Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.8 miles high 90s
123 recordings of 28 types.
It was a surfing day. What with Iran, Afghanistan, 0bamacare, and everything else, all I want to do is climb into a hole and pull it in after me. Dude, where's my country?
@badbanana: Susan Atkins has died. My heart goes out to the entire Manson Family.
For those who believe that government can handle systems better than the private sector, let them first demand that government fix the systems it currently controls. They can start with the School for Soldiers program, and then start working on Indian Health Services, and let us know when they’re done culling the waste, fraud, and abuse from Medicare. Maybe at that point, we’ll trust them with a pilot program someplace else.
Heh: "Who would have guessed that the people that Democrats demonized as evil in the first half of the year would be reluctant to donate now? "
In the real world, people create plans first, and then figure out the deadlines. In the Obama administration, the president sets deadlines and leaves everyone else scrambling on how to meet them. ... This administration has delivered a constant series of data points for a conclusion of rank incompetence, and this is one of the big, red marks on that series.
maybe we should learn something from this about-face and apply the lessons elsewhere. After all, if they got Guantanamo wrong, very wrong, and embarrassingly wrong, what’s to say that these other calls (e.g., limiting interrogations to the Army Field Manual, reinvestigating CIA operatives whom career prosecutors already declined to prosecute) weren’t similarly flawed? Maybe what’s in order is a top-to-bottom review of the administration’s national-security decision-making process. After all, former Vice President Cheney graciously offered to come anytime to share his wisdom as to how the Bush team kept America safe for seven-plus years. Given that he was right on Guantanamo, he has more credibility than any other figure in the administration. Maybe it’s time to start tapping into that expertise.
And in the meantime, Obama should cut the Guantanamo spiel from his speeches. It might only serve to remind everyone just how inexperienced, inept, and arrogant this administration has been.
Ann Althouse: “I was just thinking that Obama would have been so much better if he had made foreign policy the centerpiece of his presidency instead of perversely investing his reputation in complicated health care puzzles. Now, I’m thinking perhaps we’re better off that he’s gotten hopelessly distracted by insoluble insurance problems."
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.8 miles 96 degrees
123 recordings of 31 types.
My weight is 2.6 pounds down (it's up from most of the week, but way down from the leap of last week.) My blood pressure is high borderline.
When I was changing out the litter boxes, I twisted my back. Ow ow ow ow ow.
SCOTT OTT SAYS: The president says we're going to actually cut our nuclear arsenal, actually stop nuclear testing, actually spend billions developing 'cleaner' energy, actually pump more cash into failed U.N. peacekeeping forces. However, when it comes to ensuring "that governments reflect the will of the people" we will merely "champion those principles". So, the U.S. (the harbor of democracy and human rights) will accept responsibility for the terrible state of the globe, and will pour on the cash to unilaterally solve the world's problems through the U.N.. Yet, in this new era of peace through rights and responsibility, the totalitarian princes will be subject merely to our enthusiastic rhetoric on the value of government "of the people and by the people." Nutshell: The U.N. continues to provide the Good Housekeeping seal of approval on evil dictatorships, bringing them credibility without accountability.
Ed Morrissey: "Pelosi may find out that she just marginalized herself as a party leader — and if she doesn’t realize that soon, she may wind up marginalizing her entire caucus in the midterm elections."
PatrickRuffini Comment from Facebook: Today Netanyahu assumed the mantle of leader of the free world. SissyWillis MM, MMM, MM! BIBI NATANYAHU: Caleb Howe I rlly hte hw ppl abbrvt thgs 2 ft thm n2 twts. F u cnt sy w/wrds dnt sy it @ all. Brvty s achvble thru creatv phrsing. nwspk sks. Vwls ppl!
I think that he rather likes tyrants and dislikes America. I think he'd like to be more powerful, I think he is trying to get control over as much of our lives as he can, so that he can put an end to the annoying tumult of our public life. As when he said (about health care) to the Congress, "Okay, you've talked enough, now it's time to do the right thing (my thing)." And he's trying to end American power in the outside world. He's saying "I'm going to stop us, before we kill again."
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.8 miles hot
123 recordings of 34 types. This is because I got the season of Warehouse 13 as individual episodes, though I have to wait till next Tuesday to watch them in order.
Oh, look who's on TV!
I'd never heard of "See You at the Pole" till today, though this was the 20th one. My Illinois grandchildren were involved.
We went down to see Gareth and to give Bernadette some adult company and some produce. The baby was in fine fettle, chugging around and playing. He still doesn't really relate to the adults around him... he doesn't look when you say his name or bring toys unless he's thought of it. He's beginning to talk a bit, not much though. We were there about 90 minutes, and the baby got tired. He had a good time trying to get Rich's glasses. He thought playing with Djadja was great fun.
Then we went to Walmart for bike tubes. They had some that actually fit Rich's bike, so he got the one he needed and two more for spares.
I was getting tired, but fortunately Rich remembered the one other thing I wanted to do, to stop at CalExpo for a stuffed Poppy the Bear to take to Pittsburgh. It was interesting: we wound our way through a mostly-empty parking lot to the administration building, walked in, and I said to the receptionist: "I want to take Poppy to Pittsburgh!" She asked my name and yes, they had a goodie bag with Poppy and fair buttons and some small toys, all ready for me! My inlaws, who were dubious when I got the Counting Sheep last time we were in Pittsburgh, will be sure I'm completely nuts this time!
I joined a Facebook cause, to give us Farmville people more land. It's incredible: in less than a day 44,000+ people want their land unlocked. Amazing.
Chu on this, you crazy kids : "If Jesus raised the dead tomorrow, our Science Czar would probably be too busy calculating the carbon footprint to find salvation."
Europeans Ambivalent about 0bama's Missile Defense U-Turn: "Obama’s diplomatic clumsiness may boost anti-Americanism in Eastern Europe, the only region in Europe where the United States is actually liked."
I was watching a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and was astounded! I've been to that restaurant! I thought it looked familiar!!! (Bobby's Hawaiian, in Everett. We went to a geocaching event there!) So that makes 4, so far. I've picked out one or maybe two in Pittsburgh, too.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.8 miles 100 degrees
124 recordings of 25 types.
Ooooh, look who's on TV!
Yesterday I spent a lot of time trying to get Abby in. I have been letting her out at night so she won't leave a pile on the living room carpet. (Long story, mostly because Spooky came in and took possession of the litter box. We got him his own and moved it to a different room, but he still believes all litter boxes are his.) She usually is skittish about coming back in, and the dog doesn't help. So I've taken to shutting the dog outside, the other cat in the back room (he's not supposed to go out) and leaving the door open so she'll come in. But yesterday it didn't work. All day long she'd come close and then run away, and hide in her place under the carport shelves. I'm additionally worried because I'm not sure she's eating or drinking. I really wanted her in, and I was worried that she might crawl into her hidy-hole and die, which would not only be sad but also a real problem getting her out.
She *wants* to come in, she'll come within reach, but then at the last minute suffers a failure of nerve. After trying off-and-on all day, I went out and sat in the dark for about 20 minutes and she FINALLY let me get my hands on her and bring her in. That's it, no more outdoors!
The United States of America Fan Page On today's date in 1862, President Lincoln issued the first Emancipation Proclamation.
Emile P Sanchez Remember, to err is human. To blame everyone else is the Democratic way.
We've been doing the "Day" geocache challenge, and here it is, the fall equinox. So we had to get a cache. I ran a PQ near Capital nursery, Rich figured out the puzzle cache, and off we went. It was HOT! The puzzle cache coordinates put us into the middle of the parking lot, and nothing seemed to be nearby. So then we went to one I had wanted to try: it's for a kid's science fair. She's doing a graph on when people find it. I located it and took it back to the car to trade travel bugs and fill in the graph. Then when I put the cache back, I clobbered my head.
