the ongoing Gulf oil spill.
The psychological infirmity which gave rise to the obsession with transformation has left this nation weaker abroad, a laughingstock to every tinpot dictator with a Twitter account, a debt-engine heading for a cliff, in a jobless quagmire, and with its first victims.
I seriously see no evidence that this person is intelligent. On the other hand, I see plenty of evidence that he is a sociopath, narcissist, liar, racist, Marxist and anti-American.
Were it not for his sponsors pushing him up the ladder because of those very qualities above, Obama, rather than wielding the power of the President, would be wielding a squeegie on some street corner in Chicago.
What captures my imagination is the vision of the Obamas and their co-conspiring ilk in prison some day.
Suddenly Democrats Get Queasy at Spending? Drudge has breaking news that Zero is at 44 percent. Not too much higher than W’s 39 percent the left loved to quote, and it took 7 years for him to get there. --Marcus on May 24, 2010 at 9:36 AM
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 123.3 miles partly cloudy
87 recordings of 27 types.
Rasmussen: -17: 45/54.
Google's logo honored 30 years of Pac-Man. This was animated, cute.
Today we took Gareth's wagon to him and wished him Happy Birthday. He was a little afraid of the balloons, and dubious about the wagon for awhile. We were in the back yard and I loved watching him watch Daddy and try to do everything Daddy does. Once Rob put the hose back (carefully bleeding out the water) Gareth tried to water everything too, just like Daddy.
Eventually he went back to the wagon.
He was tired when we went in, and Rich and I went to leave and made the mistake of singing to him. Heh. Happy birthday, little person!
Naturally, inquiries from the White House Press Corps to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs have been answered in an honest and forthright fashion. Just kidding — the typically wormy Gibbs has been tangoing around the questions so much that he’s a shoo-in to win the next Dancing with the Stars, and The One hasn’t talked to a reporter in an open Q & A since Chris Matthews’ very first Obamagasm, so that option is off the table.
This oil spill and the Obama administration’s dopey handling of it should be like a huge, nasty smudge on his reputation. This is something he saw and feared.
No worries, though! He’s a Democrat.
Being a Democrat means, inherently, that one cares. How can one be an uncaring Democrat? It’s not possible. Democrats are good people. Republicans are evil.
So every article has been a fluffy lovefest for the president. He is just so good.
How much money did President Obama receive from BP? Quickly now. What? The number isn’t blazoned into your consciousness? What are President Obama’s ties to the industry? What rules did he change or manipulate for BP?
Uh-huh.
There are answers, of course, and they are all damning for President Obama. But he is a Democrat, so that’s just extraneous information. No need to play the blame game, don’t you see?
Tragedies happen. Disasters happen. Could President Obama stop the rain? No, but he could act like he gives a damn. ... President Obama isn’t the teflon president. He’s got better armor. He’s the Democratic president. It’s like a super power: it makes the press incurious, stupid, and strangely unwilling to draw conclusions.
Jules Crittenden: He says “we” a lot in talking about the success in Iraq, never once saying, as he so often does about things he doesn’t like, that it was inherited. Which is odd, because success in Iraq, as well as the containment of al-Qaeda in the greater war against Islamic extremism, is the one thing he most definitely inherited without having lifted a finger in aid of it.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 123.3 miles cool, gray
92 recordings of 29 types.
Rasmussen: -15: 48/52.
I'm 3.3 pounds up (grump!) with high borderline blood pressure.
I suggested to Bernadette yesterday that we not come over to see Gareth today, but tomorrow. I was really glad when I woke up this morning with massive kidney/back pain. It went away after a couple of hours, but it was intense at the time. I'm just plain falling apart. The day we left, my arm hurt from shutting it in the car door, I had shoulder pain, a bruise on one breast, pain in an armpit, and when I was driving the other day I got a marvellous leg cramp. All of that was better today, thank goodness. I knocked my head against the bathroom sink last night, nearly knocking myself out, but oddly enough that doesn't hurt today either.
This evening we went to Butch-n-Nellie's for a fundraiser for Mustard Seed. I had the sausage and pint which was good, but it was very noisy and very crowded. And I didn't see any Mustard Seed people I knew. The music was not any style I recognize: somehow I bet Bernadette and Robert would like it. Anyway, interesting place and good dinner, but I was glad to get home.
As of this writing, it remains the official position of the Democrat Party that not a single one of its members bears any responsibility for the subprime mortgage crisis. Dodd, Frank, and Obama swam in millions of dollars of campaign donations and graft. They blocked audits of Fannie Mae, and gave speeches assuring the country that it was completely solvent. They greeted any suggestion of reform or oversight with furious accusations of greed and racism. None of them have been punished. In fact, they all enjoy more power than ever today, although Dodd’s time is running out.
They elected Chris Dodd how many times? Blumenthal should have no problem winning. GarandFan on May 22, 2010 at 11:45 AM
If Blumenthal wins, will the Dems add insult to injury by putting him on the Veteran’s Affairs or Armed Services Committee? I think yes. Mark1971 on May 22, 2010 at 11:52 AM
If the White House had not offered Joe Sestak a job in exchange for withdrawing from the Pennsylvania Senate race, the White House press secretary would be saying, “We did not offer him a job.”
Instead, Gibbs twitches and repeats endlessly, “I don’t have anything to add to that” and “I’ll refer to what I just said,” like a malfunctioning robot from Westworld.
Mark Steyn. "Barack Obama’s remarkable powers of oratory are well known: In support of Chicago’s Olympic bid, he flew into Copenhagen to give a heartwarming speech about himself, and they gave the games to Rio. He flew into Boston to support Martha Coakley’s bid for the U.S. Senate, and Massachusetts voters gave Ted Kennedy’s seat to a Republican. In the first year of his presidency, he gave a gazillion speeches on health-care “reform” and drove support for his proposals to basement level, leaving Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to ram it down the throats of the American people through sheer parliamentary muscle." Daniel Pearl's Father Responds.
december30 ANYBODY, PLEASE TELL ME WHAT PRESIDENT OBAMA CAN DO? SINCE THIS MAN HAS BEEN IN OFFICE, EVERYONE AND I MEAN EVERYONE IS TRYING TO TELL HIM HOW TO DO HIS JOB. I AM SICK OF CARVILLE, BILL MAHER, CHRIS MATTHEWS AND ALL THE OTHER IDIOTS. ENOUGH ALREADY [heh]
Sick of It How about this for a Democratic campaign slogan, "You people are stupid, so just shut up and do as you are told."
0bama and the New World Order. Of course, Bush managed to keep terrorists from staging attack attempts in the US from the 2002 shoe-bombing attempt until he left office, a six-year run, with that “distinctly American internationalism” that Obama has spent the last 16 months changing. In the context of national security, the Obama administration has thus far had lesser success. Dennis Blair got the boot as the national intel chief just this week thanks in large part to missing three terrorist attacks in the last six months, and the wooing of Russia and abandonment of China has done nothing to move the needle on Iran, one of the most critical national-security issues we face.
His policies haven’t created growth, and the only real legislative accomplishment was to pass (after several months of having filibuster-proof majorities) a bill so unpopular that the White House is still trying to sell it. …while ignoring the economy and jobs.
This will ‘kill’ him, in addition to all the blunders on security. If he and his believe otherwise, they assume that all the people who vote in the U.S. are utter morons.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 123.3 miles sunny, then windy and cold
91 recordings of 31 types.
The wifi at the Grand Sierra is really annoying. You have to log in Every Single Time, instead of daily, and it takes three or four tries before it says oh, yeah, I'm supposed to log you in. Argh.
Home today. I blew $10 in the machines, but I don't care.
We decided to try for the last 12 caches in downtown Sparks. We cached our way to Victorian Square and there were the two caches we haven't been able to find before, that have been bugging us. Let me copy what I said about the one on the train:
This was one we've been hoping to find for a long time. This time the satellites seemed to be cooperating a bit better. We poked around and prodded, found a library and a jacket, but were having no success in the actual cache. We were standing close together exploring when Mrs. Codger said "I have it!" but Mr. Codger ignored her. "I have it!" she repeated, annoyed. It took a minute to get the cache out, and as Mrs. C. came out with it, Mr. Codger came out with a cache, too! They were, apparently, about an inch apart. Further investigation shows that Mr. Codger's was older, but both have been found and signed recently. We signed both logs (maybe we should claim 2 finds? ) and returned both caches. This has put smiles on our faces the rest of the day. With Victorian Hanger, it means we found 3 of the 2 caches that have been niggling at us. A good day! TFTC!
(TFTC stands for Thanks for the Cache)
Then we (I) found one called "Re-visiting the Bar" which was dangling off the end of a rebar stuck in a hole in a parking marker. Ha! And then the other one that has been bugging us, a tiny one dangling in a tree which I found. I was having a real good day. I found 9 straight, then Rich found the 10th and we decided to get out while the getting was good. We went on to Boomtown for 2 more caches and gas and potty stop. We have 6900 caches now. We had traffic coming down the hill, decided not to go for a cache in the rest area, and stopped for lunch at Lou LaBonte's in east Auburn. We blew our perfect caching day there, but can't spoil the great accomplishments of those hard caches. We were home before 4, which was great.
I had lots of hatchling points to spend, but blew them all. I bought a gargoyle, then fed everything and that took three tries because I miskeyed a couple of times, and then my cousin had lost 6 pets and I bought them back for her. I better hope I get points again.
How to destroy a political party: 1. Promise that an economic stimulus is a surefire winner and ram it through without bipartisan support. 2. Have no foreign policy that views America as a good thing. 3. Spend a year talking about a healthcare bill that is opposed by a large majority of the electorate, then pass it by three votes in the House after passing it in the Senate by buying off senators. 4. Say an immigration bill is “racist” and “promotes racial profiling” without reading a bill that explicitly takes measures to prevent that, then stand side by side a foreign president who is causing the illegal immigration problem, then wear wristbands to ensure that the entire country, 67% of whom supports the bill, knows where you stand.
The Dems are looking more and more like the Whigs during the years of Zach Taylor every day. cpaulus on May 21, 2010 at 8:10 PM
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 121.5 miles sunny, then windy and cold
Rasmussen: -16: 45/53
Jobless claims rose unexpectedly! ("Unexpectedly" is the big word when things go wrong.) Rats.
Today is Gareth's birthday. And in very sad news, Glenna's puppy died.
The plan today was to drive 30 miles to Fernley and do a caching numbers run there. We started at 8:30.
