The Return of the Circus

Anybody remember the fun times from the Clinton years? All the joy of Congressional investigations? Because the newly minted Repub house is feeling nostalgic for that type of reality TV. Specifically, Darrell Issa plans to hold CSPAN hostage:

California Rep. Darrell Issa is already eyeing a massive expansion of oversight for next year, including hundreds of hearings; creating new subcommittees; and launching fresh investigations into the bank bailout, the stimulus and, potentially, health care reform.

Issa told POLITICO in an interview that he wants each of his seven subcommittees to hold “one or two hearings each week.”

“I want seven hearings a week, times 40 weeks,” Issa said.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44850.html#ixzz14n4Rkqkj

Rest assured, these hearing will quickly devolve into a witchhunt. As with the Clinton "investigations", every baseless rumor will become a major "scandal" that will dominate the nightly news until it is (very quietly) debunked. If even the slightest indiscretion is found, "impeachment" will be spewing from the lips of every right-wing talker.

Trust me on this: it's what the rethugs do, and it sort of worked with Clinton. And Obama is already guilty of being President while black.

Turn Back Time

Of course, the GOP would rather turn the clocks back 120 years, or at least 60 years, instead of just a mere hour. It's what they do.

Being in Arizona, I don't have to mess with changing clocks. All the time change means is that the football games start an hour later.

Your Friday Boobies

No, I didn't forget the Boobies. Slightly delayed by real life, here are a nice pair of Boobies for your Friday viewing pleasure.

Happy Pic

The great Willie Mays at the Giants victory parade on Wednesday. This picture makes me very happy.

Election Day

I've been unusually inactive politically this election cycle. Simply put, I have no enthusiasm for the ongoing mediocrity of the Democrats and the Rethugs are downright scary. Sadly, American Democracy seems hellbent on self destruction, as it appears that the 'people' (if polls are correct) vote against their own future and elect the craziest possible candidate to represent them. It's not a pretty sight.
I've already done the "early voter" thing, choosing unenthusiastically to vote for "mediocre" over "batshit crazy and evil" in almost every race. I suspect that I'll be on the losing side (again). It's about all we can do, unless you're a billionaire who can buy your own pet politician.
Our political system is in serious disrepair. Thanks to the citizens united decision, corporate money now drowns out any real popular representation. The kind of people who would be best able to represent us, "the people" (regardless of political persuasion), either don't run for office or are smeared so completely that they're unelectable. I really have no idea how to change this dynamic, and that's discouraging.
But I voted anyway, and I hope you do too.

GIANTS!

For the first time in my life my beloved San Francisco Giants are the champs. I'm not quite sure how to explain how happy this makes me.

I've only been waiting since 1964.

Of course this may be a sign of some kind of apocalypse. First the President is younger than I am, then we get a Supreme Court Justice who's also younger. And the Giants win!

Kinda like elections.

Another Pair of Boobies

I really intend to post something more...well, something soon. But for now, happy Friday.

Whirlled Series

This year, the Baseball World Series includes my beloved San Francisco Giants, so I'm happy. Last night's game looked like it had all the makings of a classic pitchers duel, matching up Cliff Lee with Tim Lincecum, two of the finest pitchers in the game. In fact, Lee had never lost a postseason game. Smart money would be betting on a very low scoring game.

Glad I didn't bet on the game. A funny thing happened to forecast of "great pitching": 18 runs, 26 hits, 6 errors, leading to an unexpected 11-7 Giants win. Um, "Yay!", but also "wow, that was strange" are my reactions. Regardless of the score, I'm only too happy to celebrate a Giants victory.

(BTW: sorry I've been such a slacker about posting lately.)

Perky Boobies

For another Friday.

Plans Subject to Change

Sometimes things don't go according to plan. Like flying out of Flagstaff this morning. I'm sitting on the plane, having gone through the lovely process that is airport security, when one of the planes engines made a sound that you really don't want to hear. Turned out to be a blown oil pump. Rather glad that we were still on the ground, instead of airborne, when it happened.

So I'm now rebooked to fly out this evening. I hope.

A Boobie

It's Friday, and I'm heading out of town for most of a week to visit my sister and catch a couple of Widespread Panic shows. Posting may or may not happen while I'm away.

Giants!

On to the NLCS. Bring on the fillies!