We then found a couple of others and spent far too much time on a multi: he said "count from one end to the other" but was that the one section of wall or the full block of it around corners and all? I was doing that and stumbled across a homeless woman, so I lost all interest.
We had lunch at Marie Callender's and went to Capital nursery, and then it was definitely "Get me a Percocet, stat!" I am not quite myself yet.
'He will destroy the Democratic party' [Rich Lowry] "It's hard to imagine a starker demonstration of bad faith on an important issue of national security."
ObamaCare: Cost effective care from cradle to early grave Enthusiastically endorsed by 9 out of 10 morticians
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Sophonia), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, Don Quixote, Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.8 miles 96 degrees
125 recordings of 29 types.
I've discovered I can't concentrate through the interruptions any more. Talk about inability to multitask. I was trying to figure out a puzzle cache and explain it to Rich, and finally just sent him off to bowl because he wouldn't let me finish a sentence.
Ha. I thought "only boring people are bored" was MY saying. Kate uses it, too.
Willits has the old Reno sign!
Mr. Obvious, in response to "it's always in the last place you look." "James: Of course it is; once you find it you stop looking." Duh.
Mighod, the President is so anti-American. He's against the CIA and going to lose the war in Afghanistan.
David Gregory asked 0bama about the White Sox??? Journalism is truly dead. Did the 0bamathon work? "This runs the real risk of exposing Obama as an empty suit. Most politicians find ways to win debates by adjusting or creating new, compelling arguments for their position. Obama hasn’t had a new idea in months, really ever since Inauguration Day."
Rand Simberg emails: “Still all sham, and no wow.” Surber: Grading yesterday's 0bamathon.
"let's have a blur-ribbon panel of experts tell us where we went wrong and how to fix things" Nice typo!
Oh, God. Every time he says "I have no interest in..." he's lying for sure.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.8 miles 94 degrees
124 recordings of 30 types.
"Barack 0bama's personal wonderfulness." (Krauthammer.)
Hey Jimmy, it's not the color black that bothers us, it's the color red.
Bertha Lewis is braver than the President. She went on FOX.
We put the pictures back up. I wrote a rant three times, but now (a week later) I have calmed down, it really *doesn't* matter. However, here's one of them....
"I gave up on re-hanging the pictures. Rich, an engineer, used to be so careful and exact. I guess because he's trying to watch football (on time delay, so he could have just stopped and concentrated on the One Task instead, but Noooooo) at the same time, he's a little careless. He seems to hear dyslexic: I say "line them up on the left" he lines them up on the right, or "line them up on top" he kept doing it on the bottom. Either that, or he's so used to being contrary he automatically does it even when he doesn't want to. He finally pronounced "done" and the Lavenham picture is off an inch or so, very annoying, but I don't have to look at it and it's close enough, considering some of the attempts he made. At last he got to sit down and watch the end of the game.
"More annoying, the dinosaur light switch plate is uneven. Don't look at it, Jan. It's not important in the vast scheme of things. I do love the wall color."
Barack Obama is single-handedly destroying the concept of what it means to be “presidential.” He has cracked a joke at the expense of Special Olympians on late-night television; he has said a local police officer just doing his job “acted stupidly“; and he has mocked taxpayers wary of his policies as “bed-wetters” and “folks waving tea bags around.”
Now Obama and his high-paid press aides are acting like children toward Wallace and the rest of Fox News because the network refuses to get in Obama’s tank with the rest of the establishment media.
Statesmanship appears to be dead in the White House for the next few years.
TVNewZealand: “As Obama starts a media blitz to push his government-run healthcare plans, the Acorn scandal has cast doubt on the government’s ability to run anything.”
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.8 miles 91 degrees
124 recordings of 26 types.
So I spent the day landscaping my Farmville farm. I needed to get enough experience to be able to buy a bigger house, then I could put a palm-lined drive to it. I decided I wanted to make mine a pumpkin farm. I've put in a hedge maze, then had to completely rearrange all my animals and trees to make it a sort of petting zoo, with a walkway past all the animals to the covered wagon or hayride. I have a LOT of trees, a LOT of animals, and not much room. They really need to let us expand!
Ha! "NCIS: the crime show with the most initials."
Mark Steyn : "A few years ago, the great scholar Bernard Lewis warned, during the debate on withdrawal from Iraq, that America risked being seen as "harmless as an enemy and treacherous as a friend." In Moscow and Tehran, on the one hand, and Warsaw and Prague, on the other, they're drawing their own conclusions."
Jan Yarnot I think it's nice the President wished happy EID to those who celebrate, but tell me, has he mentioned Rosh Hoshana?
Wally Lauzon President Obama recorded a greeting to Jews around the world who will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, beginning at sundown Friday. "L'shana tova, tikatevu," Obama said, speaking in Hebrew. "May you have a good year, and may you be inscribed for blessings in the book of life." To answer your question...ha ha...YES
Each tomato that she purchased had a carbon footprint of several tons.
The president, when he was a candidate in 2007, got in trouble in Iowa when he asked a crowd, "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" Iowans didn't have a Whole Foods. [Not to mention they probably hadn't heard of arugula!)]
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.8 miles 98 degrees
121 recordings of 29 types.
There have been a number of ObGoe moments lately. The Baker's Square at Davis, now a Black Bear Diner, is one. Whenever I was there with the dwarf, the counter person would ask "how was it?" and he would say "awful... I won't be back till dinnertime!" Then today I saw an interview with the star of Dollhouse. Turns out she was in True Lies, which was GoE's favorite movie. I didn't like it at all: figured it was two halves of two different pretty good movies that didn't fit together.
He would have really liked Dollhouse, too.
Nick's parents came by to visit and tell us about the wedding, which was last week. They gave us a disc with pictures.
Rich got the first wall done. I just love it. It's very calming, and doesn't darken the already dark room. We showed the color chip to Nick's parents and Mom said "Interesting..." but I bet they will like it.
Krauthammer, Does he Lie? He posits that Clinton, being more charming and less arrogant, could get away with it. Jonah Goldberg, a Tackle Box full of Racism
Chris Wallace calls the White House the "Biggest bunch of crybabies I've ever dealt with." (And they prove it by taking umbrage to that comment, too.)
Ed Morrissey : "This appears to be another lesson in on-the-job training for Obama. Hopefully he learns from it, but considering his foreign-policy fumbles thus far, it doesn’t seem as though he’s learning much at all."
[Of course not, he knows everything. He's such an adolescent.]
John McCain said Jimmy Carter was the worst President in the 20th century. I'll go with that. 0bama can do better.
What should scare the heck out of Dems is that this ad is meant to shore up their base (a mere 8 mos. post inaug.) - not to convert anyone. That's scary when you think about. They have the WH, the Senate, and Congress and they're having to run ads (against Beck no less) to keep the faithful in line? The fact is that what the Dems and Obama are trying to do is opposed by a majority of Americans, made up of Dems and Repubs and it's easier to re-enlist Dems than it is to flip the opposition.
Don Surber: "6. With her husband is doing 5 Sunday TV shows and Letterman, Michelle Obama prepares to campaign for Obamacare on “What Not To Wear” on TLC." [Aint it the truth. That woman dresses UGGGGLY!]
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Sophonia), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, Don Quixote, The Zookeeper's Wife, Diane Ackerman, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.7 miles 90s
I met Rich 46 years ago. We could have met earlier if the guy driving him around had been willing, but it took a couple of weeks longer. He came to Mass and a mixer at the Newman Center and I was doing hospitality. I greeted him and another guy at the door. I had a really hard time remembering that really difficult last name "Yarnot." Most people do.
My weight took a ridiculous leap, 4 pounds or so since yesterday, never mind last week.
122 recordings of 26 types.
I just had 2 pills today, morning and evening.