Calderon go home! And every Democrat who stood and applauded, you're fired.
Before we got to Fernley we had a fight... I was trying to tell Rich something I'd seen on TV and when I'd told him the whole thing, he had missed it all and was asking for details of everything. He says he can't hear me, and that's probably true, but he doesn't listen either, as exemplified by the first discussion of the day. "What's Fernley? It sounds familiar." "Yeah, it's where alternate 50 meets 80. Regular 50 goes through Carson City and South Lake Tahoe before getting to Sacramento." "We haven't been on 50 for awhile, why is that?" "Because going through Tahoe and Carson City is longer, but when we do go over to Ely we'll do that." "Well, next time we go to Reno, let's take the 50 route."
Our first cache in Fernley was a no-find, partly because we were told they were going to turn the water on. Then we went on into town and started south on, guess what, 50. (Actually, the business alternate 50!) One cache, at the busiest intersection, is a "flat cache", and that was fun. We had 10 finds heading into town and south, and 3 more no-finds. Then we found a Subway for lunch.
After lunch we worked our way east, then north, and then started back westward through a corner of the Paiute Reservation and Wadsworth. We saw Amazon.com, which was exciting. We also Went to the Northern Nevada Military Cemetery. And during the day we saw three collared lizards.
We left Fernley at 3:45 with 28 caches. On the way out of Sparks we'd seen Scheel's. This looked like a place we wanted to visit. Oh, my. There are two walk-through aquaria, one for fresh-water fish, one salt-water. There's a Ferris wheel, and a Ferris wheel museum, and a gallery of Presidents including two who are animated. (Lincoln and Jefferson.) And, of course, lots of lovely sporting goods. Rich was quite impressed with the sexy pink nighties in the hunting section. I guess it depends on what you're hunting! Definitely an ObGoe, this place, too.
Then we went out and looked at the mall, Legends. There was a Harry & David where I got some malted milk balls and Rich got some licorice. Yum. I was looking at a fountain and went around it to see Mark Twain glaring at me. However, there are 3 caches on the grounds and we couldn't find any of them. We had 5 more caches in Sparks, and 5 more no-finds. Argh.
This time I had salmon for dinner. Then I gambled, spending about $13 before I put in a 50-cent bet on a penny machine and got $61.50. Time to quit. I was $57 up, so the Retreat House will get $60 from me. It's amazing, since I started giving the Retreat House my winnings, I actually win. Coincidence? Hmmm. I just play for fun, and it is fun.
Rich had already gone up to the room and asked me "how did you do?" and I showed him the money tab. Wow. Rich didn't win this time (he had a real good run the last few times.)
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 116.5 miles cool, breezy
82 recordings of 29 types.
Rasmussen: -19: 44/55
Today we took off for a Reno break, the first in two years. We got started at 8:30. Our first stop was in Auburn to get a cache honoring our dead caching friend, but we had no luck with it; an inauspicious start. Grumpily back on the road, to stop at the Gold Run rest area. We haven't been stopping at this one, because it used to be just a small brick building on a dirt road. Now it's a nice beautiful new building, and the area is just begging for a cache. We stopped there this time because the Donner Summit one where we usually stop is being renovated (by which I mean levelled to the ground and rebuilt).
Proceeding onwards, a cache near Boomtown then five in the north-west part. I called GoE's father and we arranged to get together about 4. We were hungry just as we were getting downtown and spied the Gold 'n' Silver Inn. It's across the street from the casino restaurant that GoE's father usually takes us to so we thought we would try it. Turns out it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Drives a couple of weeks ago! Season Nine, Episode One, April 26, 2010. I had no idea! The restaurant dates from 1956. I had the HUGE taco salad. I didn't much like the bowl, too yeasty.
There's an interesting sign in it: "these machines will not accept the new $5 bills. IGT has chosen to no longer support this kind of machine."
After lunch we walked across the street to another cache, then found a couple of others on the way west to our hotel. We did try for another but this train came along and stopped and everyone was blocked. When we logged in we went to the VIP room. Not bad for a free stay. Rich got $20 free play, and I got $5.
Then we tried the two disabled-but-supposedly-still-there caches at the hotel. No luck. Off to talk to GoE's father. He's looking good. No major accidents or illnesses since we saw him last, just some new windows which are very nice. When we left we had 5 (**FIVE!**) more no-finds, then finally got two. What a rotten end to the day.
Back at the hotel, we went down to the cafe and I had a yummy pad thai. I used the chopsticks for the tofu and the shrimp, but the noodles and sprouts defeated me. Out in the casino, there was a guy with a keytar! I thought Plex on Yo Gabba Gabba had made it up! I used my free money and got $10+, so I quit for the night and went in to log caches.
(I'm currently in Reno, and it's hard to keep up. Yesterday we were talking to Gerhard's father and told him about the wall-builder, and I think this was probably the best day of the road trip last year: so here's a walk down Memory Lane.)
May 20: Take Your Taaaaaaahm.
Murfreesboro Tennessee: 300 miles, .5 mile walked, 9 caches, 2 new States.
We started off from Tupelo along the Natchez Trace. We started at a visitor's center and had a 12 minute film to introduce the trail. The narrator suggested we take our taaaaaahm along the Trace. So we did. It's two lane, but very sparsely travelled, because there's nothing but trees along the way. A 444-mile long narrow park! We stopped at all the stops till it became apparent that we were going to be running late if we weren't careful. Then we became a little more choosy. We got some virtual caches, and a couple of real caches that were just off the trail.
The Natchez Trace cuts across the corner of Alabama, which is why I chose it, of course. We got the virtual, but because we'd like to leave a digitalfish in every state (which didn't work out in Arizona or Louisiana) we tried the only other Alabama cache I'd listed. The cache wasn't big enough, but it was my favorite of the trip so far.
Back during the Trail of Tears, one woman who had been forcibly re-located to the Oklahoma territory was homesick, and walked home to the Tennessee River through the wilderness. On her own. It took 5 years. Her great-great grandson (a "white man": how come one drop makes you "black" but 1/16 doesn't make you "Indian" and besides, I believe it does for the Indian tribes. ANYWAY) wanted to honor her and was told by the people of this disappearing tribe that a rock construction would be appropriate. So he's been making a rock wall for 32 years. He was out working on his wall (which is 8 feet thick and winds around and has islands, etc., to total 7 miles!!!) today and came over to talk to us. He's a fascinating man. When I took a picture, he said the language, which only has 6 speakers now, would call it a "Sash-oan" (I think) or "shadow catcher."
We were getting hungry, ate some raisins, and pulled off in a little hamlet where there was a welcome center, and a closed cafe. We had a nice long talk with the lady at the welcome center. How long is it we've been geocaching? Something like 6+ years, right? So did we look to see if there was a nearby cache when we were at the welcome center? There was, but we didn't. At least we got a cookie!
The deadline was that we were going to meet a journaller friend from 8-12 years ago or so. We pulled up into his parking lot about 10 minutes before he got off work. Such planning. Preen! We sat and talked (even politics, which of course we always do in e-mail, but out in the open with eavesdroppers was a bit different) for 90 minutes before Rich and I reluctantly let him go. That was fun.
We stopped for a few more caches in Nashville, had dinner, came here to Murfreesboro and cached some more.
Sadly, I discover the pool opens Memorial Day. Alas.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 115.5 miles sunny and warm
77 recordings of 28 types.
Rasmussen: -17: 45/53
Today's big plan was to give Bernadette a bit of respite and to make Gareth feel he's still important by taking him somewhere. The somewhere, today, was the Explorit! museum in Davis. They have "Toddler Tuesdays", days they don't take school field trips in the morning so the little people can learn at their own speed. It was also free Tuesday, though this didn't matter to me. Rich enhanced the plan by deciding to go help Bernadette in the yard, which I know has been a big frustration for her. Gareth needs to be constantly watched out there, so she can't get anything done.
Gareth made one comment in the car, which I didn't understand, but otherwise he just sits there and takes it all in. When we got there, he first made a beeline for the door, but I redirected him to the Discovery room, where there are bins of different types of toys. He played a bit with a puzzle, but mostly liked the top that you push down on to make it spin. Eventually he discovered some half-spheres in the Robotix bins that fit on top. That didn't make it work and he didn't quite figure out how to do it himself.
There's a toy with balls you hammer in and they go down ramps and come out again. (You can also drop other toys in and then the adult has the fun of fishing them out so the toy will work again.) Gareth couldn't figure this one out. Another child took the hammer and the balls and was playing croquet. Back to the half-spheres of Robotix, one little girl was holding them up like breasts. This place was hilarious to watch.
After about 40 minutes, I attempted to redirect Gareth to the other parts of the museum, where there are ramps and various science games. He did play with a car for a millisecond, then headed for the patio where he walked around and around and around and around... and around. I gave him a snack. After about 30 minutes here (one time he escaped and I had to chase him, which is when I dropped my camera on the pavement. It's a bit warped but still works. Whew!)
I saw he was beginning to flag so we left and I took him to lunch at McDonald's. I don't think I've been to this McDonald's since Bernadette was his age. Or younger. He had 4 chicken nuggets and after initially refusing the milk he drank about half the bottle. Had a few fries. He was enthralled with his Ronald McDonald car. And so home. He lasted about 2 minutes in the car. Bernadette was really happy: Rich had taken out a lot of blackberries and she'd been able to plant her gourds. All in all, a very satisfactory day. We're definitely going back to Explorit!
Shucks, Burns lost in PA-12. The Murtha-ites deserved him, apparently.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 115.3 miles cloudy, windy, cold
94 recordings of 31 types.
Rasmussen: -13: 46/53
Today I stayed home all day. The gutter guy came. On Saturday he had food poisoning, though he could have actually used the phone, I think. Anyway, he and his crew did a nice job. Also, my shade guy came and put the fourth bracket in and more screws in the brackets. We think the shade will stay in place now.
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Zachariah), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, The Life of Man with God, Thomas Verner Moore, The Survivors Club, Lisa Gardiner, Don Quixote, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
It doesn’t make the Obama administration sound “mature” to call Arizona racist for tasking its law enforcement agencies with enforcing the law. It makes them look illiterate, closed-minded, and weak. Maybe Posner should focus on China’s long record of oppression, slave labor, political executions, and heavy-handed censorship — and join Arizona in demanding that the federal government start enforcing the laws that have existed for decades on immigration.
The idea of State voluntarily introducing Arizona’s law into a discussion of human rights abuses with China may well be the single lowest moment on foreign policy that the administration’s had since The One was sworn in.
