Mon, Mar 26th - 5:20PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 66
51.3 miles
clearing

170 recordings of 34 types. 9% clear.

The Anchoress:

Lately, I admit, my willingness to assume good-faith of others, particularly of the administration, has collapsed, mostly thanks to the HHS mandate and the shameful willingness of some to mischaracterize the church’s opposition as being about something other than a genuine concern for first-amendment freedoms, and to play along with the utterly false, media-contrived, so-called “war on women” narrative.

I don’t like feeling like this; I don’t like surrendering that “good faith” instinct—and I most certainly do not like being in discord with fellow Catholics, many of whom I have long liked and respected, over a matter of policy.

Pdn Michael:
At the risk of a juvenile-sounding accusation of "they started it," I think that the Palin candidacy is where the left started it. But the more interesting question is why? What was it about Palin that caused the media driven scorched earth policy that has dogged her ever since?

I might suggest (not as an answer but as a discussion point) that the outrage on the left was because the Republicans stole a key play out of the Democratice playbook: They found a reasonably electable woman. And not only that, a woman who was rather attractive, certainly charismatic, and in possession of a certain magnetic energy. In short, the play instantly started working better than it ever had for the Democrats (witness Ferarro, Hillary, etc.) and they were having none of it. The insult-laden rest is history.

Scary. I remember South Chicago: we accidently ended up there once and it was a frightening place to drive through.

Monty Wolf: cbs news finally reports the obvious : the national debt increased more in president obama’s first three years in office than in the entire eight years of the bush administration. well, he did promise hope and change: we are hoping things will get no worse and things certainly have changed. he's a man of his word.

Top Accomplishments show why 0bama will lose. (from his lips to God's ears.)

Obama 2012: Four More Years of Having Killed Bin Laden

John Hawkins: If you think it's a "gutsy call" to kill Osama Bin Laden when you have a chance, you're probably not ready to handle the presidency.

Double Standards and Noodle-Spined Media

The story is newsworthy because it implicates taxpayer concerns:  Malia is going to a nation that the State Department warns is dangerous, and Americans are footing the bill for the 25 federal employees who are necessary to offset that danger.  I know that these Secret Service agents are on the payroll regardless, but feeding and lodging them outside of Washington, D.C. becomes the taxpayers’ burden.  (In the same way, Obama’s little basketball jaunt with PM Cameron cost the taxpayers an extra $478,000 over the regular fixed costs in the “taking care of POTUS” budget.)

So I had slept in too late to make it to the Retreat House, and I was just puddling around, reading those articles above and yawning and stretching when suddenly "OMG!! I was supposed to go take care of Bernadette's cats!!!" Oh, what a bad kitty nana!  I was so panicked I ended up taking the TV remote with me in the car (I'm glad I noticed later, or I'd have been in a real mess.) I headed down (had a bit of a near miss on the freeway) and charged into the house to be greeted by a peeved Percival. There was still some water, fortunately. I filled that and located the kitty food and filled the bowls, then went looking for Nimue.  No luck. I looked under the bed and everywhere else I could think of.  Then I started through all the closed off rooms and closets, in case she got locked in anywhere.  No, no luck.
I changed the kitty litter and took one last look under the bed, and there she was.  Alive. Whew.  OK, I brought in the mail and locked up and was much more relaxed going back.

I had an $8 coupon for the new Supercuts, so I stopped in and got a haircut.  This is probably the first professional cut in 20 years or more.  I like the result a lot. And it'll be easier to care for. I was getting really tired of the way my hair was behaving.

The last three times I cut it, Rich didn't notice (the first two of those) and Bernadette didn't either. I bet she'll see it this time!

Mon, Mar 26th - 6:54AM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 66
51.3 miles
cloudy

167 recordings of 35 types. 12% left.

Rasmussen: -14: 47/51.

Math is still hard, but $1.25 is not the same as $107.

Today was my doctor visit. I haven't been eating properly, or sleeping well, or exercising as I should, so I figured she would gently suggest I start to behave. Instead, I found out everything was good, my blood pressure, my weight, my blood test... my cholesterol is better than it's been in years.  My blood sugar is still right at the top acceptable level, so giving up candy for lent was a good thing and it would be good (I say, she didn't) to pay more attention to fruits and veggies.  Still, apparently mybody, like my teeth, thrives on neglect. I'll have my mammogram after I get back. So, I guess I'll live to get the house cleaned out.

So this afternoon I headed for Yuba City to the geocaching event. I had a couple of funeral bookmarks I wanted to share. The four ladies are headed to Ireland in April, lucky bums. Oh, and Cathie has made use of the firewood.  Yay!  Anyway, I'd marked some caches on the way, and pulled off for the first one... but it was away from the road, through the grass, and I began to doubt I actually wanted to go there.  Fortunately, a geocaching friend pulled up and told me it was an easy walk, so the dog and I went and got it. OK, that got me started, I can do this. I found 2 others and had a no-find before the party, and got another before I went home. The party was nice enough. At the raffle, the two geocaches I was looking at went quickly, but when I got the last prize, a pack of candy, I played the widow card, "Brian, please trade me, you wouldn't deny a poor old widow would you?" So now I have a cache to put out to replace the Chicken Ranch Slough one.

A pretty good day.

Libya Mess.

Gallup: Most Independents Reject Global Warming.

John Steele Stephen: I believe in global warming and/or climate change. It has happened a hundred times in the history of the planet and will happen again (and again) in the future. I do not believe that what we do causes it or can "correct" it.

Global Warming's Last Breath. Literally.

the problem is lefties lost their credibility because none of their predictions of fire and brimstone are true. Instead, the fault is we are too stupid to realize what geniuses they are.

(God, they're forbidding the asthma inhalers that actually work. Punishing asthmatics to "save the ozone.")

Huh?  But he doesn't pass blame, just ask Tom Hanks.

Leave Bill Maher Alone says Bill Maher.

Who could possibly have any problem with a guy calling a mother of 5 a “c**t” because he disagrees with her politically? How could anyone genuinely find him repulsive? They must be playacting. Ah, the keen analytical mind of Bill Maher.