Scott Ott reacts to 0bama's betrayal of Poland and Czechoslovakia: "Real Man of Genius: Today we salute you, Mr. Really Bad Nuclear Negotiator. You put our allies at risk of missile attack hoping that Russia will get tough with Iran. (Singer: It could really happen.) And you did it while Russia builds a nuke plant fo...r the Islamic Republic. (Singer: You wish upon a star.) Now Medvedev and Mahmoud know just what you're made of. (Singer: They know who wears the trousers.) So, crack open a new era of peace and prosperity Mr. Really Bad Nuclear Negotiator...and while you're at it, crack open a book on Neville Chamberlain. (Singer: Mr. Really Bad Nuclear Negotiator.)"
[On the 70th anniversary of Russia invading Poland].
Despite the domestic focus of these early months of his presidency, Barack Obama thinks of himself as a foreign policy thinker above all, according to those who know him best. His confidence is undiminished by his lack of experience and credentials. That confidence continues to flourish despite a lack of positive results. Given present trends, it is unlikely to bow to lessons even from seriously negative consequences. The president is committed to his path. So, ominously, is the country.
Michelle 0bama the new weapon in selling 0bamacare: "Imagine the media coverage. Three tips to raising a healthy child: Plenty of exercise, lots of vegetables, and blowing a trillion dollars on a universal health care plan that’ll still be bleeding red ink when the Obama girls are grandmothers."
UPDATE: We did go out and pick paint. I had the card from Lexi and Teddy, and used it to find a really close shade. We also checked out carpets and window treatments at Lowe's.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.7 miles 90s
123 recordings of 27 types.
I'm 2 pounds down from yesterday, that was a heavy tooth!!! My blood pressure is high today.
Mostly I sat and recuperated. In the afternoon a friend came by to pick up the travel bug we got last week. I had given her the wrong address so twice she was down the street pounding on our neighbor's door. She was a good sport about it and came for a third time. We sent her home with some zucchini. Yes!
Then I got really dizzy and went back to my chair and slept for awhile.
Quote of the day (on the bigotry of low expectations): "But you can be illiterate and still recognize that exploiting minor girls for a prostitution ring is WRONG. That is NOT a rich white person's value. That is a human value."
"Dissent is the Highest form of Racism" - Mark Steyn
At some point in the not-too-distant future, whether his health-care plan continues to crash and burn or is resurrected in a new figleaf evolution, the president needs tell the nation that it is OK to disagree with him, that political dissent and even anger do not equal racism. Also, that if he fails, he prefers to be seen as having failed on his own merits, as an American political leader, rather than as a black man who is being handed the crutch of theoretical racism, for which there is no evidence whatsoever in this debate.
[But he doesn't believe it's OK to disagree with him.]
The watershed moment in American race relations was Barack Obama’s election with a respectable majority, after winning primaries in areas where the pundits had predicted racist backlashes. That was followed by historically significant approval ratings. The good will has since been squandered by a string of actions, inactions and utterances, but mainly, apparently, by his insistence on pushing his bad ideas about health care at the wrong time, without preparing the ground.
Obama can let a growing chorus of prominent Americans call his failure racism and his opponents racists, a development which is itself driving a deeper partisan wedge and heightening the rancor and bitterness. He can let it further demean our national dialogue and intimidate speech. He can let it be his excuse, a smear in the history books. Or he tell America and the world firmly that in this country, political dissent does not equal racism. He will then have shown himself to be a statesman, who is worthy of respect no matter whether you agree with his politics and policies or not.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.7 miles 86 degrees, beautiful sky
123 recordings of 27 types.
I've been dreading today for a month, but it was time for the wisdom tooth to come out. The scary film and the dentist told me everything that could go wrong... paralysis, loss of taste, broken teeth, infection, oh yes, and death. Oh and the great pain, too. I figured my heart would give out when he gave me the IV, but I definitely did NOT want to be awake for this. I started going through some stuff in case I did conk out, but as I got less and less accomplished I decided I'd probably live through it. But not forgetting the great pain. I definitely have not been looking forward to this.
I didn't get to eat or drink after midnight. About 10:15 I took my Diazepan tranquillizer and by the time we got to the dentist's, I was a tish loopy. I couldn't really concentrate on anything, la-la-la-la-la. Hungry, thirsty, definitely needing coffee, and loopy. Not so scared any more, just resigned and very loopy.
They took me in right away, and took my blood pressure: 117/82, then 119/79. "That's better" she said. But wait, I sort of said, but then realized it was the bottom one they're watching not the top one. The dentist was about 10 minutes late, and sat on my right side. "It's on the other side!" I said, and was reassured that they did, indeed, know which tooth was coming out. The dentist asked me twice if I had any questions. I didn't, and he put the IV in, and...
I woke up and there was gauze in my mouth and they're talking to me, asking me how I am. I think, by the way, I wasn't quite as deep as I usually am with these things, since I remember a sort of dream, with yellowish squares lined with brown. Usually I have no memory at all. The dentist took out the IV and put a bandaid on (post-op instructions included all sorts of thing for this wound: all I did was take off the bandaid).
Since I was dizzy and even loopier, they made me stay put for about 5 minutes, then walked me out a back way through the dentist's office "Thanks," I sort of mumbled, and look! There was Rich in the car right in back. The whole thing took about an hour, which amazed us both. I was with-it enough to correct some spelling "sight" to "site" in the Post-Op instructions. (These were a lot more sketchy than the ones I read last month, I swear.)
Home to wooz out in front of the TV, eat yogurt and cottage cheese, change out the bloody gauze and take pain pills. So far so good.
I used to respect Charlie Gibson, till the Palin ambush. This is amazing.
Moe Lane: "PS: One of my colleagues has noted privately something to the effect that the problem with all of this is that Andrew Breitbart has raised the expectations of what constitutes a successful website launch to totally unsustainable levels."
Fallon:Taylor Swift on the The View 2 days aftr Kanye West interrupts her VMA speech.If theres any place free of interruptions, its The View
Fallon: Kanye West was pretty hurt when he heard Obama called him a jackass. But Joe Biden said, Ah, you get used to it.
News stories on ACORN this year: Fox 322 CNN 90 MSNBC 10 NBC 2 ABC 2 CBS 1
MSM priorities:
Currently in Google News Headlines:
House Debates Measure to Discipline Wilson for Outburst 6,795 news articles »
Top US Military Officer Says More Troops Likely Needed in Afghanistan 822 news articles »
So, there is more than 20 times the MSM energy being placed on Joe Wilson calling the President a liar than there is on ACORN staff supporting prostitution, underage forced prostitution, pimping, tax fraud, and an ACORN staff bragging about killing her husband and running a prostitution ring.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.7 miles 80s
118 recordings of 26 types.
Today was library day!
This is Bernadette's movie from last month. Unfortunately, this month there wasn't anyone else till 10:30, and then it was two 10-month-olds. Gareth enjoyed the blocks, but it wasn't like last month with the joy of a BALL!!
Back at home, we couldn't con him into a nap, though with luck Bernadette managed a little one.
RIP Patrick Swayze
jimgeraghty "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time they help pimps, it's just the way ACORN operates."
jimgeraghty Breaking: Airline bomb plot leader is sentenced to 40 years in UK, unless, you know, he gets sick or something.
BOTeleprompter Big Guy making speech on Wall Street today about regulating Wall Street to prove you CAN bite the hands that feeds you.
RWSparkle I see on 60 minutes Obama is STILL blaming Bush. Does he realize how weak that makes him look?
Scott Ott The upshot of the president' speech on financial industry reform: I'm introducing the most significant package of reforms since FDR's micromanagement created the Great Depression.
James Taranto: How come Glenn Beck and Andrew Breitbart keep scooping the New York Times?
It's difficult to imagine that a Republican administration could employ an exponent of a crackpot conspiracy theory, "partner" with an apparently corrupt organization, or attempt to politicize an agency like the NEA without the mainstream media treating it as a major scandal. But with Obama in the White House? A quote attributed to the fired Washington Acorn employees sums things up nicely. The AP reported that they had advised Giles and O'Keefe that they "must be low-key about the business, or people could 'call Fox' "--not the New York Times, or CBS or NBC, or "the media," but Fox.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 591 214.7 miles windy, cool rained all night
122 recordings of 29 types.