Has there ever been a more inept and reprehensible administration in our national history? PBHO manages to find the biggest cranks and fools to fill his staff, and these are the people who want to manage our healthcare and protect us from foreign enemies? Bishop on May 14, 2010 at 10:59 AM
Clinton’s AG Janet Reno was dangerous. Holder, in comparison, is merely incompetent. Usually I would say the incompetent one would cause us less damage, but unfortunately the stakes are too high, as evidenced by the recent bombing attempt in NYC. Ugh, you know things are bad when I’m pining for the Clinton administration! jwolf on May 14, 2010 at 11:09 AM
rather than trying to politely explain the virtues of the law, they’d better start thinking about reciprocal boycotts. Take a piece of California’s ass economically and let state officials over there deal with the headaches of their own business leaders. And at some point, some high-profile Arizona pol really should call the bluff of sanctuary cities by offering to release captured illegals into their custody in lieu of deporting them. If Gavin Newsom and Mike Bloomberg and Antonio Villaraigosa are all so hot to welcome the “undocumented,” fantastic: Arizona’s got an endless supply and will be happy to provide however many to San Francisco and New York and L.A. that they’d like.
Well, if I hadn't already been boycotting San Francisco as much as possible because of their anti-military stance, I'd be boycotting them now. Which makes the upcoming Impressionist exhibits, which I would really like to see, a hard decision.
Really, who has better claim to being the president of hope and change in the Middle East — the one who liberated Iraq from tyranny and pledged to do the same for Afghanistan, harped on democracy, and refused the entreaties of dictators to shove human rights under the bus, or the one who can’t manage to utter a syllable of criticism of child brides, honor killings, religious persecution (which an ambassador at large would presumably comment on, if Obama had appointed one), and political repression in the region’s Muslim states — and who declines to consider regime change in Iran?
I just love the hypocrisy….Palin is not qualified to work at 7-11 but Obama and Kagan and any other liberal that has been appointed to various jobs with zero expertise are OK. search4truth on May 14, 2010 at 9:38 AM
SHOCKER: The Health Care Reform Already Costs More than We Thought it Would. Or more than we were told it would, anyway. “Olympia Snowe’s demands to slow down the process suddenly seem a lot more reasonable. . . . We haven’t done anything yet, and we’re somehow already at least a hundred billion dollars in the hole.”
Wall Street Skips 0bama's Fund-Raiser Hard to believe, isn't it? You get trashed on a daily basis, demonized by the socialists, the media and union goons, and there's actual surprise when you don't line up like lemmings to pony up cash for the people who hate you and want to ruin you. But look at the bright side, Democrats. You still have empty heads like Sarah Jessica Parker on your side.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 115.3 miles sunny, cooling
87 recordings of 27 types.
Rasmussen: -10: 48/52. "Fifty-one percent (51%) believe the United States is the last best hope of mankind. Twenty-six percent (26%) disagree."
We had a missionary priest today, and he talked about the "chasm" which he pronounced "chasum." I was able to pay attention this week, but last week was fun.
This afternoon we went to see "Gypsy." Bev's review is right on except that we had one tiny difference... the girl who played Louise lost her voice and they got someone from the chorus who was the same size to take her place. The stuff bad Broadway novels are made of... except Amanda wasn't an understudy and didn't know the lines, so she came on in scene 4 holding and reading a script. At first she was a bit unsure and quiet, but got more confident as the play went on. In the second act, she even left the script behind a couple of times. Unfortunately, that meant she missed the ecdysiast joke and didn't hear the prompt.
Gypsy: Some men have called me an ecdysiast. Do you know what that means? An ecdysiast is one who, or that which, sheds its skin. In vulgar parlance, a stripper. But I'm not a stripper. At these prices, I'm an ecdysiast!
She got a lot of applause for a valiant effort. While she's not going on Broadway any time soon, I would imagine they'll pay more attention to her in the next auditions, because she's proven she can take the pressure. We stopped afterwards to tell her what a good job she did. I'd have also gushed over Mama Rose, but she had lots of fans.
In the program, we learned that "baby June" died just two months ago.
We did a little caching ahead of time and then afterwards stopped at a challenge cache which we could log three times, once for having attended 28 events, one for 66 events, and one for 100 events. We've been to 117 qualifying parties. This actually gave us a first to find for the hundred. Someone else had logged, with more parties, but the page rules say log three different times. I wrote my log in three parts and posted them in reverse order so it reads right.
Jay Nordlinger : there has been extensive comment on my question, “Do you ever get the idea that our government is a bunch of left-wing undergraduates come to power?” (I think I had in mind Elspeth Rostow’s statement during the Kennedy administration: “You’re just a bunch of junior officers come to power.”) One man wrote, “I think we need a new term to describe the Obama team’s approach to international affairs: Bong Hit Diplomacy. Just a suggestion . . .”
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 115.3 miles sunny and warm
89 recordings of 25 types.
Rasmussen: -11: 48/52
A month has passed already, so the neighbor had her Susan G. Komen garage sale again. I went over and found some goodies. But checking here, anything I found for it are better going to Vince's family. Later, after Rich said they had donuts, I resisted for an hour or so but finally gave in. Yum....
We waited and waited for the storm gutter guy, who didn't come and didn't come. Grumble.
About 4, all dressed up in aloha clothing, we headed for Danville to a St. Vincent College party. This started with cocktails at a home 3 houses away from the country club. (we have been to the Danville Country Club for a SVG gathering before, 3 or 4 years ago, but not to this house.) We arrived a few minutes early, but there were people there and we were welcome. There was wine and little appetizers. And the TRAIN! Our host is a serious railroad buff and has this enormous layout of Western Pennsylvania in a room-and-a-half of the house. The whole house is gorgeous.
From there to the Country Club. I was astounded to see the special menu: not the chicken, beef or vegetarian choice. We both had the tagliatelli. Yum. The only really sensible thing I did all night was wave off the salad dressing. The salad was delicious anyway. And the tiramisu? OMG.
Good conversation with the others at our table, and the new President of St. Vincent came by and said "tell me more about this GPS stuff." Hey, brother, there are caches on St. Vincent College campus.
An amazing night. We got home about 11. My Facebook status said something about "envy" being one of the Seven Deadlies.
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Zachariah), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, The Life of Man with God, Thomas Verner Moore, The Truelove, Patrick O'Brien, Don Quixote, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 115.3 miles 83 degrees
91 recordings of 25 types.
Rasmussen: -13: 46/53
I'm down -.3 pounds and low Blood Pressure.
Steve is 41 today. How is this possible?
This morning we went to Walmart and bought the ATV Little Red Wagon. It was $17 more expensive than it was when I priced it last Monday. Grumble. We also got a little pool and a pump. Rich put the wagon together. It's HUGE! This is the last LRW we'll be getting. Our own one was bought in England by my mother-in-law, in 1971. We used it till about 2 years ago, for Girl Scout cookies, manure, wood, parades, pumpkins... it was really getting stiff and old when Rich found another on a scrap heap, so ours was fully retired to metal recycling. We have bought them for each of the kids' families, so this one will be the last. I do like that the new ones have handles that fold under. Also, the handles are more comfortable for grownups to use. This one should be big enough for Joanna in her basket and Gareth.
Because of the roofers we needed to park elsewhere, and so Rich pulled up across the street. Now, usually he is pretty far away from the curb, but this time he was right up on it. "Don't step on the grass" he told me. I did try, just staying on the curb, real close to the car. Then I went to shut the door and shut my lower arm into it. Ow ow ow! I had to step on the grass anyway to get around the mirror. Why didn't Rich go a bit further out when I told him we were too close? He probably wasn't listening. Ow.
The roofers were only 4 hours later than they said they'd be. Argh argh argh. And then, at one point, the guy was working right over the garden window and dropped a couple of nails... I was expecting him to drop the hammer and break the window, shelves, and plants, but fortunately that didn't happen. We still have the gutter guy to suffer through, however. They finally finished just before 6.
Then we went down to take the Yo Gabba Gabba banner to Gareth, since we won't be here for his birthday proper. He was eating, and happy to see us. He sat in my lap a little while, then got down to join everyone else in the studio: to my surprise he went right to Joanna's chair and patted her in the face, then started to play. He did it again later. She, meanwhile, was sound asleep and didn't notice. How cute!
Afterwards we went to dinner at On The Border. Our server, Pedro, has no Mexican accent, so I was really surprised to learn he's only been in this country 10 years. He says his brothers, who were younger when they came, have more of an accent. He was good to talk to, and we also liked the food. Good salsa and huge chips, then I had Queso Chicken and Rich had a Border Sampler. Yummy.
Today's Hoarders denial moment had to do with a shirt. It's time to change to summer clothing and this was a shirt that Spooky tore when I was holding him and someone came to the door, scaring him. I put it aside to mend. I still can't find the pincushion (it's been a couple of years) but Rich knew I had needles, I knew I had thread. So I went in back to the old sewing box. So much stuff! I cleaned out a shoebox of sewing supplies from my Mom's time, even to the point of (shudder) throwing out (shudder) two zippers. Oh, and found the exact right color thread to mend the shirt and did it!
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 115.3 miles 83 degrees
94 recordings of 27 types.
More roofing today. It sounds like they're coming through.
I called yesterday to reschedule the dentist, and to my semi-dismay they had an opening at 8:30 this morning. It was a biggie with x-rays and exam, as well as the cleaning. Look ma, no cavities! I also picked up another bleach kit. The last time the teeth got a little whiter, but I kept forgetting to keep it up. This time I'm going to concentrate, because I'd like them to be whiter for our trip north. This bleach is a stronger concentration, and tonight it rather bothered me. We'll see.
Obama's Hackneyed Hypocrisy By Quin Hillyer on 5.13.10 @ 6:08AM: "Who the hell does Barack Obama, this morally preening, arrogant hypocrite, think he is?"
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 115.3 miles partly cloudy
95 recordings of 29 types.
Rasmussen: -13: 47/52.
I made a crockpot overnight breakfast risotto including leftover applesauce and using some apple juice from our trip to Apple Hill. Yummy. Then I actually made it to church. I parked on the street when I got back, because today the roofers came. Luckily they'd already postponed the original date, which was Monday, since it was raining then.
So the day was spent with bangs and crashes and roars and drilling.... but I will give them credit: they shed dust and asphalt bits all over and cleaned it up beautifully before they left. They worked from 8 to 3 and will finish up tomorrow.*
*Or not. In reality they worked 8 to 6:30 on Thursday and 3 to 7 on Friday.