10/10/10

(Thanks to Lockwood of Outside the Interzone for the graphic.)

John Lennon's 70th

For Lennon's 70th, NPR has a great interview with David Sheff:

In August 1980, writer David Sheff flew to New York for a big assignment: an interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono for the magazine Playboy. Every day for three weeks, Sheff, often with his tape recorder running, talked with the couple in their Central Park West apartment, on the street, in coffee shops and in recording studios. The Playboy interview hit the newsstands on Dec. 6. Two days later, Lennon was shot dead on the street in front of his apartment.

Lennon On Writing "She Loves You"

Lennon On Hearing The Beatles On The Radio

Sheff's interviews with Lennon and Ono were collected in his book All We Are Saying. The book is being re-released as an e-book.

All We Are Saying: Three Weeks With John Lennon

Explore John Lennon's full NPR Archive

Also, here is John Lennon's Site

Sports Injuries

Don't push your frog so hard.

Boobies Bouncing Along

I've posted these before, but they deserve an encore. Happy Friday!

Baseball Prayer

Let Timmeh Smoke!

(Go Giants)

Prop. 203

Once again, the people of Arizona will attempt to legalize medical marijuana (it's been passed by the voters three of the four times it's been on the ballot, but courts have intervened) this November:

The 2010 Arizona election is looking once again, at a long held debate over the legalization of medical marijuana. If passed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act would authorize the use of marijuana for individuals with medical conditions and written certification from a physician. Most controversial to the election outcome, is the fact that Prop 203 would establish a regulatory system under Arizona Department of Health Services to create and license medical marijuana dispensaries.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5842608/arizona_election_2010_prop_203_arizona.html?cat=49

My views on this are quite clear: for humanitarian reasons, there should be no question about medical marijuana. Compassion demands that it should be legal. I can see a legitimate moral argument against recreational marijuana (I disagree, but I can see a valid debate), but it's a very different issue.

Of course, this being Arizona, there are some serious flaws with the law. For one, it's way too restrictive:

Unlike California, where it's possible to get a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana for almost any condition, only patients with a limited number of serious and debilitating conditions, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's Disease, glaucoma, Crohn's disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) will be able to acquire medical marijuana in Arizona.

It would not be an initiative that would implement any immediate and wide sweeping licensing, so it is not going to change anything over night. Nor will Arizona become like California in status over medical marijuana, as some conservatives fear might happen.

Still, I support 203 as a starting point. It will be interesting to see how the vote turns out.

Quite a Year

It's been quite a year for weather here in Flag. Blizzards, wildfires (OK, technically they aren't 'weather'; rather 'events'), floods, and now tornadoes. Haven't seen anything quite like it in my sixteen years here. My only question is: what next?

Good Morning Tornado

Nothing like waking up to a tornado warning, even if the tornadoes are outside of town. So far, three are being reported, in the area of Parks and Bellemont (about 8 miles outside of town). Interstate 40 is closed, and "extensive damage" is being reported. The tornado watch is in place until 11:00 am local time.
Tornadoes are not something we're used to around here. I realized that my tiny apartment lacks a storm cellar, like most housing in the region. We'll see what happens, but for now there's not much I can do. More coffee, anyone?

A Post

I'm a lazy slacker of a blogger. Or I haven't had much to say.

Celebrate!

They did it! My beloved Giants are in the playoffs!

Not Ready for Prime Time

Jan Brewer had an abysmal performance in her debate with Terry Goddard. So she's making a smart move by avoiding any more debates. Well, unless she starts losing:

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has had only one debate against Terry Goddard, her Democratic challenger in the gubernatorial election, and she didn’t have a choice: since she took public funds for her campaign, she had to agree to one debate under Arizona election law. Given the option, Brewer prefers not to debate again — and she admitted to a local reporter yesterday that she would only debate the issues again if it was politically advantageous:

“Maybe there would be a possibility that we would debate if my numbers starting dropping dramatically,’’ she said. “And, of course, I’m working hard to see that they don’t.’’ [...]

She said her reticence to meet with Goddard again should come as no surprise.

“We made that decision long ago,’’ the governor said, saying the single debate was part of the game plan all along.“So far, we’ve been right on the game,’’ Brewer said, adding, “And I’m winning.’’