I was looking forward to a nice quiet day at home. As we went to church last night, we could sleep in. Then I remembered there was supposed to be a Mexican breakfast after the 11:00 Mass, and Father had promised chorizo. Yum. So off we went to St. Philomene's after all. Unfortunately, they weren't even close to ready, and it wasn't breakfast, it was lunch. While I'm sure I'd (normally) enjoy proper tacos, my mouth wasn't set for that, so we turned around and came home.
Matthew Continetti: 0bama neglects the real 'public option', listening to the public. "To acknowledge that his critics act in good faith would shake the president's oversized self-confidence."
He couldn't have been more holier-than-thou as he slipped into his trademark snotty tone to dismiss critics and further ignite partisanship. Instead of elevating the debate, he widened the divide, which I suspect now dooms a health care "reform" bill from passing Congress with any kind of bipartisan support. ... President Obama should have begun his address by highlighting the virtues of the American health care system -- the best in the world -- and then proceeded to outline incremental and understandable ways to make it better. Instead, all we got was a condescending, bravado-laden lecture.
Numbers again: "Bottom line? It looks to me as if about as many people who showed up to welcome Obama into the WH a mere 8 or so months ago showed up yesterday in a mood to throw him out."
(8 months. That's gotta be some kind of record.)
Compare the "after" pictures. Picture: You know, an argument could be made here about personal responsibility or letting someone else clean up your mess.
"Being a communist is personal but being the pregnant teen daughter of a vice presidential candidate is public business?" (Treacher) @traciskene Anarchists tear cities apart. Tea Party protesters rally and then visit the Air & Space Museum.
To be perfectly candid, I did not have high hopes for an Obama presidency. But his deployment of what Mitch Daniels called “shock and awe” statism has made me revise my estimate down sharply. The blithe and confident orchestration of mendacity is, in its way, a marvel to behold. He does it with consummate skill.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 214.7 miles sudden showers
Yesterday it was 118 recordings of 32 types. Today it's 117 and 27.
I dreamt I missed seeing Gareth's reaction to Brobie. That's what MY nightmares consist of these days.
I've been watching Torchwood. I had to laugh when the people from the '50s came up against a supermarket. I felt the same coming back from England in 1972...SO many choices! I was overwhelmed!
Shannon Fullington Holmes: Does anyone else know who Al's competition for Nobel Prize was? I do. There was a little Polish woman hired by the Nazis to go into the Warsaw Ghetto for construction. When she realized what they had planned for the incarcerated, she began taking a tool box in each day, and managed to smuggle out over 1700 babies. (Don't quote me on the exact ... Read Morenumber, but this is close) She was caught, and severely tortured and punished. She LOST to a POWERPOINT PRESENTATION!!! That's it. That is all that Al ever did. It speaks volumes to me about this crazy world!
Because it was September 11, I went to Mass. Father has rearranged the chapel. It's so much better. I really didn't like coming over here, to my parish, the way Father H. had it arranged, very uncomfortable.
Peggy Noonan: "It is eight years since 9/11, and here is an unexpected stage of grief: fear that the ache will go away." (yeah, I feel that way about GOE, too.) I can't believe she didn't understand it was November 22, 1963 for this generation.
jimgeraghty: A reader, 1 year ago: "Do you want some tissues? It's important to mourn those who died that day, but events like this occur all the time." jimgeraghty: In the past year, I hope that reader had a chance to rethink that view, as well as several painful heart attacks.
@jimgeraghty: I think it would be appropriate if every year at this time Obama accepted the resignation of a Truther in his administration
VodkaPundit: Has anyone ever provided medical records PROVING Trig Palin isn't totally high on weed?
jaketapper: POTUS and the First Lady visited a Habitat for Humanity project in NE DC this afternoon, getting a tour + painting a wall Me: Finger. Twirl. Air.
I got a phone call from my older son. He likes our new picture. The grandsons are going through Scouts, with the Incipient Chef getting his arrow of light this weekend. The Graduate has Pathological Demand Avoidance... sounds like most people I know. Hmmm. Maybe they should tell him they expect him to biff on 20% so he'll only biff on 16%. (80% of 20%) My son talked about ADHD and how he'd have been diagnosed hyperactive if they had had it those days. They did have it in those days, and were over-diagnosing like mad. No kid is allowed to be a normal kid with normal quirks, oh no, they've all got to be some alphabetical disease. Yet, when adults can multitask, we think it's great.
Rush Limbaugh: " It was an awful speech. He was petulant; he was childish; he was a community organizer and agitator; he lied; he was divisive; he attacked me; he attacked Sarah Palin; he attacked conservative Republicans in Congress who dare to challenge government-run health care. He continued to attack tens of millions of Americans who spent the summer attending town hall meetings. It was crude. It was disgusting. The most crude and disgusting performance by any president I have seen."
My favorite slide show on 9-11. Compare and contrast to the weasels in Washington now. And the pipsqueaks on DailyKos and its ilk.
Comment on "Thank You, Joe Wilson": "To me, the uproar over Obama's fairly-innocuous-as-it-turns-out school speech showed me something. With a vast number of Americans, Obama has squandered whatever trust he may have had. He's the boy who cried wolf, on steroids."
Just ignore the specifics. Because when the president says he welcomes substantive new ideas, he means that if you have the nerve to offer any ideas — like Whole Foods CEO John Mackey did in the Wall Street Journal last month — his allies will attempt to destroy your business and reputation.
And when the president says he welcomes bipartisanship, what he means is that he hasn't met with a single Republican on the issue since April — despite numerous requests and two separate House bills chock full of ideas.
Today was the March on Washington. I initially thought it was upwards of 2 million, but second counts make it upwards of 1 million protesters in Washington. Whatever, it should be noticed by Congress. Lots of people, anyway.
Anyone else find it INCREDIBLY tone deaf, politically, that this rally in DC drew thousands (possibly millions) of protesters, in a true grassroots fashion, and the President, whom just a few nights ago said he wanted to hear from the opposing side decided to jet out of town for a rally?
How big was his rally? Not near this size. Christ, Mr. President. At least put up the facade you’re listening. You’re making the case for all the Tea Party Protesters.
ask Santa Anna how it went for the last president who tried to take away Texan's rights.
Surber asks "Why was the President so Angry?" and says "The Golden State has been killing its flock of geese that lay those golden eggs for years" and comments "You could have heard a pin drop."
Surber again: "First, President Obama is willing to meet with Kim Jong-Il face to face, but not the Republicans. I guess he only wants to hang out with those friendly to his health care plan." And more.
Instapundit: “Many protesters said they paid their own way to the event – an ethic they believe should be applied to the government.”
Political rallies are no place to seek the subtle truth, nor feel particularly glowing about your countrymen, and today was no different in that regard for me. But the meta-fact about a huge anti-Obamanomics protest eight months into his term is certainly significant.
Roger L Simon says he was wrong about the Tea Party movement.
I wasn't especially interested in going to Davis for the Summer's Cool event. However, Rich wanted to go so I tagged along. We found a couple of caches on the way, so it was #6400 for us. I traded a lot of travel bugs, too. We also found some nearby caches afterwards.
Then tonight we went over to church for the formal installation of our pastor. Nice priest, nice Bishop, good music, what's not to like? Afterwards there was a reception which included chrusciki or the Slovakian version of it: darn near as good as Rich's mother's! I watched her make it once, and this recipe doesn't look impossible, so I'll have to try it...
If you have a serious ailment, your chances of survival are better when treated in America than anywhere else in the world. Sure, the system has flaws, shortcomings, and inefficiencies. It probably costs too much. But if your goal is to live longer, then American doctors and American hospitals are your best bet.