Attack of the 50-foot Pelosi
Exactly, we have a federal government the size of several galaxies, telling us WE need to slim down. We say, “stuff it, fatty”. NoDonkey on May 11, 2010 at 4:05 PM
Presidential passivity can be an effective tactic. Passivity can be a realistic response to inhospitable conditions. But it can also be a feature of a presidential personality leading the world -- the nation -- and even the president's own party to wonder: "Is anyone driving this ship?"
Ace has lost his mind, but this commenter is right. After the last few decades of govt intervention, social engineering, and interference with matters that should be resolved in the privacy of one's home, name one thing that has improved.
Our kids are fatter and stupider and lazier and more reckless than ever. Govt intervention is making things worse.
Nancy wants the preachers to preach immigration reform. She totally ignores any pro-life language from the pulpit.
IMAO_@allahpunditIf professionals don't make fun of Islam, it will just be done ineptly in back alleys.
kfbk The California Highway Patrol issues news release that is was forced to 'dispatch" a rampaging Emu after Tasers didn't subdue it. (I know I shouldn't laugh, but that's a funny line.)
Look, it obviously was a mistake earlier [in March] dissing [Karzai]. Look at the way the administration is behaving today — in which they are giving him every honor short of the president bending a knee, which apparently he reserves for his visits overseas.
What they are doing with Karzai is undoing what happened in March when he was really insulted. He's wily, and he knows it. He's not a rookie like the president, and he knows in these relationships even the client has power because we're dependent on him as he is on us. When he talked about abandoning the fight or flirting with the enemy, it registered here.
So after treating him with the kind of contempt usually reserved for the Israeli prime minister, we are giving him every honor in the book. . . .
We have no choice. There is no other ally or partner in the area, and the hour is late.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 825 115.3 miles partly cloudy
91 recordings of 29 types.
Rasmussen: -10: 48/51
We took the pole saw to Rob today, and of course played with the littles.
This little girl thinks she should be crawling already. She's only 4 weeks old! You can hear Gareth babbling in the background. He noticably is looking for attention, and the grownups (apart from me) weren't listening. Next week Rob goes back to work, and I think Gareth is going to have a hard time. (The drapery guy is coming to put in the final bracket on Monday, and the rest of the week is plenty busy for us, too. He has a play date on his birthday, and will have the party (family) on Saturday.)
It will require a combination of passion and intelligence to sustain the momentum of the Tea Party movement, and rebuild a republic of reason from our dying central State. Maybe then we can all calm down, and think clearly.
Ben Hart Wanda says other countries don't respect us anymore. She says we've become a worldwide joke. [Wanda got this info from her Laotian relatives.]
James Patrick Daffron She is absolutely correct. Iran's leader made fun of Obama. France's leader said Obama is out of touch with reality and ha mad man. Venezuela's Chavez put down Americas in Obama's presence. Canada's leader was insulted. The British People were insulted when Obama sent back the Bust of Churchill. Israel's Bibi was treated like hired help when Obama left the meeting at the White house and retired to private quarters for dinner saying, "Call me if you make any progress".
He dismisses our former allies and the enemies think he is inexperienced, immature, weak and stupid. He is Jimmy Carter on Steroids. Remember him? He's the one that gave Iran to the Ayatollahs. Yesterday at 7:06pm
Newsweek asks what did we do wrong? You can start with the bias. Ever since they said Barbara Bush was "stealing" hotel soaps to give to the poor I've noticed it.
Another of Pelosi's surprises. Though a lot of us said this would happen. (They were thinking of using Rich's CPAP during his surgery. We loves our medical devices!)
Say what you will, I would die to have McCain at the helm right now. We’d not be an international embarrassment, Iran would be scared, Israel wouldn’t be scared, we wouldn’t have the government taking over every industry under the sun, we wouldn’t have the monstrosity that is Obamacare and we’d likely be well out of the Recession by now. John the Libertarian on May 6, 2010 at 10:22 PM
(Not sure I agree about 0bamacare. McCain would have put something in, and it wouldn't have been so over-the-top and we'd have just sat back and taken it.)
Comment on an 0bamateurism: I notice a lot of Obamateurisms aren’t really examples of how much he is an amateur. Many, if not most of them are examples of what a manipulative liar he is. Daggett on May 7, 2010 at 8:08 AM
Video: Jan Brewer tells Barack 0bama that no one is laughing. comment: AZ Governor To Obama: Hey Joke Boy, Illegal Immigration Isn't Funny. Unless, You Know, You Get A Chuckle Out Of Violent Crime —DrewM
Lost in the bluster of the panel discussion is the real problem for the White House this week, which is the loss of a sense of competence across the board. In that sense, the Gulf spill is akin to Katrina for Bush, and the botched Times Square attack adds onto the impression that this administration has become clueless.
The problem is that if the President has a bad week it’s like the captain of the Titanic having a bad day. It’s noble and all that he goes down with the ship, but I’d rather avoid the icebergs and drowning bit. Asher on May 8, 2010 at 11:08 AM
Sometimes in the dead of night I pray that we can last until November. That man in the WH is even more dangerous when he is painted into a corner. He’s letting this stuff build up wheather on purpose or not and he won’t lift a finger to stop it. Another SCOTUS appointment is the main reason I didn’t vote for him. This will be another horrendous pick that the Senate will vote for. There are no more words to describe our peril. ---BetseyRoss on May 8, 2010 at 11:16 AM
I don’t understand that you don’t realize that it’s bushs fault. Ater all he told blanco and nagin to keep all the people in the city so he would have to rescue 30,000 by helicopter! Bush did it right, he backed away from usurping the states power long enough for them to screw it up and then quietly accepted the blame. Bo won’t accept any criticism of an kind. As the pressure mounts bo will blow. ---tim c on May 8, 2010 at 11:24 AM
[The Nashville guy may want to avert his eyes for the next three quotes, since it's apparently a lot better than this.]
Ben Hart: Obama played another round of golf today. Also attended his daughter's soccer game. It's fun being President. Meanwhile, oil continues to pour into Gulf. Not much being done for the flood disaster in Nashville. The unemployment rate shoots up to 9.9%. Greece collapses. Spain teeters on brink. Iran about to get Nukes. Taliban planting car bombs in Times Square from its base in Pakistan.
Alana May 8th, 2010 | 6:22 pm | #1 Sick of seeing him golf. Last night he took the other half out to dinner at a place that charges $125 each. Watching them live their chi-chi lifestyle while horrible things are happening to other citizens of the country gets old.
jonyjon101 May 8th, 2010 | 6:28 pm | #6 Just like our own emperor nero. I doubt the people in Nashville are too disappointed, like the rest of us, they don’t expect too much from him.
Every choice defines one word: Hypocrite Calling my wife a teabagger won’t be forgiven. The President of the USA uses such a term on his own people. What a disgrace to the office this man is. Keemo on May 9, 2010 at 9:52 AM
As for the idea that America has become fanatically “Islamophobic” since 9/11, au contraire: Were America even mildly “Islamophobic,” it would have curtailed Muslim immigration, or at least subjected immigrants from Pakistan, Yemen, and a handful of other hotbeds to an additional level of screening. Instead, Muslim immigration to the West has accelerated in the last nine years, and, as the case of Faisal Shahzad demonstrates, being investigated by terrorism task forces is no obstacle to breezing through your U.S. citizenship application. ... Given the demographic advance of Islam in Europe and the de jure advance of sharia in Europe (the Geert Wilders blasphemy trial) and de facto in America (Comedy Central’s and Yale University Press’s submission to Islamic proscriptions on representations of Mohammed), you wonder why excitable types like Faisal Shahzad are so eager to jump the gun. The Islamization of the West proceeds apace; why draw attention to it and risk a backlash?
Because the reactions of Bloomberg & Co. are a useful glimpse into the decayed and corroded heart of a civilization. One day the bomb will explode. Dozens dead? Hundreds? Thousands? Would we then restrict immigration from certain parts of the world? Or at least subject them to extra roadblocks on the fast-track to citizenship?
“Information is a distraction” And Mr. Wonderful says this at a GRADUATION COMMENCEMENT. Thanks Barry. They will be thinking about that when they spend the next ten years paying student loans off along with everything else you have planned for them while they hunt for a job. RobCon on May 9, 2010 at 7:54 PM
0bamateurism of the Day. "How far back will Obama reach to find historical accomplishments to equate with ObamaCare? If he gets to Golgotha, don’t expect me to be surprised."
Comment on Kagan: I can't think of a single person in this administration Americans will look to ten years from now, much less 100, with either fondness or respect.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 818 115.3 miles rain! wind!
90 recordings of 29 types.
Rasmussen: -12: 47/52
It was library day! Because of Rich's operation, the house is not ready, and we thought we were having roofers today, so I told Bernadette I'd meet her at the library.
And then, I discovered a tick embedded in my belly button. There's a disadvantage to an innie! I managed to tweeze it entirely out, even the proboscis, but I see, also, that it bit me two other places in there, too. So ever since I've been itchy, felt creepy crawlies, and odd bumps all over myself. Not to mention that I have ALL the symptoms of Lyme disease, tick fever, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I wonder where this thing came from!
So of course I forgot to take my camera. Which is too bad, since I was the Gareth-herder while Bernadette cared for Joanna and talked to the other moms. Gareth wasn't sure about the Play-doh. He did have fun with the riding toy, though. This is the first time I've seen him actually ride something. I guess he watched the other kids this time. He rode side-saddle and needed help to get his legs on each side, at first. Then he figured it out and was riding backwards. Every single day I see Gareth learn something new. Such an exciting age!
I did remember to take the bag of books to donate. Books. That's where I really relate to compulsive hoarders. I know I don't have time left in this life to read all the books I have, but getting rid of them is very very difficult. I have favorite authors I want to read or re-read, and there's the history books I want to read and the mysteries and the humor and the science fiction. I have been forcing myself to at least get rid of a bagful every library day. And I try not to bring more into the house.
At the library I found some books for Gareth. (I don't count those.) And a new Gideon Oliver (by Aaron Elkins!) So I'm currently reading that. Yay!
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Zachariah), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, The Life of Man with God, Thomas Verner Moore, The Truelove, Patrick O'Brien, Skull Duggery, Aaron Elkins, Don Quixote, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 808 115.3 miles cold, rain, then sun
85 recordings of 23 types.
Rasmussen: -12: 47/52
Google's Mother's Day Logo.
