Yeah, But Can She Hit?

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will throw out the first pitch at today's Red Sox-Yankees game:

NEW YORK -- United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a lifelong Yankees fan who grew up not far from Yankee Stadium, is set to take the mound on Saturday afternoon for a ceremonial first pitch.

The Bronx native will take the mound on Saturday, prior to the Yankees' 4:10 p.m. ET game against the Red Sox on FOX.

Sotomayor, 55, has been dubbed as "the judge who saved baseball." In 1995, as a federal trial judge, Sotomayor issued a preliminary injunction that helped end the Major League Baseball strike of 1994-95.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090925&content_id=7148974&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Hit the strike zone, judge!

(photo added)

(I'm guessing she could over rule the umpires call anyway)

More on the Anglo-Saxon Treasure Find

I posted a couple of days ago on the man with a metal detector in the UK finding a huge cache of gold and silver artifacts, but the story is even cooler.

The "Staffordshire Hoard" is about 1,500 items, and is thought to be the largest archaeological find of Anglo-Saxon artifacts in history.

The items appear to date from around 700 AD, likely from the Kingdom of Mercia, but there's still some debate.

Of course, in keeping with human nature, there's already a dispute about ownership between the treasure hunter and the owner of the property where it was found.

Anyway, it's a really cool piece of Archeology. Those of us with Anglo-Saxon ancestors should enjoy the history.

A larger gallery is here: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/gallery/2009/09/anglo-saxon-hoard.php?img=1&ref=fpb

Stopping Terrorists

What a difference a new administration makes. Compare how Obama's team handles the arrest of accused terrorists to how shrub and crew acted:
The FBI has apparently disrupted a terror plot centered on Najibullah Zazi of Colorado; it conducted a sting operation that led to the arrest yesterday of a man charged with attempting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper; and it conducted another sting that led to the arrest of a Muslim convert in Illinois who allegedly tried to detonate what he believed was a bomb outside a federal courthouse.
But where are the huge press conferences with the Attorney General calling the accused "enemy combatants"? Where's the color coded fear mongering? Where's the suspension of Habeaus Corpus?
Instead, we're seeing criminal charges in courtrooms as a result of solid FBI/Police work. And an administration quietly going about conducting their jobs.
The Cheney said Obama was making us 'less safe", but the facts prove otherwise. Which is just another reason that no one should ever listen to the Cheney.

Here Are Boobies

Looking up on Friday.
Go to Girls Are Pretty and you will be told what to do.

These Things Never Happen To Me

I've played around with a metal detector on some beaches, but this is cool:

A man using a metal detector in a rural English field has uncovered the largest Anglo-Saxon gold hoard ever found -- an "unprecedented" treasure that sheds new light on history, archaeologists said Thursday.

The hoard includes 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of gold and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of silver. That is more than three times the amount of gold found at Sutton Hoo, one of Britain's most important Anglo-Saxon sites, said the local council in Staffordshire where the latest haul was found.

It's an "incredible collection of material -- absolutely unprecedented," said Kevin Leahy, an archaeologist with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a voluntary group that records finds made by members of the public. "We've moved into new ground with this material."

Because the find is so large and important, experts haven't been able to say yet how much it is worth. They hope to make a valuation within 13 months, Staffordshire Council

The hoard was discovered in July by Englishman Terry Herbert, who was using a metal detector he bought more than a decade ago in a jumble sale for only a few pounds (dollars). He belongs to a local metal detecting club in Staffordshire and was just out enjoying his hobby when he made the find.

There was so much gold at the site that Herbert said he was soon seeing it in his sleep.

"Imagine you're at home and somebody just keeps putting money through your letterbox. That's what it was like," Herbert told Britain's Press Association. "As soon as I closed my eyes I saw gold patterns. I didn't think it was ever going to end."

Herbert found 500 items before he called in experts, who then found a further 800 articles in the soil. Officials aren't saying exactly where the gold was found, other than to say it was in Staffordshire, in north-central England.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/09/24/staffordshire.uk.gold.hoard/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Just the history alone would make me happy.
But all that gold...would make a person...very rich.
(h/t to Zandar http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/, who's being added to the roll)

On the World Stage

Barack Obama presides over a UN security council meeting on nuclear weapons. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP

Although I'm sometimes disappointed in President Obama, there are times that I'm quite glad that we have him. One area that I feel he's handling very well is international diplomacy. Today:

Barack Obama today hailed a UN security council resolution on disarmament and non-proliferation as a milestone along the way to "a world without nuclear weapons".

Obama, the first US president to preside over a security council session, said the next twelve months would be "absolutely critical" in ensuring whether the resolution would succeed in reversing the spread of nuclear weapons and setting the world along the path of multilateral disarmament.

He said he had no illusions about the difficulties ahead, but he added "there will also be days like today" when the world came together for the common goal of disarmament and countering proliferation.

Today's resolution calls for the nuclear weapons states to ratify a ban on nuclear testing - something the US senate has yet to do - and negotiate a new treaty to stop the production of fissile material. It also calls for on them to join the disarmament process being led by the US and Russia, who account for more than 90% of the world's nuclear weapons between them.

The document also endorses a string of measures intended to strengthen the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), ahead of a major review conference next May.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/24/nuclear-weapons-un-security-council

I can't imagine shrub engaging the nuclear proliferation issue, or getting any support if he had attempted to. It's nice to have an articulate President who other world leaders listen to with respect.
I know we're a long way from a nuke free world, but as a child of the cold war 'duck and cover' drills, it's nice to see the world getting a little safer.