Americans appear to understand this. So do the 400,000 foreign patients who come here every year for medical care. "Not too many people get on a plane and fly to Cuba or to France" to see a doctor, says Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, associate dean of clinical education at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an expert on worldwide health care systems. ... The United States has 27 MRI machines per million Americans. Canada and Britain have 6 per million. The United States has 34 CT scanners per million. Canada has 12 per million, Britain 8. ... For all cancers, 66.3 percent of American men and 63.9 percent of women survived. In Europe, 47.3 percent of men and 55.8 percent of women survived five years. Those are statistically important gaps.
And the survival rates were higher in the United States for the most common cancers as well. More than 99 percent of men with prostate cancer had survived in the United States after five years, 77.5 percent in Europe. Those with colon or rectal cancer survived at a 65.5 percent rate here and 56.2 percent in Europe. The rates for breast cancer showed a similar difference, 90.1 percent for Americans, 79 percent for Europeans. ... Canada, whose single-payer health system is admired by many liberals, fared better but still trailed the United States. "Breast cancer mortality in Canada is 9 percent higher than in the United States, prostate cancer is 184 percent higher, and colon cancer among men is about 10 percent higher," according to Dr. Atlas. ... breakthroughs and discoveries are enormously expensive, so much so that America spends far more on health care (now 17 percent of GDP) than any other country. Incremental advances have driven up the cost of treating heart patients especially, but their effect in saving lives is indisputable.
"Wildly successful" is the way David Brown of the Washington Post has characterized the transformation of heart treatment. "Today, someone having a heart attack who gets to a hospital in time is likely to get cardiac catheterization, angioplasty, the placement of a medicated stent, therapy with four anticoagulant drugs and, on discharge, a handful of lifetime prescriptions," he wrote. These are innovations over the past half-century.
The results are in. "In the 1960s, the chance of dying in the days immediately after a heart attack was 30 to 40 percent," Brown wrote. "In 1975, it was 27 percent. In 1984, it was 19 percent. In 1994, it was about 10 percent. Today, it's about 6 percent."
These results are matched by the success in dealing with all heart disease. "In 1970, the death rate from coronary heart disease was 448 per 100,000 people," according to Brown. "In 1980, it was 345. In 1990, it was 250. In 2000, it was 187. In 2006, it was 135."
Cold numbers don't capture the breathtaking drama of what's happened. The transformation of heart care "has saved the lives of millions of Americans," Brown wrote. "..... It is safe to say that almost everybody who has a heart attack wants the best treatment available. Nobody wants to turn back the clock." Nor should they, despite higher costs.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 213.9 miles 90s
114 recordings of 31 types.
Yesterday was also California admissions day.
We got up and had breakfast, checked out, and went across the street for a huge cache. We did a few more along the way and then came on home.
This is in Santa Clara, a statue of St. Clare... obviously a friend of St Francis', just look at all the birds!
SCOTT OTT NOTES: When 'rules of engagement' get our men killed, the time for rules has ended. When women and children carry ammo to Taliban shooters, they're not 'collateral damage', they're targets. Mr. President, the ...only merciful strategy in warfare is rapid victory. Set our soldiers free to use their training. Now.
My new computer battery arrived. It's bigger and lets the computer sit up a bit, which should help keep it cooler. The battery lasts 4 hours. My old one, which lasted quite awhile, was running out in half an hour.
National health care plan has the compassion of the IRS, the efficiency of the Postal Service and the pricing structure of a Pentagon toilet seat... (Karl Rove)
I was incredibly disappointed in the tone of his speech. At times I found his tone to be overly combative and believe he behaved in a manner beneath the dignity of the office. I fear his speech tonight has made it more difficult -- not less -- to find common ground. ... When it comes to the public option, the President is either being disingenuous or misinformed.
Jay: The content: same BS on stilts, but louder; he convinced no one from the town halls. The tone: harsh and angry; inappropriate to the subject matter; he has not earned the right to talk that way. He is humorless; a true believer of things most Americans don’t believe. He presents the face of social payback. It is unattractive and dangerous in a president.
My thought: if he really botches it, he WILL be the last President to bring it up. We can but hope.
September 10th, 2009 at 9:10 am Just remember, Obama is counting on his personal popularity to pass a bill and not the merits. Honestly, he thinks we should pass nationalization of one sixth of the economy because the cool kid thinks it sounds fun. We elected Paris Hilton president of the United States.
To pass off this misdirection (not to say dishonesty), he accused his opponents of dishonesty. There won't actually literally be panels of people deciding that elderly patients should die, he said. That's a relief. To argue that cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare will in any way reduce benefits is just plain lying, he insisted.
"I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility." (Heh. Civility means you accept everything the Donks say.)
Oh, geeze, guess which over-exposed chief executive is on TV *again*.
Scott Ott: Did anyone else find this greeting jarring? "Madame Speaker, Vice President Biden, Members of Congress, and the American people..." Those last three words I would expect to hear from a visiting foreign dignitary.
Scott Ott: Best laugh of the night....we're going to pay for the new government-run health plan largely with the savings from trimming the massive waste out of the existing government-run health plans.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 213.6 miles 90s
103 recordings of 28 types.
On this special day, there was a special Geocaching party with coin attached. Like the 7-7-7 one and the 8-8-8 one, it was in Campbell, so I got a reservation to stay in the San Jose area (Santa Clara, in fact) and we started on down about 8:30. First stop, Vacaville where there was a travel bug someone wanted me to pick up. The cache was in a nice trailhead area we didn't know existed, a place we'll have to visit again. I got more TBs there, too. And so on to Target in Concord, our bathroom stop. We were browsing through, and I spied a familiar looking musical instrument... a Plex piano, from Yo Gabba Gabba, and they had other YGG toys, too, though nothing as wonderful as my Brobie. I was also reminded of Gareth's fascination with the automatic doors at the State Fair. Onward to the Play it Again Sports where they gave Rich 65 cents a ball today!
And onwards to San Jose. I had a bag of this-n-that to give Monica so we stopped by there first. We were there just as one of her friends was dropping off baby girl clothes. I asked why and the woman just looked stupid. Turns out one of Monica's friends from college, one I know, who got married last year, has a little girl. Hooray!
Then we went off to near the girls' school, past some of the worst roadwork I've seen this year. We wanted to go there because the Earth cache (which was among our first 10 finds) has been moved there (to the other side of the model solar system) and I wanted to get it again. After getting that and another, we started along Stevens Creek boulevard, doing some caches on the way. One turned out to be across from the Falafel Drive-in. We decided to eat there, and that's when I discovered it was a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives place. I'd tried to see if there were any in the area but hadn't found this one. Yes, my falafel sandwich was good. From there we hunted down Daiso. What a fun store! It's kind of like Cost Plus only all Japanese. I got a kick reading the directions for some of the odd things, like the aerosol can punch. (!)
And then, caching. It was a good day for these. We even got some really hard ones. We checked in to our motel, then went down close to the party where we found one near a lake then talked to some people who wondered if we were geocaching. And so to the party, where I had a great citrus salad. We were back in our motel by 9:30. Rich insisted on watching the President's health-care speech (I figured I'd hear all about it) and I logged caches. And so to bed.
Kathryn Lopez: i'm still somewhat flabbergasted that the president would actually relegate the war on terror to a talking point two days before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
(someone I know): never thought i'd say this...but my boy Barack is really letting me down. Okay out there to all my Republican friends....here is your chance to rub it in. Hopefully you all won't be to unkind to me.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 212.1 miles 90s
103 recordings of 25 types. (I've added Law & Order, so took some of the ones I am so-so about, off.)
Oops, I forgot to mention yesterday's second near-miss. I needed the step stool to bring the flag in, and Rich had left it behind the couch because he's been working on the wall. So I clambered back there, and as I was coming back I ran right into the steel dowel we've had on the Kit Mahal to hang toys from. (Why steel, I don't know. Though if it would have been wood it wouldn't have been much better.) This was right next to my eye socket. I guess recovering from losing an eye would also put off tooth extraction. I also guess I really don't want to have a third-time's-the-charm!