Bernadette was coming to church today, so I planned to wear my "Gonzaga mom" shirt. That was just fine till I spilled coffee all over it. Then I took my camera case to church. Without the camera. Grumble.
Rich came in carrying Gareth and Bernadette and I sat on either side of him. Active! He didn't make noise, but he moved and moved and moved. He put the binky in Joanna's mouth. (And, finally, when Bernadette picked her up he got into her chair.) Fortunately, a lady behind us had a pack of Cheetos, which kept him quiet and in the area.
Father came down the aisle to see the kids, and after church Bernadette had a lot of friends checking J. out. Father talked about "as you know, Peter is visiting Fatima this week" and I finally figured out he meant the Pope. I was busy trying to remember a Peter in the parish that we knew. Father also forgot he had a Baptism planned during Mass, so he did it afterwards.
Rich was looking for cucumber plants and I had the radio on in the car when Farmer Fred said Bernadette was visiting. He had her on the program for a couple of minutes, and Rich missed it all. (No cukes, either.) So this was a great excuse to learn to use his iTouch for podcasts. He kept trying to find it on iTunes, but I showed him the Farmer Fred FAQ on how to get a podcast, and he managed to grab the hour with the Bernadette appearance.
This afternoon we went to see "My Way" which is a retrospective of Sinatra songs. We were near the back, but still good seats and Rich was comfortable sitting. Michael G. Hawkins is really great. However, revue shows are really not my thing.
A good Mother's Day! I have a neat "Grandma" plaque, a new doormat, a Grandma book (which has already reminded me of a finger-play I used to do with the babies but had completely forgotten), an Amazon gift card, and chocolate. Plus some nice cards and a couple of phone calls (though we missed Steve's.)
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Zachariah), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, The Life of Man with God, Thomas Verner Moore, The Truelove, Patrick O'Brien*, Don Quixote, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
*about time I got back to the Aubrey-Maturin series. I tend to spread them out, but it's been at least a couple of years, and that's ridiculous.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 808 114.6 miles sunny
89 recordings of 25 types.
Rasmussen: -14: 46/53
The Dixon May Fair is this weekend. I thought Rich and I had been to it before, but now I think not. We have gone to the fairgrounds for rock shows and a Boy Scout event. I thought the fair might be fun for Gareth and for Bernadette, so asked her to go with me. In the process of researching the route (since we didn't want to get blocked by the parade), I saw there are a number of new caches (and the old ones we found are no more). I then got sidetracked looking at Dixie the Dinosaur, rest in peace. Both this page and this one use my flying dinosaur picture. At least the first one gives me credit, though my webpage is gone.
Back to reality. Bernadette came by and picked me up. We used my route to get to the fairgrounds and parking. As the parade was still going on, we got to park fairly close to the gate. Feeding and changing, sunscreen (which I apparently got into Gareth's eye) then ready to go. I saw that military dependents were half price (adults $10, seniors $8, active military free, me $5) so I flashed my card for one dependent and one adult, and she gave me the discount for both of us! A good start.
I think of Dixon as a little tiny town, maybe as many as 8K people. Ha. It's as big (20K) as Laramie (which of course is a big city... at least for Wyoming.) Anyway, this is a huge deal they've been doing in one form or another for 130+ years. They get some pretty big names... Pat Benetar and Creedence Clearwater Revisited today. They had Foreigner on Thursday night. There's a big midway. Not too many vendors. Today was auction day, and we went to look at the animals. I heard one kid say his pig went for $4 a pound. Wow. Gareth looked a little stoned at the goats and sheep and ponies and chickens and rabbits, but he did smile at the pigs.
Then we found the kid's zone. All sorts of booths set up with different games, free, for the little people. Hula hoops, bowling, beanbag toss, musical instruments, a puzzle, and a sandbox! Gareth at first didn't know what to make of the sandbox, but I shovelled some sand into a dump truck and we were off to the races.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” ---Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future, 1962
In Gareth's case, it's magic because he has an insufficient grasp of the technology. You shovel sand into the funnel and it disappears. You shovel more in, it goes away. He was utterly fascinated. It's totally magic!
Then he had a shovel and he wanted to shovel some sand. At first he held it by the blade and picked up a little sand on the handle. You could see him trying to figure this out. Eventually he decided to turn it around, but he still had it upside down. Hmmm. Finally he got it turned around and shoveled with it. Success! It was a lot of fun watching him figure this out. I'm very glad I didn't demonstrate or show him "like this!" which I do fairly often with little kids.
After about 25 minutes or so I took him out, protesting, to show him the tractor. A BIG tractor. He could touch it! He stopped crying and smiled. Then we stopped in the toy area and he played for another 20-30 minutes. Bernadette talked to the moms in the sandbox, then came over and joined me.
We got some food. Gareth shared some of my fried rice and chow mein. Bernadette took both babies to look at the quilts (she was the one looking at the quilts, but this kept Gareth quiet so I could finish my lunch) and then we went back to the car and came home. It's a very little fair, but still a fun time.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 808 113.1 miles sunny, warm
97 recordings of 27 types.
Rasmussen: -13: 45/54
And for the week, I'm 1.6 pounds down with a high borderline blood pressure.
170th birthday of Tschaikovsky, from Google.
Besides "chip!", some other words Gareth surprised me with yesterday were "'K,'K,'K" ("OK, Nana, I get it, shut up now") "upie upie" which means "down" and "frog" which I didn't know he knew.
The current couch-potato TV list, shows I record. (LOVE the DVR!)
18 Kids and Counting (I think I've seen all these)
19 Kids and Counting (Josie's so TINY and FRAGILE!)
24 --- we're so far behind on this one. And confused.
American Pickers --- kind of the reverse of hoarders.
Brothers and Sisters
Burn Notice --- love it LOVE it.
Chef Academy if it ever comes back.
Chopped which is fun to watch.
Cold Case --- one of the first to go if I get too many recordings.
Criminal Minds --- enjoying this one.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Miami
CSI: New York
Dancing with the Stars. I'm rooting for Evan (the ice skater.)
Deadliest Catch --- I'm so sad Captain Phil died.
Desperate Housewives
FlashForward
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace
Glee
Glenn Beck
Good Eats --- introduced by Bernadette. Fun!
Grey's Anatomy
Hannity
Hell's Kitchen --- not on at the moment.
Hoarders
Hoarding: Buried Alive --- these two inspire me. I'm not (quite) this bad.
In Plain Sight --- fun. I like the wounded heroines.
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution --- over now.
Kitchen Nightmares --- I don't think any of the restaurants Ramsay "fixes" actually stay in business.
Last Restaurant Standing --- not on at the moment, but I love Raymond Blanc so much better than Gordon Ramsay. He seems really interested in teaching.
Law & Order (2, the current one and the TNT archives. I've seen most of them now.)
L&O Criminal Intent. (I need to start this on USA, once I've finished with L&O and am getting somewhere with SVU.)
L&O Special Victims Unit. Since I'm closing in on being done with most of the old Law and Orders, I will make sure I've seen all of these.
Leverage --- another one I love. I want to be Parker (the ditzy blonde thief who knows bombs and all.)
Life --- for when I don't want to concentrate.
Life is Worth Living with Bishop Sheen.
Mad Men
Masterpiece
Medium --- we watched one the other night and when it was over all I could say was "wow." Memorable plots!
Men of a Certain Age --- a fun fluffy comedy.
Mercy and
Miami Medical --- two new medical shows which I'm enjoying.
Minute to Win It --- I like Guy Fieri, but this one goes early when I'm overbooks.
Mystery! Writing this list reminded me about this show, so I added it to the list.
NCIS
NCIS:LA --- I do like Linda Hunt.
Numb3rs --- another one that I erase early on.
Parenthood
Road Trip with Huell Howser --- oddly fascinating. I really liked seeing him lost in the mountains in the northeast corner of California. Even he stopped commenting on the wonderfulness of it all.
Southland --- police show I've just discovered.
Survivor
The Amazing Race (finished Sunday. My team came in second.)
The Biggest Loser
The Celebrity Apprentice
The Good Wife --- I like this one.
The O'Reilly Factor
Three Rivers --- gotta love Pittsburgh, but I think this one is gone.
Top Chef
Trauma --- another medical show.
White Collar --- another one like Burn Notice or Leverage, the bad guys helping out the victims. I like this one, too.
Who Do You Think You Are? --- was fun while it lasted.
Worst Cooks in America --- ditto. Like Hoarders, it makes me feel good about myself.
My computer was making scary funny noises. When I vacuumed it out I noticed this tiny piece of phone-book paper caught in the fan. Thanks a lot, Gareth! It's all better now (knock on wood!)
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 808 113.1 miles sunny, warm
97 recordings of 27 types. Rasmussen: -10: 47/52.
I went to pick Gareth up, and started singing "Nana's taking Gareth to the Zoo today" on the way to the Zoo, about 15 miles. Rob had trained me in how to use the stroller so I was all prepared. Gareth looked a little stunned, not too sure what was up. Bernadette had accidently taken the monkey harness, so first we stopped to pick it up. (She'd gone to a Mom's group at a nearby church.)
Into the zoo, though we did stop outside Fairytale Town to see Humpty Dumpty. Once in I took Gareth out of the stroller and we walked past the chimps and the orangutans. Gareth wasn't interested in much but the stroller (He likes to fasten the buckles.) Then up the ramps to the new giraffe exhibit. He did see a giraffe. He argued with me about how to walk back down. We came back along the cats, and I pointed out the lion, but I don't think he saw it. He did see some ducks. From there, into the stroller so we could stop for lunch. Because we had to wait in line, I bought a pack of Dolphins and gave them to him a few at a time. Then we shared a chicken finger basket. There were sparrows hanging around which he enjoyed.
We then went down by the flamingos. They're blocked off so they can nest, but this guy was off to the side and easy to see. Then I took him over to the playground and turned him loose, taking the monkey's tail off. I tried to help him balance on the frog's tongue, but he was having none of that. He did spend a lot of time, though, learning to climb up on the tongue and the dragonfly. He also had a great time peering through the picture hole where I'd pop up on the other side going "peekaboo!" One time he had to wait while a couple of other kids were there. I wouldn't let him push them out of the way and I made him wait for his turn. The other awkward socialization lesson is you don't go up to a stranger, say "chip!" and push your hand into the chip bag. I was appalled that he knew "chip!" as a word, but Bernadette assures me it's bagel chips he's had.
And he still had a good time with the stroller.