Brewer brushed aside a question of whether Goddard will be disappointed with her stand. “And you think I care?’’ she quipped.

It’s not surprising Brewer doesn’t want to have another debate. In her first one, she struggled to name her accomplishments and subjected the audience to a long, awkward pause; she also advanced a falsehood about beheadings in the Arizona desert and was unable to justify it after the debate. She quietly retracted her claim a few days later.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/01/brewer-no-debate/

The question to be determined is whether the semi-comatose Goddard can take advantage of this. Given that he's shown the typical democratic aversion to actually winning elections, I'm betting against it.

Smart Lock

The best device to keep someone from carrying away your Smart car.

Nice Looking Boobies

A nice pair of Masked Boobies. Is it really October already?

Fire Up the Starship!

Cosmic Log - Alien planet looks 'just right' for life
We've found a 'livable' planet. Can we get there before we completely destroy this one?

Astronomers say they've found the first planet beyond our solar system that could have the right size and setting to sustain life as we know it, only 20 light-years from Earth.

"My own personal feeling is that the chances of life on this planet are 100 percent," Steven Vogt, an astrophysicist at the University of California at Santa Cruz, told reporters today. "I have almost no doubt about it."

The discovery, published online in The Astrophysical Journal, is the result of 11 years of observations at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Astronomers participating in the Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey detected the planet by tracking the faint gravitational wobbles it produced in its parent star. Now they say there may well be many more planets out there like this one.

"The fact that we were able to detect this planet so quickly and so nearby tells us that planets like this must be really common," Vogt said in a news release.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/09/29/5202633-alien-planet-looks-just-right-for-life

Only 20 light years away, which is very close in astronomical terms. The slogan "Earth First! Then We'll destroy the other planets!" comes to mind.
(BTW, Glad to see this came out of UC Santa Cruz, which was the first college I attended. Go Banana Slugs!)

For Old Geeks

In the beginning there was the computer

At Least One War Will Be Over

I'm always happier when a war ends, so Sunday should be a good day:

The First World War will officially end on Sunday, 92 years after the guns fell silent, when Germany pays off the last chunk of reparations imposed on it by the Allies.

The final payment of £59.5 million, writes off the crippling debt that was the price for one world war and laid the foundations for another.

Germany was forced to pay the reparations at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 as compensation to the war-ravaged nations of Belgium and France and to pay the Allies some of the costs of waging what was then the bloodiest conflict in history, leaving nearly ten million soldiers dead.

"On Sunday the last bill is due and the First World War finally, financially at least, terminates for Germany," said Bild, the country's biggest selling newspaper.

Most of the money goes to private individuals, pension funds and corporations holding debenture bonds as agreed under the Treaty of Versailles, where Germany was made to sign the 'war guilt' clause, accepting blame for the war.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8029948/First-World-War-officially-ends.html

Of course, I thought WW1 was already over. Learn something new every day (or at least I try to.)

Baseball History

50 years ago today, Ted Williams swung a bat for the last time in his major league career:

Fifty years ago today, Ted Williams walked up to the plate on a chilly, overcast
day at Fenway Park and stepped into the batter's box in the bottom of the eighth inning against Baltimore pitcher Jack Fisher. He took his familiar stance, looked at the first pitch for a ball, swung and missed at the second, then drove the third pitch into the bullpen for the most famous farewell in baseball history.

Williams had gone out the way so many players dream about and almost none accomplish: He homered in his final at-bat.

"I was gunning for the big one," Williams said in the clubhouse after the game. "I let everything I had go. I really wanted that one."

Some tidbits about that farewell shot:http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/100928_ted_williams&sportCat=mlb

OK, I was to young to know. But my Dad always said it was the most dramatic at bat he ever saw.

Vintage Truth

Walt Kelly was a genius, and some of his cartoons are remarkably relevant to this day. Here, he anticipated political debate over 45 years ago.

Agriculture

You never know where you'll run into a Badger.

The Difference

Just the basics.

Boobies Bouncing into Autumn

Boobies celebrating the first Friday of fall.

As A Marxist

OK, I admit it: I am a Marxist. I love every one of the Marx Brothers movies. And I like Dali, too. So when I read this, well...:

Salvador Dalí sketching Harpo Marx (1937, via).