I went to Mass at Presentation today. It's the first time, I think, I've had a priest with a sundae named after him. Presentation's RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) has the reputation of being the best in the area. Thanks a lot, Father H. That used to be us.
•56 iterations of “I” •19 iterations of “school” •10 iterations of “education” •8 iterations of “responsibility” •7 iterations of “country” •5 iterations each of “parents”, “teachers” •3 iterations of “nation”
In other words, Barack Obama referenced himself more than school, education, responsibility, country/nation, parents, and teachers combined. And to think that people accused Obama of self-promotion!
If there hadn't been all the gazillion things this last 7 months, and the "how can I help President 0bama" lesson plan, I wouldn't have worried about the speech, but I believe he changed it after the furor. Michelle asks why D.C. kids should listen to 0bama. He didn't listen to them.
Allahpundit: "Obama evidently told students that he regrets not having studied more math as a kid. I think we all regret it, champ."
“Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.”
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 212.1 miles 90s
121 recordings of 28 types. This is because I've started watching olde Law&Order episodes, at last, and there was a marathon.
This morning when I let the dog in, the sun was just coming up, enough to cast a shadow, and the moon was casting another shadow of her own.
Abby has never been able to cover her scat, apparently she missed some kitten lessons. Since Spooky came and claimed both litter boxes, Abby tends to go on the floor. It's OK in the bathroom, but she's also using the living room, so I try to get her outside at least part of the time. She likes to go, then scratches at the door to come in. Then she stands in the door and decides to go back out, to roll on the sidewalk. Half the time I have to go outside (after 10 or more iterations of the coy act) and encourage her, then carry her in. It doesn't help that the dog wants to chase her, or that Spooky is supposed to stay in. Today she stood in the door while I held the other cat, and finally I got tired of waiting and closed the door... and shut her into it.
Pagan came over today, and we went to the Golden Corral buffet. (I was at a GC about 20 years ago, and I don't remember it as a buffet.) This is a new one at where an adult shop used to be. (It was torn down to the ground, so one doubts there are any porn cooties left.) Then we went to check out a couple of thrift stores. At the Goodwill, the line stretched nearly to the back (50% sale) and I said "There'd have to be something REALLY special to make me wait that long."
Then Brobie reached out and grabbed me.
So I waited about an hour. I sure hope Gareth likes it.
Since we were almost there anyway, we went to pick up the cache we missed last week. All in all, a fun day with Pagan.
The living room blinds have been falling apart the last couple of years (they're about 20 years old). Today Rich took them down. I haven't been shutting them down for a month or so, anyway. He also moved the furniture away from those two walls. Maybe we'll get this painting done only a year after our previous deadline.
Surber says, "We know the problem: Medicare and Medicaid are broken because the government cannot run a whorehouse without going bankrupt."
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 212.1 miles 90s
114 recordings of 21 types.
In church, one of our friends (one of my Girl Scouts' mother) is 80 and another couple (another of my Girl Scouts' parents) celebrated their 56th anniversary! Behind me, the nice Nigerian family I've been watching since the older girl (now about 12 or 13) was a baby. Mom always dresses the girls up, but when Dad brings them to church on his own, they're in jeans and hair uncombed. They have another baby girl, about 2! I didn't know about her. She's just as pretty as the others.
Then we had a pancake breakfast, where we got more details of Nick getting married. How exciting. It'll be Wednesday and his mother was over the moon. One woman argued with Rich about 0bama's school speech. She said "they should hear the President." It's not like they don't hear from him every single other day.
I was chipping zucchini, using the razor-edged mandoline, and going great guns. Suddenly it slipped and I ended up right at the bottom with my finger right next to the blade. Sheer luck I didn't cut myself. I guess if they had to reattach a finger, I'd be skipping the oral surgery. Scary! I started using the shield, as I should have done to begin with.
Van Jones is an admitted former communist in an administration that thinks 'vetting' has something to do with universal health care for pets, and no one in the traditional media thought, "Hey, I wonder what we can learn if we just look this guy up on the internet?"
Why? What exactly do they believe themselves to be accomplishing? They all read Drudge and know that 90% of the news-hawking public reads Drudge, and yet they continue to think that if they just ignore a story they somehow make it go away.
Tweets: allahpundit @ jaketapper Thought experiment: Who's more closely vetted, Gibson's replacement at ABC or Jones's replacement at WH?
JTlolWonder what morale is like among the Secret Service right now? Their boss just made them look bad.
allahpunditMan, I hope no crackpot website never asks me to sign a crackpot petition. What if I forget to read it?
@JTlol: BREAKING: CONSERVATIVE MONSTER G.BECK tricked Van Jones into boycotting him as excuse to air footage of Jones speaking in public.
MISTER, WE COULD USE SOME MEN LIKE GROVER CLEVELAND AGAIN. “I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution and I do not believe that the power and duty of the general government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should I think be steadfastly resisted to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that though the people support the government the government should not support the people.”
At this point, the burden of proof is upon Obama, to explain how his actions are not fascist. ... The media is trying to ignore the Van Jones outrage. Don’t let them. This is not a “mistake.” A mistake is a matter of chance, a momentary failure of reason and wisdom. This is part of a pattern.
That’s what gets me. Hurry hurry hurry! Do it now! We are on the verge of collapse unless Obamcare passes! Do it before it’s too late and we all di….Oh look. A puppy!
Even before the recession, Obama argued, Americans saved too little and borrowed too much. He’s criticizing other people for spending money they don’t have? Unbelievable.
If nothing else, this demonstrates the end of George Bush as a talking point for Democrats. People weren’t really worried that the NSA was listening to their conversations with Aunt Millie. The czars and the government takeovers of health care and energy production, on the other hand, will impact every American in fundamental ways. Bush as a vague and ambiguous bogeyman has been eclipsed by the very real encroachment on liberty that Barack Obama and his czars promise.
[As if. They'll be blaming Bush till we're all dead-and-gone.]
TEENAGE UNEMPLOYMENT at a record high. “According to today’s job report, the overall unemployment rate (the percentage of people in the labor force not working but looking for work) in August rose to 9.7 percent, its highest level in 26 years. The teenage unemployment rate, however, is at 25.5 percent, its highest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping track of such data in 1948.”
UPDATE: Rand Simberg writes: “I’m sure it’s just coincidence that this happened right after Congress jacked up the minimum wage in the middle of a deep recession. This was the kind of thing that FDR did that made the Great Depression great.”
The thing is, with any previous prez who would have done this, the assumption would have been that he was going to say a few unexceptional platitudes almost no one could object to-- Stay in school! Dream big! Floss!
With Obama, though, there are a lot of people who instantly assume some end run around parental authority to sell some East Germany 1956 agenda. Now, I don't know how realistic I believe this fear is-- Obama spouts plenty of can't-offend-anybody platitudes too-- but I think it's a legitimate reflection of both sides' impressions-- if the left wants to believe that he's going to wreak major change, the center and right can't be crazy to fear the same thing.
Posted by: Mike G | Friday, September 04, 2009 at 09:40 AM
Don Surber: "They do not know what they are doing. And they are starting to be sloppy in covering it up. Watching this administration operate is like watching someone try to paint a wall with a toothbrush."
It is time to put down the toys of the office — TOTUS, Camp David, press adoration — and to start doing the job to which he was elected.
The president is not the community organizer in chief.
The president is not the CEO of GM.
The president is not the Back to School lecturer.
The president is not the contestant on American Idol. ... When is he going to begin doing that job? It starts out: “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States…”
Not may — shall.
It is a requirement.
All this razzmatazz about health care is irrelevant to his job.
He is AWOL.
I thank Sen. Casey for speaking up.