We were at the zoo about 90 minutes. I took a very sleepy little boy home. Bernadette was outside nursing, and when she finished that she handed Joanna to me and tried to finish some weeding. Of course, at this point Gareth was absolutely awful, getting into all sorts of things he shouldn't. They really haven't babyproofed the patio... there's glass and sharp things everywhere. I couldn't do anything because I had the baby, and Bernadette was busy.
Finally we came in, and then I went home. A fun day!
(Second try at this, for some reason it didn't post before)
I've upset my Nashville friend:
I''m MAD. Your quote of Captain Obvious? The:
"And the response to the BILLIONS in flood damage to Nashville/Middle Tennessee this weekend? Non-existent. He can't demagogue gulf oil and chew nicorette at the same time.
I'mma let ya'll finish, but Barack Obama doesn't care about Southern people (outside of New Orleans or Atlanta)."
If you're going to quote these other people, you want to check and see if it fits ANY conception of reality? Maybe with someone who's HERE????
By the way, I WATCHED the mayor of Nashville give a speech on the progress and extent of flooding---on MONDAY---with the FEMA representative by his side, and the head of FEMA on a conference call!!!!
I know some people who have lost EVERYTHING and who have met with FEMA to get as much help as can possibly be done. (Including a guy who was on his second story, and then heard knocking on fhe floor---which was his REFRIGERATOR knocking on the celing of the first floor!)
There is NOTHING the Federal government could have done to stop the initial flooding. It was too fast, too overwhelming, and even the weathermen who predicted flooding did not predict or anticipate anything like this.
What HAPPENED to you, Jan? Even when you were at your most anti-Clinton vitrolic, you never fell for this sort of malarkey. You at least researched it a little.
But now you seem to be grabbing at every bit of demagoguery you can get, any possible way to spin a negative view of a politician which you're entitled not to like...
But you are NOT entitled to LIE about him, or the people who work under him!
Compare THAT to Brown's botched attempt at heldping New Orleans.
You are NOT entitled to make other people's MISERY fuel for your own demagoguery.
I hope you will have the GUTS to disown this sort of misinformation and lies.
I don't care how few people read your blog. I do care that YOU aren't even taking the time to check to see if what you're saying has ANY basis in reality.
And it makes me want to factcheck to see if anything else you quote, or the people you quote, have ANY conception of what's really happening.
I've spotchecked a few. The results are not encouraging.
What happened to me? That's easy. I was giving 0bama the benefit of the doubt: didn't like him but figured he would find his feet eventually and grow into the job. I'm not a birther. I figure anyone could have come up with the 57 states remark (I certainly could have in the pressure of figuring how many states I hadn't visited and taking that away from 50...) I despised the stimulus but was writing my ire to Matsui and Boxer. Then one fine day the President fired the CEO of GM. Wait, can he DO that? Suddenly we had Government Motors, and other companies were being taken over. The power grabs seem to happen daily. I didn't like Clinton, but I didn't fear him. There are no checks and balances, it seems. He's governing like a teenager, and nobody's stopping him. I want my grandchildren to grow up in the kind of country I had, not as wage slaves to a socialist state.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 808 111.1 miles sunny
90 recordings of 31 types.
Rasmussen: -11: 48/52.
This morning I drove downtown to try to turn in tonight's Cosmopolitan Cabaret tickets for Sunday (the last day.) To my utter amazement, it worked. They were very sympathetic to the problem (Rich couldn't sit there for two hours tonight.)
From there to the store to pick up the last of the meds and some other supplies. Yay. That took some time so I browsed through the store and saw a lot of interesting stuff. And so home.
Scott Ott wonders: If agents from U.S. customs and border protection can arrest a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen on a Dubai-bound flight, why can't local police along the southwestern border arrest non-U.S. citizens?
Seven Machos said... If Obama were to say that he was wrong about Bush's competence -- that, yeah, foreign policy is tough and economies are delicate things and there ain't much you can do when an act of God levels a city -- then Obama would lose not only political support, he would lose his own reason for existing. The man might combust into nothingness right then and there. 5/4/10 11:33 AM
Victor Davis Hanson, Words Matter: So the Hasans, Abdulmutallabs, and Shahzads of the world interpret our new philological magnanimity as weakness, regardless of whether it is or not. And that seems to me very dangerous indeed. Maybe the president can drop the “tea-bagger” slurs and forget Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, and instead warn radical Islamists to knock it off — or else.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 808 110.8 miles sunny
87 recordings of 30 types.
Rasmussen: -10: 48/51.
Today was Rich's operation. At first it was scheduled for 11 so I was going to cancel my dentist appointment, then it was changed to 4. So I told the dentist that I'd be there. Then they didn't have the bloodwork Rich got last week, and wanted him to go in early this morning, so I cancelled after all. (And then he was through with the bloodwork and home in plenty of time for me to have gone. *snap fingers* shucky darn.)
Rich was understandably nervous. We got to the surgery a few minutes early, but since we went up to the 5th floor in the wrong tower, we had to go down to 4 and walk across then go up to 5 and so we were just on time. They soon interviewed him and had him do his paperwork, and the guy told me with surgery at 4 he should be done at 6. Hmmm. I left my phone number and when Rich went back, I went for a walk. I thought I knew where a nearby Starbucks was, but in the event I was a few blocks off, but found one in the Alhambra Safeway. This store is still a sore spot in Sacramento as a beautiful theater was torn down for it.
I ordered a frappachino and sat and played with Rich's iTouch. I logged into Facebook and managed to post a couple of things. I was distracted, however, by this very twitchy woman sitting nearby. I thought she was staring at me, and the way she kept twitching made me feel itchy-twitchy myself. Turns out she's blind, which I found out when someone came to fetch her and her groceries. Never mind, I had to go out to make a phone call for Rich anyway. Then I arrived back at the hospital about 4:20. Rich was already done with surgery and the doctor was waiting to talk to me. Oops.
I found out how the operation went: very well. The wound was really infected. She couldn't believe he'd been living with this. She gave me his post-op instructions and told me he'd hate her the next couple of days. Then she was able to leave. I sat in the room and soon a nurse came to take me back to him, still groggy. I got the post-op instructions again, and in fact signed for them. I stopped at the Raley's pharmacy on the way home and left Rich's prescriptions (Valium, hydrocodone, and a stool softener) and then took him home, got him in, and came back for the meds.
He's in pain, but says he already feels better than he has been feeling. I have some errands to run tomorrow. I'm glad this pain in the butt is getting better! (what, that's a double entendre? Really? Hmm. Sheer coincidence.)
May 3: Drapery Emergency, Spreadsheet Blorf (with an update)
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 808 109.8 miles sunny
88 recordings of 31 types.
Rasmussen: -11: 48/51. Apparently there are a lot of unpatriotic people (the President's definition. He makes Nixon look like all sweetness and light.)
I was pushing the new shade up this morning and it came off in my hand. I tried to put it back up but it wasn't right. A drapery emergency! I couldn't find the phone # of Brian's drapery. Maybe I'd have to wait till he got the last bracket and called me to install it? Maybe I should call Smith&Noble? But then I couldn't find the order #. Then I went online to find the installation instructions, but I couldn't seem to do it all. The final step was eluding me. Finally, some hours later, I got the right angle to snap the shade into the brackets. Whew!
My challenge caches spreadsheet blorfed again. That's the second time: something's obviously wrong with either the Excel program or my computer, or the way they talk to each other. The Open Office spreadsheet I've been running on travel bugs has been OK, knock on wood, so I started to reconstruct the first challenge cache (days of the year, which won't be finished till August) on it instead. That's a time-consumer! On the way past I found some of the completed challenge caches with more information.
Now they tell us. Is Brian Williams going to report this? Over and over and over? Along with the oil spill?
I've always been of the opinion that the day Ray Nagin was re-elected, all aid to New Orleans should have stopped. Every penny cut off.
This was a man who almost literally fiddled while his city burned. If it's own residents think New Orleans isn't worth saving, why should the rest of us? Posted by: tim maguire | Monday, May 03, 2010 at 08:02 AM
And the response to the BILLIONS in flood damage to Nashville/Middle Tennessee this weekend? Non-existent. He can't demagogue gulf oil and chew nicorette at the same time.
I'mma let ya'll finish, but Barack Obama doesn't care about Southern people (outside of New Orleans or Atlanta). Posted by: Captain Obvious | Monday, May 03, 2010 at 10:04 AM
UPDATE: How could I forget? We went to the geocaching event in Fair Oaks, a crowded pizza parlor but they were much better organized than the people from Sunday. Some of our geocaching friends had seen us at the Tax Day Tea Party. Nice! We had a nice chat with a number of folks. Comment (0)
Thu, May 6th - 8:24AM
May 2: Blech.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 808 109.8 miles wind
90 recordings of 29 types.
Rasmussen: -9: 48/51
I decided to take the day entirely off and rest up. My innards aren't feeling all that good and I'm still exhausted. So no church, no cactus show, and this evening I didn't go to the geocache event.
Partway through the morning, a big crash! Three palm fronds landed on the roof and stayed next to the heater. This I found worrisome, but Rich said they were highly unlikely to cause a fire. Then he went up and took the fronds down.
Mostly, 'puter and television.
Denise Robinson: And Mayor Bloomberg and President Obama are more concerned with food ingredients than national security.
No further proof needed that a well-rounded education from the Harvard Law School does not include any courses in geography, history, logic or honesty. Yoop on May 2, 2010 at 9:53 AM [on the 0bamateurism of the week]
speculation that it might be linked to the company’s controversial South Park cartoon which recently depicted Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit.
That’s silly, of course. And so is noting that this sounds similar to the failed car-bombing plot by some British jihadis a few years back. Once you capitulate to Muslim extremists, as Comedy Central did, they say “Thank you” and stop doing bad things. So put the thought out of your mind, racist.
I would be willing to give President Obama a pass on this one, because I know he has no understanding of the oil industry; he has no understanding of geology; he has no understanding of cause and effect. Every time Obama has made a miscalculation born of stupidity someone has covered for him and blamed someone else so he has never had to suffer the humiliation of being wrong. Were it not for his smug, superior pronouncements on the Katrina disaster, I might give him a pass here, but then I would be abetting his stupidity, so I won't. ...Where oh where is an oil president when you need one? Do you think he bothered to call George Bush and ask about the intricate details of the equipment and his options? No, he sent in a crack staff of lawyers to affix blame on anyone but himself. But, like the oil on a bird's back, this might stick to him and him alone.