Dalí, a huge Marx Brothers fan with a particular admiration for Harpo, whom he viewed as “the most surrealist figure in Hollywood”, sent him a harp with barbed wire for strings & forks and spoons for tuning knobs as a Christmas present in 1936. Delighted, Harpo wrote Dalí that he would be “happy to be smeared by you” if the artist ever found himself in Hollywood. The next month Dalí arrived, brushes and easel in hand. The resultant painting is lost, but a monochrome pencil-and-ink study survived (here)

Dalí wrote an entertaining, if rather implausible, account of this meeting in a 1937 Harper’s Bazaar article:

“I met Harpo for the first time in his garden. He was naked, crowned with roses, and in the center of a veritable forest of harps (he was surrounded by at least five hundred harps). He was caressing, like a new Leda, a dazzling white swan, and feeding it a statue of the Venus de Milo made of cheese, which he grated against the strings of the nearest harp. An almost springlike breeze drew a curious murmur from the harp forest. In Harpo’s pupils glows the same spectral light to be observed in Picasso’s.”

Dalí later wrote a script for a Marx Brothers movie, Giraffes on Horseback Salad, which included, among other things, burning giraffes wearing gas masks & Harpo catching dwarves with a butterfly net. The film was never made. Groucho, that killjoy, claimed to have scuttled the project: “It wouldn’t play.”

Just a delicious story. Beats talking about current politics.

A "Must Read"

If you haven't already read it, please go read:

Poll: 1 In 5 Americans Believe Obama Is A Cactus

Figures

Today is world "car-free" day. So, of course, today is the one day that I'm obligated to drive. My neighbor is having surgery, and I agreed to pick him up from the hospital.

I'm not going to feel guilty. I lived car free for fourteen years, and only returned to car ownership this past spring. I inherited this car when my brother-in-law passed away, but I rarely drive it. Flagstaff is a very walking/biking friendly town.

Sometimes ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do.

Why Aliens Avoid Us

Let's face it: the Aliens don't want to talk to us. They see how we treat each other and our home planet, and realize that human beings just aren't worth the bother.
Take a look at the TV we send out to them:

Any alien seeing that is likely thinking "Earth? Don't go there. It's got Human Beings! They're contagious!"

(Quote shamelessly stolen from Red Dwarf.)

Almost Forgot.

Arr!

This Week's Boobies

Happy Friday! Nice Boobies!

(And my Giants are in 1st place today! Yay!)

Politics as a Joke

Insuring comedy gold for the next seven weeks, Christine O'Donnell, the winner in the GOP Senate primary in Delaware, sets a new "standard" for rightwing tea party nuttiness. She's best known for her strong "anti-masturbation" views. Meaning that masturbation will now be a campaign issue. Pundits and comics are certainly going to be 'busy' with that.

Yup, American democracy in action. Just think how much fun the senate would be if she actually wins (thankfully, highly unlikely). Senators debating masturbation? Do we really want that?

WATCH: Christine O'Donnell's '96 Anti-Masturbation Campaign On MTV

Bugs

Via The Political Carnival, go take a look at Bug-eyed: The cartoon faces of insects caught in incredible detail.

Some lovely bugs!

Weird, Sick Marketing

(Full story at The Rude Pundit:)
I tried to avoid doing any "9/11" posts because all possible views have already been blogged to death, but...
The New York Lottery is using human 'ping pong balls' labeled "9" and "11" to market the lottery. Really? Using a tragedy to promote a tax on people who don't understand statistics?
The eventual demise of America will be sold with a shiny marketing campaign, and the sheeple will buy it in bulk. That is the sad truth.

The Weekly Boobies

Friday, again. A fine pair of Boobies.

Football Season

Tonight marks the start of another Football season, for which I am happy. While I'm a Baseball fan first and foremost, Football games generate more social participation. For example, my local pub becomes a full on sports bar where fans for each team gather for a party at game time. I'm a lifelong 49er's fan, and on Sunday I'll be with a bunch of other Niners fans (of course, there will also be a bunch of Seahawks fans rooting against us) for the game. That doesn't happen for baseball, except for the world series.