Heh: JTlol ...spend the summer calling people terrorists for disagreeing with you, they might not want to give you alone time with their kids.
MikeLaRocheI suppose Obama decided to cash in his clunker known as Van Jones. allahpunditHow I like to imagine O broke the news to Van Jones: "Let me be clear: Pack your shit" JTlol"Here's what Van Jones said and did that led to his resignation, which we didn't find important enough to tell you before now." @JTlol: And now maybe people will start asking how this wackjob got into the White House in the first place. Van Jones, I mean.
Reading: Rousseau and Revolution, What If? edited by Robert Cowley, the Bible (Sophonia), Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg, Don Quixote, The Zookeeper's Wife, Diane Ackerman, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind, Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies, Katherine B. Chauncey.
The local firefighters are climbing our 30-some floor biggest skyscraper (the Darth Vader building) 4 times each to make the 110 floors of the WTC with the names of the New York firefighters and police who died. These will be affixed to a model of the WTC at the top.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 212.1 miles 90s
119 recordings of 23 types.
I forgot to mention Gareth's most amazing discovery at the State Fair... he got to watch these magic doors open... and close... and open... and close... all by themselves. He was thunderstruck.
Drat, I missed First Friday again.
I saw someone refer to Van Jones as "0bama's green albatross." Heh! He isn't the real scandal, though. Heh.
There was a Facebook meme going around about universal health care. I understand and expect that the social worker would be all about it, but I can't believe that someone with an MBA could be so stupid! How can you possibly do more and pay less? And the Government is failing so miserably with the VA, Indian Health, and Medicare (and Social Security) why would a government-run health plan run any better? It's a failure everywhere it's tried. And "other countries think we're barbaric" is no argument. WTFCares? I think it's barbaric to let preemies die and not even count them on your stats. I think it's barbaric to deny life-saving or life-improving procedures to save money. I think the NHS "Death Pathway" is barbaric. I think it's barbaric to make people wait months after a cancer is diagnosed to take care of it. (Though I believe if I had been diagnosed with cancer months ago, like a family member was, I'd have been on the doctor's doorstep demanding the surgery that afternoon. (Or, I do understand that it was someone else's special day, so I would maybe wait a week. But not this long!!)) I like being able to choose to have this wisdom tooth out, not depending on a bunch of bureaucrats who would probably decide it's not a good use of money when I'm 65 anyway, so I should just bop along. Don Surber says we should Spend More on Health Care.
We went to get a couple of caches. I'd figured out a typewriter puzzle and then there was the terrain challenge. The cache we got last week in Redding was a 5 star difficulty and 1.5 terrain. We needed to have 1.5 terrains in all the difficulties 1 to 5 stars, and that was the last one we needed. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring along the instructions, so couldn't remember the hint or what size it was. Eventually we gave up on it. We did find the other one, though, so the trip to Roseville wasn't entirely wasted.
Heh. 0bama's school speech, from Scrappleface. Ed Morrissey comments: "I assume it’ll be perfectly palatable pap, although you never know: This is, after all, an administration staffed by Truthers, whose core health-care message during the critical August recess was “You’re a mob.”"
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 212.1 miles 90s
I'm 2.8 pounds UP. I am not a happy camper, especially as that was ALL yesterday. You'd have thought, maybe the Fair, but nooooo.
121 recordings of 25 types.
I didn't make it to the Retreat House, because Rich had a flat tire and took the car. Grumble.
Yesterday I babysat. I was too flattened by the State Fair day to go to the park. I gave him the bag of Yo Gabba Gabba toys and told him to see what was in the bag. He reached in, and found this wonderful picture of Muno. He was delighted. A "book" with pictures of his friends! He read it and read it, and put it up on the walls and the doors and the furniture. Obviously, he was thrilled enough... I put the other toys away for another day. The Muno picture was good for 20 minutes!
In the afternoon, we did go over to the museum. Gareth found some things to play with. When he was in the log cabin a 4-year-old thought it was really time he left, since he kept messing up her play. There was a little ramp-and-car thing he liked, and then he discovered the rocket ship, which was just wonderful. He couldn't make head or tail out of the phone, since the only phone he's ever seen is a cellphone. But there were keys on old computer keypads, and he could pound on those.
Back at home, Pharaoh was in the house when Bernadette came back, and he was so excited he sent the baby flying. We've got to work on his company manners. He likes people, but he won't sit and behave.
As Club Soda put it in a recent post: "Meanwhile, there's this super-hot burning orb dominating our daytime sky that accounts for 98.6 percent of the solar system's entire mass that sits idly by, wondering why it can't get any press despite its best efforts. It's strange that while earth goes through a warming phase, so do the other planets in the solar system, but I'm sure there's no correlation whatsoever."
Poll: Majority opposes 0bamacare. He says: "If we only did what was popular in polls, the banks would have failed, there would be no domestic automakers, and we’d pull all our troops out of Afghanistan tomorrow." As opposed to the banks failing, Ford doing just fine, and I suspect he'll be pulling out of Afghanistan (grr) soon.
Scott Ott: "The United Nations has spent $350,000 to develop a global sex education curriculum which includes practical suggestions on self-gratification for children young as 5 years, as well as helpful info on the benefits of abortion. If they want to stop HIV..., why doesn't the UN just pass a resolution imposing sanctions on those who spread it? That's how we got world peace and a nuke-free Iran and North Korea."
I think Van Jones is toast, and he brought it on himself. He is the one who stirred Beck up*: Glenn might have looked elsewhere for awhile till Jones did his damage.
*Actually, Beck did mention VJ before the boycott. However, as one of many, not the zeroed-in on target.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 212.1 miles 90s
120 recordings of 24 types.
Yesterday we picked up Bernadette and Gareth and went to the State Fair.
The obligatory bear picture, and some of the county exhibits. I ate the three things I wanted to: the zucchini weeni (a corn dog with a zucchini in it), a roasted corn ear, and then I took home the artichoke sandwich. All were delicious.
He got into the mud, and picked one flower, but we mostly kept him out of trouble. When we got to the rabbits he got into the rabbit food and into the sawdust on the bottom, so I picked him up to look at the rabbits. Bernadette is worn out, at the sleepy part of pregnancy, and Gareth is energetic.
The toothpick sculpture of San Francisco is incredible. The other picture is of "bubblegum alley" in San Luis Obispo where people drop off their used bubble gum, oh ick ick ick. There were weird collections, and wacky places in California (most of which we've seen).
Sadly, this little newborn cutie is doomed, as he's a male. I do love hamburger, but the State Fair may turn me into a vegetarian someday.
We were there for 4-4.5 hours. It was fun, I was tired.
Today I was just reading blogs and suddenly everything lit up, claiming I had a trojan. Looks like if I were to download their "protection program" I'd definitely have a trojan. I finally managed to close them out and re-ran my AVG virus scanner. I'm fine.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 212.1 miles 90s
With the new scale I'm not sure, but I'm 2 or 3 pounds down.
121 recordings of 24 types. 70 years since the beginning of WWII.
We went to the State Fair today. I'll write about it tomorrow.
Mi
Bike
Can
Bottle
Lead
Golfballs
Softballs
$
August
33.8
137.2
199
108
19
20
78
$6.77
2009
295.6
906.0
849
524
131
119
634
$49.09
And: baseball, 2 whiffle baseballs, practice golfball, transformer truck, flip-flop pendant, Pokemon frame, frisbee, marble, 2 beads, dog small tennis ball, domino, cool pack bag, plastic letter 'U', ribbon barette, metal barette,duplo block, rubber wrist band, 3 tokens, highlighter, pen, mechanical pencil, earring, Betty Boop figure, women's aluminum ring, laser/flashlight, McDonald's Girl's book, Star pendant with neclace, lighter, lug nut, tire stem cap, driver bit, 3 sockets, towbar pin.