The Department of Homeland Security is too big. It should be disbanded back to the original components... let Interior deal with the border, let the FBI deal with bombs, let energy (maybe?) do oil spills. For instance, The New York Times reported that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was not aware the Defense Department had equipment for dealing with oil slicks.
I don't think Dan is a fan:Ignoring the public will, demeaning large numbers of voters, forcing through bad laws - those things all threaten democracy and potentially lead to violence. But Obama will never take responsibility for them, or much else, frankly. Suddenly, calling him a jerk makes one an anarchist?
MelissaTweets "A terrorist act doesn't have to be committed by an organization, it can be an individual" and be a terrorist act. -- NY Commish
Stupak language appears in new bill, without Stupak.There are consistent pro-life Democrats* in Congress, but just remember they voted for Pelosi. *Reps. Travis Childers of Mississippi, Lincoln Davis of Tennessee, Tim Holden of Pennsylvania, Dan Lipinski of Illinois, Jim Marshall of Georgia, Mike McIntyre of North Carolina and Gene Taylor of Mississippi.
phil_breedlove Weirdest Nashvl weather report yet: RT@flowerdust RT @nashvillest: WKRN reports that Naomi Judd's buffalo are running free in Lieper's Fork.
Today was the Western Festival in Elk Grove. I was totally exhausted from the last two days, but dutifully got into the car and we went on down to Bernadette's. They've been painting in the living room, and one wall is burgundy and charcoal gray. Cave colors. Bernadette has the opposite problem to us, we have a dark living room, and she has too much light.
I'm struck by the different approaches we've all used for painting: I suddenly realized there were possibilities beyond pale colors after visiting Steve, but I still kept it fairly light. Monica went mad in the paint store, a different color in each room. I got to see them better this time --- it was all too dark at Christmas. I couldn't even see the color (yellow) in their bedroom and they have no overhead light. So I've coordinated through the rooms we've done, Monica played with a palette, and Bernadette and Rob have dark in their room and the living areas and bright in the kids' rooms. As long as the people who live there like it, right? I've defended my pink fireplace by pointing out that I'm not selling the place, and no matter what color I had, the new owners would repaint anyway.
Anyway. We all went together in Bernadette's car. I managed to get into and out of the back seat! She found an ideal parking place and we walked down close to the reviewing stand. Gareth spent a lot of time walking back and forth and a lot of time looking at stuff. He seemed stunned to see a real, noisy, BIG, fire truck. He also took in horses and the Shriners go-karts. I think he eventually decided he'd seen enough. It's a lot to process. I took him back to the car when the parade was over and he was crying, tired.
But then we went to the festival. He spent it all in the stroller, which worked out well. He got a balloon and we got some toys and stuff for him. Gareth wasn't interested in any food except for the graham crackers we had along. I had a pepper beef sandwich which was very good. After 90 minutes or so, we went back. Again, I started back with G. first and just got him into the carseat when Bernadette, Joanna, and Rich got there. Gareth managed to stay awake till we got home so he could climb in Daddy's lap for his nap.
Unfortunately, I messed up the pictures. I didn't copy them before I deleted them. I had a few more from Happy Hollow and then today's. I had gotten sidetracked, apparently, admiring my duckling picture. (Gareth smiled at the ducklings.) Grumble. Bernadette got some, though.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 806 109.8 miles sunny
I'm .3 pound up for the week, with low(!) blood pressure.
101 recordings of 33 types.
Rasmussen: -10: 46/53.
Mi
Bike
Can
Btl
Lead
Golfball
Softball
$$
April
21.8
73.4
43
35
8
9
38
$3.75
2010
109.1
367.6
328
158
54
29
115
$21.26
And: 2 practice golf balls, 2 rubber balls, 2 marbles, shower curtain hook, 2 pencils, 2 mechanical pencils, 3 pens, token, metal button, 2 Metadent refills, Beany bear, nail clippers, earring, split ring, plastic boxing gloves, dog's chew toy, tiger rubber ducky, string of plastic beads, paper fastener, metal nail file, drill bit, driver bit, tire stem cap, 18" bungee cord, plastic rain check.
For me, 16.5 miles. I'm .5 pounds up, with low blood pressure. I've done 67 pages, 5 books, 1 movie, 1 play, 6 Masses. We found 66 caches last month, 6836 total. We're 190th in the world, and 12th locally.
In proofing I'm in 928th (out of 30617 proofers) place in the first proofing round, with 872 pages proofed (0 done in April), 13th (out of 3540) in P2 with 23508 pages (0), 488th (of 817) in P3 with 469 pages, and formatting 514th place (2816) with 1020 pages.
In Flickr I have 34041 pictures, with 78060 views, and 134 sets to work on.
But while the Democrats worry about the prospects of the Democrats and the Republicans about the well-being of the Republicans, who worries about America?
No one. Which the American people have noticed, and which adds to the dangerous alienation—actually it's at the heart of the alienation—of the age.
...our national establishments deliberately allow the crisis to grow and fester, ignoring public unrest and amusing themselves by damning anyone's attempt to deal with the problem they fear to address.
Why does the federal government do this? Because so many within it are stupid and unimaginative and don't trust the American people. Which of course the American people have noticed.
How do they get this old not having learned that you don’t piss off Grandma, and not live to regret it? Not the typical white OR any other shade of Grandmas. They just get sick of monkey business and let you know what’s what.
A grandma in my family was having the 1-2-3 time-out concept explained to her. The next time a young one in her charge misbehaved, she looked at him the first time and said “That’s THREE!” In her day, they just didn’t put up with it. ---hoosiermama on April 30, 2010 at 4:23 PM
I’ve lived 3/4 of a century and I have never seen a better reason to rush to the polls and vote than now. If theey aren’t deliberately trying to take America down then they are accidentally doing exactly what is necessary to do that.
It isn’t that Obama is inexperienced -it’s that the voters are too inexperienced and naive about this radical turn in history. Every day rational people have to blink and ask themselves why no one is stopping them.
Never before in history has a great nation voluntarily given away its freedom -and we’re doing just that every day by not stopping this travesty.
Vote them out and don’t be intimidated granny because they’ll try, believe me, they’ll try!
Don L on April 30, 2010 at 4:52 PM
I’m a grandpa 3 times now, and you can f$%^ with me all you want. But, you F^&*ed with my grandkids’ future and now I’m really p.o.’d. Vote the b’tards out!
Mirimichi on April 30, 2010 at 6:27 PM
Instapundit quotes MICKEY KAUS: ”It’s getting highly annoying to hear Obama and Senate Democrats pretend that to have effective border control we have to take a package deal that includes amnesty. They’re worse than the cable company when it comes to package deals.”
And: Reader E.L. Core writes: “Mainstream media treated Sarah Palin’s degree from the University of Idaho as an indication of her inferiority to Ivy League graduates: she couldn’t hack it in the big leagues. Think they’ll do the same with a graduate of the University of Montana if Obama nominates him to the Supreme Court? (Yes, that’s a rhetorical question.)” Yes, it is.
Making Congress look bad — though nothing anyone does in this regard can hold a candle to what Congress does to itself . . . .
Heckuvva job, Janet. John has more. When the "first responders" are lawyers, you know you have a problem. The New York Times, of all people, says 0bama should have acted sooner. "so flat-footed was the White House caught by this disaster that today’s weekly YouTube message is devoted entirely to … campaign finance reform. Not a single word about the spill. Which means either they’re taping these things waaay earlier than they should be or they’re even more tone-deaf than we thought. But then, these are the people who spent eight months on health care in the middle of a national unemployment crisis."
Nancy Pelosi knows that her Democratic majorities won’t last much longer. She wants to leave behind a Byzantine structure of unaccountable bureaucrats and embedded power to accomplish what she can’t get through the legitimate processes of lawmaking, and she’s hiding those efforts in so-called emergency legislation. Keep an eye on this during the conference committee on the financial-regulation bill; it’s not in the Senate version, but will almost certainly reappear in the conference report.
When will it stop? These people are the most power hungry, egocentric, control freaks EVER.
Thanks for the info Ed, but I have to stop reading these posts. It’s ruining my day. conservative pilgrim on May 1, 2010 at 11:45 AM
It’s just onslaught after onslaught against our liberties. It’s exhausting just keeping track of it all, let alone fighting it. Disturb the Universe on May 1, 2010 at 11:48 AM
Doctor Zero Socialist nations have awful environmental records. When the value of property is abolished, land is treated as worthless. The masters of a political economy will bring their boots down on the necks of flora and fauna, as well as people, as they march to the conclusion of their five-year plans. Politicians are extremely skilled at evading accountability. The maximum leaders of a collectivist tyranny don’t worry much about the fate of birds and fish when they’re looking for someplace to bury their industrial failures. Great Leaps Forward leave fields of corpses planted in alkaline soil. ... The conservation of nature is a task for high technology, in the hands of people who can afford to preserve vast tracts of unspoiled wilderness.
... Reasonable sources of energy that could be exploited safely and with minimal environmental impact, such as ANWR, have been swept off the table by fanatics.
...Ace of Spades considers the risk to media-friendly sea otters from the Gulf oil spill, and notes with exasperation that “cute, fuzzy animals will doom America to energy dependence.” Only a wealthy nation can afford that kind of sentimentality. When people become poor and hungry enough, they’ll roast those cute and fuzzy animals on sticks, and barely notice as they wipe out entire species. The environment has no deadlier enemy than the directors of a total state, fighting to control a bitter, impoverished population.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 806 105.8 miles sunny
Rasmussen: -8: 47/53.
On our way over to the school this morning we decided to stop at a geocache. We then saw all the construction people around it and decided not to go for it. Later we found out it's been disabled. Apparently this didn't show up on Rich's iTouch. Hmmm.
So we were a little early to the school, but they were ready for us. We got coffee and snacks. I got seats in the second row on the side so Rich could stand. We saved a seat for Mark's mother. They are all going as a family on an Alaska cruise, which sounds like fun. Anyway, soon enough the show started. Oh, glorp, I thought I was through with school bands. Though by the end of the program, the concert band, they were pretty good.
My videos won't load, for some reason, so these are stills. Charlotte's class sang the worm song, and she's quite a ham. Such a cute movie, I wish it would load! Genevieve's class played the recorders. Both cute as the dickens.
After the program we went to Charlotte's room, and Mark's mother went to Genevieve's. Charlotte was excited to show us her desk, and to read to us, and to draw our VIP pictures. (There was a boy, Grant, in her class who drew a real portrait. Remarkable talent for first grade. Charlotte's gifts appear to be in acting. I find this interesting considering she's always been so shy around us.)