For Football fans seeking a good laugh, here's the Onion Sports 2010 NFL Team-By-Team Guide. Satire at it's finest. For example, on my Niners:

Strength: He may not be a Joe Montana, but Alex Smith is proving to be a better QB than Jim Druckenmiller, Gio Carmazzi, or Steve Stenstrom ever were

Weakness: Whatever head coach Mike Singletary is thinking at any given moment

Player To Watch: Veteran Brian Westbrook is always a threat to explode into a cloud of ligaments and bone

Biggest Question: If the 49ers are willing to let Glen Coffee go to follow Christ, what's to stop the entire team from following suit?

Well, OK then. Sadly, I remember how bad Carmazzi was.

River Art

(click to big)
So I'm having a beer with an old river running buddy, and he says: "If you're really a Boatman on The Canyon, then you have a piece of artwork given to you by a passenger."
I said: "yup. I have one."
This is a painting by my dear friend Bex Deluxe, that hangs proudly on my wall.

For Warren...

Shadows are falling and I'm running out of breath
Keep me in your heart for awhile

If I leave you it doesn't mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for awhile

When you get up in the morning and you see that crazy sun
Keep me in your heart for awhile

There's a train leaving nightly called when all is said and done
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sometimes when you're doing simple things
around the house
Maybe you'll think of me and smile

You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on
your blouse
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams
Touch me as I fall into view
When the winter comes keep the fires lit
And I will be right next to you

Engine driver's headed north to Pleasant Stream
Keep me in your heart for awhile

These wheels keep turning but they're running out
of steam
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Keep me in your heart for awhile

For Labor Day

I rarely post music, but this is a good one for today.

Age Check

If you laugh at this...

you're probably getting old.

A Friday Boobie

September already? Where did the summer go?

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

A True Christian

There are so many negative stories of religious intolerance that it was refreshing to read an actual positive story showing the true teachings of Christ:

When pastor Steve Stone initially heard of the mosque and Islamic center being erected on the sprawling land adjacent his church, his stomach tightened.

Then he raised a 6-foot sign reading, "Welcome to the Neighborhood."

The issue for Stone and the 550-person Heartsong Church in Cordova, came down to one question:

"What would Jesus do if He were us? He would welcome the neighbor," Stone said.

The Memphis Islamic Center, a nonprofit organization formed three years ago, is two weeks from breaking ground on the first phase of a multimillion-dollar complex.

While plans for Islamic centers across the country and just miles away have triggered vitriolic responses and divided communities, here in Memphis it's been a peaceful process.

On a 31-acre stretch at Humphrey Road and Houston Levee, Memphis Islamic Center leaders plan to build a massive gathering place during the next several years. It will include a mosque, youth center, day care center, indoor gym, sports fields, medical clinic and retirement home.

While the 4,000-square-foot worship hall is being completed, Heartsong has opened its doors to its neighbors throughout the monthlong observance of Ramadan.

Under a gigantic cross constructed of salvaged wood, nearly 200 area Muslims have been gathering each night to pray.

"I think it's helped break down a lot of barriers in both congregations," said Islamic center board member Danish Siddiqui.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/aug/28/common-threads/

This in Memphis, not a bastion of liberalism. As someone who isn't religious but has studied a lot of theology and religious philosophy, I've always thought that at the core of all the Abrahamic religions is a message of living together in peace that is far stronger than all the smiting, slaying, or Jihad. We need more Christians to listen to Pastor Steve Stone and his ilk.

(End of positive post. Regular cynicism will return soon.)

Low Expectaions

Low energy day.

And For What?

The end of "combat operations" in Iraq...

The withdrawal of all but 50,000 troops...

But there is no sense of celebration. The 'war' is 'over', except that it isn't. There is no victory, because there was never anything to 'win' in Iraq. All that was achieved was destruction and despair.

I suppose that President Obama deserves some credit for reducing America's presence in Iraq, as he promised in his campaign. OK, Barack, here's a brownie point. A token of achievement for a rather minor accomplishment.

It was a war that never should have happened. Shrub and the neocons lied to create a threat that never existed and led an invasion that should be a war crime. The slaughter of innocent Iraqi's will be America's shame for many decades to come, as will the debts (both human and monetary) for a tragic act of folly. Over a trillion dollars wasted on wanton destruction, yet we "can't afford" to serve our citizens at home.

So we'll call this an "end", but for what? In the "end", what was it all for? Who was saved?

What was it all for?