For me, 18.1 miles in August (not really because today was huge, but the way I've been figuring I'd better count it as August!), let's say 2 pounds down with good blood pressure, 11 pages (OUCH!!! I'm really bored with this one!), 1 book (I blame Facebook!), no movies, 3 plays, 6 Masses.
We found 26 caches (OUCH!) (total 6373). We're 158th in the world, and 11th locally.
I did no proofing at all in August. Facebook (and Farmville) have eaten my brain.) I'm in 867th (out of 26,544 proofers) place in the first proofing round, with 858 pages proofed (This must not stand!) 12th (out of 3066) in P2 with 23495 pages, 443rd of 746 in P3 with 469 pages, and formatting 450th place (2475) with 1020 pages.
And in Flickr stats, there are about 73,596 views of my photostream.
I'm further behind in Flickr and in proofing (yeah!) and I'm a week behind, still, with the journal. In Netflix, I watched As Time Goes By, Disc 1, and three discs of Torchwood's season one.
Yes, I watch Jon&Kate Plus 8. Kate was in Wyoming. She's got stupid shoes. I hear the twang, which I never heard when I grew up there. I've lost my home accent!
Sulk. The culture bus is no longer running in San Francisco. I thought seeing the Tutankhamen exhibit would be so easy, take BART to the Civic Center, then the culture bus to Golden Gate Park. Argh.
The most popularly elected president since Ronald Reagan in 1984 — 80% job approval on Inauguration Day — and instead of using all that political capital to save 28 million people in Afghanistan from the Talban by rallying this great nation, Obama has piddled away his power on a $787 billion political pay back.... President Obama needs to drop this foolish Obamacare debacle and save Afghanistan — before it is too late.... if we withdraw, everything that we have gained in Iraq (elimination of a regional terror and creation of a budding arab democracy) in Afghanistan (another struggling democracy that no longer harbors al Queda) any influence gained at all on the affairs of Pakistan to put any pressure on al Queda there will be lost. The US, under an openly anti-American, anti-freedom, pro-dictator, weak, inept, incompetent, unimaginative, pantywaist pseudo-president will go through another post-Vietnam dark ages while Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and the rest of the Middle East picks up where it left off when it met George W. Bush in 2001.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 207.7 miles 90s
122 recordings of 28 types. (I found a lot of movies on TCM I was interested in.)
It appears I may not have to try to find a new doctor next month, as apparently with TriCare Plus I can keep going to the base. As long as they have a clinic, anyway. While I haven't met the new doctor, it still would be a lot more convenient. There aren't many doctors who take Medicare, and will be fewer yet if 0bamacare were to pass.
Scott Ott: McCain says: Harmed our reputation abroad. Violated Geneva convention. Produced unreliable intel. Helped Qaeda recruit. Cheney says: Followed Justice Dept. guidelines. Produced crucial intel on Qaeda, prevented mass casualty attacks for 8 years. SCOTT OTT: How many Americans would sacrifice their civilian children to improve our reputation abroad? Was Qaeda in a recruiting slump before?
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 586 207.7 miles hot
112 recordings of 23 types.
I know why I like Fr. Eduino. He is very reverent at Mass, but doesn't insert himself between me and God. Unlike Fr. H. who was very into the drama. I always enjoyed the Masses, but it was all about the priest.
Another Sunday, another batch of pasta sauce. This will be the last one, though, as the Romas are slowing down. The zucchini isn't... zucchini pancakes are good, but I can't serve them every single night...
The debate should not be framed by Democrats, but rather by the people, most of whom want the government of Katrina, Cash 4 Clunkers, bailouts, bailouts and bailouts to just siddown and shut up.
Reid forgot the rule about not picking a fight with someone who owns gallons of ink.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 580 207.7 miles hot, 90s
114 recordings of 23 types.
I didn't sleep well, and was up at 4:30. Rich got up early too and we had our breakfasts and were on the road by 6:15. We got to the meeting place in Anderson and met the organizer for the caravan, Greg. He was very enthusiastic but not all that organized. One family came from near Oregon and got up at 3:30. We started off at a little past 7 (TV interview) with 5 cars and a motorcycle. Well, maybe we'll pick more up along the way. Greg's ambition was to get a mile-long caravan.
But then, all the stops on the list the lead motorcycle just breezed past. It seems nobody was joining us in Red Bluff, or Chico, or some of the other little towns in the area. We lost the little red car, too, so there were only 4 cars and the motorcycle as we pulled into Oroville. There, thank goodness, there was quite a crowd, with a number of good signs and t-shirts. Whew! Also, the red car caught up with us.
We stopped there for about 15 minutes, then off we went. The Oroville people fell in behind. And immediately took a wrong turn following a guy with a big flag, and we never saw them again. By Marysville, there was the motorcycle and 6 cars. If this was Astroturf, Nancy, it would have been a heck of a lot better organized!!!
In Marysville a guy met us who had some signs, and one more car joined us. And so, that was the "mile-long caravan." We went with them into the downtown and saw the rally forming up, then left to come home. The initial plan was to hop on light rail and go back, but, well...
It looks smaller than the April 15 rally, but still pretty impressive. People from all over Northern California. Tractors and trucks circling the Capitol. The farmers in the Delta have been cut off from water because we're protecting the Delta smelt. We're getting totally oppressed by petty bureaucrats and unelected regulatory groups. The Tea Party express started off across the country. Part of me wanted to be there, but more of me just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep.
There was a message on the answering machine from my CASA boss. I've been thinking about this for awhile and have decided I don't have the energy to give to a CASA kid, so it's time I stopped. Gareth is taking all my energy, and soon there'll be another. I'll miss it, but can't do it.
Durant's Rousseau and Revolution, p. 580 207.7 miles hot, 90s (in Redding in August, that's good!!)
I'm 1.1 pounds down, my blood pressure is borderline, and I'm catching up a little on the journal and some trash removal.
111 recordings of 21 types
Today we went to Redding to join the Redding-to-Sacramento caravan tomorrow. There were other things we've wanted to do in Redding as well: we wanted to get the final of a challenge cache we did last summer, and I wanted to see Sue-the-tyrannosaur again. Rich asked if the Play it Again Sports needed softballs, but no. So, at 8:30 we started off, 141 miles (crow miles) to the geocache.
Jaycee Dugard was found! That's a jaw-dropper. We saw a billboard that said "Produce the Birth Certificate." And huge haystacks: no need to see Mayan ruins any more, these were as big. We also saw a harvester starting on a cornfield.
It's St. Monica's feastday.
At 10:30 we got to the Olive Pit in Corning. They've remodelled. We got some soap and an olive oil hand cream, as well as some olives, of course.
Then we were on the Nomiaki Highway (because it's close to the casino? I dunno. Yep, I looked it up.) And, at last, we hit the outskirts of Redding and found the cache. We found 5 more and then went toward Hilltop Drive on the assumption we might find a Jack-in-the-Box there. Sure enough: and I went in and said "I want all your Yo Gabba Gabba toys." Sort of embarrassing, but the guy who fished around in the bin has a 2-year-old who also loves the show and he knew all the characters.
After lunch we went to Turtle Bay and saw Sue. They had to pick up some of the ceiling to make room for the tail. Another special exhibit at the museum was some really fantastic Lego creations. He used a computer to figure it all out. I doubt it's possible to do some of these things without one. Wow, just wow. We checked out a couple of caches, then came back and finished the rest of the nature area, and so out, where Rich was persistent and came up with a cache everyone else thought was gone.
On the way to the motel we stopped to see an old BBS friend, met the "baby's" husband (I babysat her when dad had a heart attack and Mom was a meth-head) and left some tomatoes. Then we checked in, then spent a couple of pretty frustrating hours only finding a few caches. We went to the last Thursday Marketfest of 2009, which was interesting. We had trouble getting out of the parking lot and Rich yelled at me. More attempts at caches, till it was almost dark. We went looking for a grocery store and got breakfast for tomorrow at Trader Joe's. Then we ate at Logan's and so to bed.
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