When school was over, we took the girls to lunch at Willow Street Pizza. Yum. There were a number of their classmates there, too. From there we went to Happy Hollow, which has recently re-opened. Because we're seniors, parking was only $2. The girls have a membership, and we were able to use reciprocal membership in our Discovery Museum, so we paid nothing for admission.
Charlotte got whiny a couple of times but we ignored it, so she stopped. They were pretty good about sharing rides with other kids, with a few reminders from us. The zoo is now in two parts, still a nice little zoo. The rest of it is quite nice, too. Monica called about 4, back from San Francisco. ("We have two new Megans," whom she met.) We were working our way out by then, stopped at the puppet show. (I can hardly wait till Gareth is big enough to enjoy this place, which might well be next year.) It was a fun day!
As we left I got a few more pictures which I've lost. One is of a "cash cow" (statue) which eats dollar bills and leaves coin cow patties. We talked to Monica for a few minutes, and left San Jose at 5 and got stuck in traffic but got home just before dark. Pharaoh was thrilled to see us.
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Zachariah), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, The Frogs, Aristophanes, The Life of Man with God, Thomas Verner Moore, Last Scene Alive, Charlaine Harris, Scattergood Baines, Clarence Budington Kelland, Don Quixote, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 806 102.8 miles (at last, over 100!) sunny, wind
89 recordings of 27 types.
Rasmussen: -11: 47/52.
Today we headed to San Jose because tomorrow will be the girls' school's VIP day. First stop, Pleasant Hill to sell softballs. Rich gets 65 cents a ball so earned enough to pay for this trip.
Then on to Milpitas to do some caching. We drove to various spaces along the trail that goes atop the Hetch Hetchy pipes. We found most of the ones we looked for, including a couple of very clever hides. Then it was time for lunch. We did that at McDonald's, where I discovered that a meal is actually more expensive than the burger and a drink (this didn't used to be the case. More potatoes for Rich, like he needs them.)
There were plenty more caches on my Milpitas list, but I wanted to get to Alviso. (As Monica says, all the garden spots!) First off we went to the Don Edwards Wildlife area, which we saw BG, before geocaching. This time there's a virtual, and a multi. We never found the multi stages, but we did get to the place for the virtual.
A bit windblown!!!
Then there's a numbers run in Alviso. We did 14 of the 15 caches: the one we decided not to try as there are windows overlooking it and we weren't at all sure if we'd be seen. We finished about 4 with 24 caches and 3 no-finds for the day.
We checked in and Rich removed his brace, then we went to Monica's. It was nice to see the paint job in the light. I couldn't see their room, which is yellow, at all at Christmas time. We also saw their new furniture.
We gave both girls yo-yos which Mark is supposed to help them with, and we gave Charlotte her birthday present... a lot of stuff from the King Tut exhibit. A book, a stencil set, a color book, and a bunch of stickers. Genevieve did indeed take over, but she relinquished it soon enough. C. especially seemed to enjoy the stencil and the dress-Tut stickers.
Monica made an avocado/prosciutto risotto, which was yummy. I overate. For someone who's supposed to be watching carbs, I really overdid it, but the risotto and the bread were Soooooooo good.
He should have stuck with the TelePrompter. The President doesn’t get to decide when people have “made enough money.” In fact, as the radio host notes, that’s a statist point of view. Furthermore, the responsibility of an entrepreneur isn’t to “grow our economy,” core or otherwise. It’s to grow his own economy. In a properly regulated capitalist system, the natural tension of self-interests create economic growth through innovation and efficient use of capital and resources.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 806 99.5 miles rain, clearing
104 recordings of 31 types. I've gotta watch as much as possible so I don't lose any the next couple of days. (Hamlet is NOT helping!!) So I got rid of all the SVUs I had on tap, because they'll be back.
Rasmussen: -10:47/52
I don't sleep well, partly because of worrying about each new daily horror Washington will impose. It seems like every single day there's something new, something worse. So today it was a bit of a thrill to actually win two... Cape Wind is one in the eye for the Sodden Old Drunk, (RIP) and the Mojave Cross can stay.
Laura Ingraham: The number of states joining the lawsuit is approaching 26, which would be a majority--unless, of course, we are counting all 57 states...
Ed Morrissey: There’s no Establishment Clause exception for de minimis violations, but if there was, this would be a prime candidate. The cross is five feet tall; it’s located in a desert; it’s been there for decades with no complaints until recently; and it’s designed as a war memorial. In fact, the land on which it sits doesn’t even belong to the federal government anymore. Congress transferred it to the VFW years ago precisely in order to avoid a church-and-state challenge. The risk that anyone’s going to stumble upon it and feel the heavy hand of government nudging them towards Christ is, in other words, remote. And yet this court battle has been raging for fully nine years, ending this morning in a 5-4 decision at the tippy top of the judicial food chain featuring six different written opinions.
Instapundit: CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: Why ‘tea party’ defenders won’t let N-word claims rest.
And: ETER SUDERMAN: What The Administration Knew About The Costs Of ObamaCare. But didn’t tell. From the comments: “So, these are the same guys accusing Goldman for withholding material information in order to close a deal?”
...unfortunate legal train wreck that is the result of jury pools being simultaneously over-informed, under-informed and misinformed about forensic investigation science by prime-time cop shows.
Victor Davis Hanson As I understand the opposition to the recent Arizona law, it boils down to something like the following: the federal government’s past decision not to enforce its own law should always trump the state’s right to honor it.
Implausibly, this is only the second-lamest boycott of the day. The winner? The inchoate progressive rebellion against New York-based Arizona Icea Tea, a.k.a, “the drink of fascists.”
*shucky darn* Unfortunately, they're probably coming to California.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 806 99.5 miles wind, rain
103 recordings of 32 types.
Rasmussen: -12: 47/52.
Today I just hunkered down and watched a lot of television, since we'll be gone two days later this week. I also read a lot of webpages. While I was surfing around planning our geocaching for the weekend, I spied this log for a cache we found in Roseville:
January 27, 2009 by dcanfiel (108 found)
Last to find?! I am kind of new to the geocaching sport… this was only my 3rd find… if you can call it that. I was rooting around inside the hiding place (no pun intended) when a city worker came over and asked if I was looking for the geocache. I indicated that I was and he went to his truck and handed it to me. It seems they were getting ready to remove/destroy the place where the cache was hidden. I have contacted julieplaydpiano and hope to arrange a return of the cache... I am not sure of the etiquite this kind of a situation.
jonyjoe101 April 26th, 2010 | 10:43 pm | #7 Under Bush anything that was kept hidden was usually related to fighting terrorism. Under Obama everything is kept hidden, the whole administration is corrupt. Making America a copy of France is “job” one for this president. Hot Air has more. Also, of course, Waxman had to concede that the corporations' tax writedowns are legitimate.
this all but guarantees yet another mind-numbing O-Care talking-points national tour for The One.
[Yeah, that'll help.]
Jim Garaghty elucidates: Grasping that the American people didn’t love health care reform, didn’t want health care reform, and in fact a rather sizable chunk passionately opposed health care reform would have forced Democrats to rethink too many fundamental components of their worldview: the reliability, efficiency, and overall commitment to qualiity within the bureaucracies of the federal government; the inherent evil, or at least suspicion, of insurance companies and the private sector as a whole; the economic costs and benefits of a system that is friendly to trial lawyers and malpractice suits; the shift in public opinion away from abortion on demand and strong opposition to public financing of abortion, and more.
Reid goes for Cap&Tax first What’s suddenly changed? Well, my hunch is that Arizona’s new law has succeeded spectacularly in doing what it was aimed to do all along — namely, drive up pressure on the feds to enforce the border by showing how desperate the states are for some action. The latest polls suggest it’s working like a charm. Which means if they do take up a bill now, even the Democrats will have to focus on border security first, which is the last thing The One and Reid were hoping for in their shameless bid to use this issue as an electoral wedge.
I am a conservative who happens to be a recruiter and have dealt with a number of immigration issues as at one time a large number of high tech hires were on H1b Visas. My basic view is control the borders and open up legal immigration by LARGE amounts. One of my associates calls it "tall fences and wide gates". Why should Hispanics get a break on immigration because they can walk here? I deal with the illegals (send them home) and replace them with legals - from all over the world. Heck, there are people from Azerbaijan to Uganda that want to come here but can't because of quotas and the fact that they need to come by air (hence are easier to control entry). Again why should Mexicans get to cut to the front of the line just by an accident of geography?
this President gets pouty whenever anyone dares to disagree with him. He seems to view dissension not as healthy public debate but as a suspicious, pernicious challenge to his omnipotence and popularity.
...Hmm, now that I think about it, nor can I recall any other modern President who has spent so much effort lambasting his immediate predecessor. Reagan didn’t do it to Carter. Clinton didn’t do it to the first George Bush.
And the worst part is, we’re barely calling out Obama the Bully on this behavior at all. We are becoming entirely too accustomed to it, failing to see it for what it really is: a striking lack of civility, and an overflow of divisiveness, from a President who had promised to give us precisely the opposite.
Bob Gough I’m so glad you’ve focused that laser beam intensity of yours on the economy and ways to help businesses of all sizes create jobs. Why, just this year you’ve passed … uhm … you’ve passed … well … you’ve passed … a lot of time on a horrible health care bill. But, in the pipeline, you’ve got … a bill about climate change. OK. Well, let’s look at what’s being talked about on the long-term horizon, and that would be … immigration reform and a possible path to citizenship for illegals.
Mr. President, I respectfully ask … what the heck are you thinking? Do you have your head in the sand or in a place that up ‘til now I really thought was physically impossible?
It’s not just tea party members … it’s not just Republicans … it’s not just the American public as a whole that’s asking you this question, Mr. President. Even your own party’s members are begging you to stop focusing on party-killing issues like health care and climate change; from state senators like Missouri’s Wes Shoemyer on up to congressional leaders, they are begging you to focus instead on jobs. They’ll do anything they can to get you to stop talking endlessly about the unpopular health care baggage you’ve saddled them with and the potential of an unpopular climate change bill or a misguided immigration reform measure. ... Your stimulus has yet to stimulate anything other than several million tea party members. Congratulations on bringing them out of relative slumber, by the way.
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Zachariah), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, The Frogs, Aristophanes, The Life of Man with God, Thomas Verner Moore, A Fool and His Honey, Charlaine Harris, Don Quixote, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
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