California's Celebrity Politics

For political junkies (like me), no other state offers as much entertainment as California. Which celebrity will run for office this time? Having actors as governors and congress persons has become traditional for California.
But I'm seeing a new trend in celebrity candidates this time: the rethugs are turning to female former CEO's of high tech corporations. Meg Whitman of ebay fame is running for Governor, and Carly Fiorina from HP is running for the senate. Both are quite wealthy, so they should have no problem getting their message (government=bad; taxes=bad; wealth=good) out.
We'll see how they do with actual voters, but they certainly represent something new in celebrity politics.

Autumnal Equinox

Ah, the changing of the seasons. Summer ends, fall begins. And here locally, Ma nature is taking the change literally. Today is about 10 degrees cooler than yesterday, and there's a freeze warning for tonight. Summer was much too short.

A New Rule

The Baucus bill now has 564 amendments proposed. I'll propose a new rule, where any bill that gets more than "X" number of proposed amendments must be rewritten. "X" could be 200 or 300 or whatever, but at some point we need a good bill without hundreds of changes.

Boris, That's Why We Have Delivery

This story made me chuckle:

In a new book recounting 79 taped interviews with President Clinton while he was in office, author Taylor Branch has bestowed us with some gems, such as this one about Boris Yeltsin's drinking:

Yeltsin was visiting Washington in 1995 when, late at night, Secret Service agents found the Russian president stripped to his underwear and trying to hail a cab on Pennsylvania Avenue. He wanted a pizza, he slurred.

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/from-the-clinton-interviews-a-drunken-boris-yeltsin-on-pennsylvania-ave.php?ref=fpblg

I hope they explained to Mr. Yeltsin how to call for delivery. That's what Americans do when we're drunk, in our underwear, and want a pizza.

Happy Rosh Hashanah

Shana Tovah to all my Jewish readers.
Growing up, the day meant getting the day off from school and going to my Jewish Grandmother's for apples dipped in honey. Fond memories.

A Pretty Pair of Boobies

Shall we dance?

A (Very) Brief Bit of History

A short history lesson for the right wing screamers: "Czars" were not communist. In fact, Czar Nicholas had a real problem with the communists.
These people have killed irony so many times.

Dropping Missile Defense

In a rare victory for common sense, President Obama has dropped the (shrub) planned missile defense system that was to be based in Poland and the Czech Republic. Shrub's missile defense plan was one of his greater boondoggles; spending billions on a system that didn't work to defend against a threat that didn't exist marketed by a dishonest rationale. Pure Shrub.
Originally, the system was purported to be a defense of Europe against the threat of Iran's nuclear 'threat'. Among the minor flaws with this idea are:
1) Iran doesn't have any nukes, nor do they look to have any in the near future.
2) Iran doesn't have long range missiles, nor do they appear to be getting any anytime soon.
3) Nobody sane could think of any reason why Iran would drop a nuke anywhere in Europe.
The standard neocon paranoia fantasy is that Iran would use a nuke on Israel is absolutely crazy, and won't happen, but simply looking at a globe shows that missile defense in Eastern Europe would do nothing to prevent such an attack.
The real, but unstated, reason for the missile defense system was to piss off the Russians. The old 'cold-warriors' in the shrub administration were still stuck on the old battle with the 'commies', and were more than happy to shovel billions to the defense industry for that reason alone. But we're in a very different world now. The cold war is over and Russia is a global trading partner. They're not going to be nuking Europe any time soon.
I'm sure that the (never) right-wing will attack Obama for "weakening America's defense" and "surrendering to the Russians" by killing the program, but here in reality all he's doing is ending the waste of billions on a really bad idea. An expensive defense system that doesn't work to defend against a threat that doesn't exist is a prime example of the shrub legacy. Killing the boondoggle is an act of common sense.

Dissecting the Baucus Bill

Feel free to dissect it all you like. Because it's dead. Carve it up into tiny pieces. It's going no where.
Six months trying to assemble a bipartisan zombie have only created a cadaver.
The rethugs won't support it. Progressive dems won't support it. The public won't support it.
I'm not sure what sort of reform will eventually come out of the congressional sausage making process, but I'm quite certain that this isn't it.

Decorum

The house will vote on a resolution of "disapproval" of Addison Graves "Joe" Wilson, Sr. for his shouting "you lie" during President Obama's address last week. In all the media debate of the politics behind the resolution, nobody seems to point out (as I did last week) the simple fact: Wilson's outburst was clearly in violation of the house rules of decorum. Rule #4:

"Refrain from speaking disrespectfully of the Speaker, other Members, the President or Vice President."

http://rules.house.gov/archives/house_decorum.htm
Maybe it's the old baseball umpire in me, but I do believe that "the rule IS the rule". It's right there, and every member signs an agreement to abide by the rules prior to being seated. There are four levels of penalties the house can impose: Expulsion; Censure; Reprimand; or Disapproval, with 'disapproval' being the mildest penalty. But, regardless of the politics, the rules need to be enforced, or there are no rules.
(when I umpired Little League Baseball, I acquired a reputation for having a very quick thumb; I tossed anyone who used any obscenity. You could argue with me as loud as you liked, but I refused to tolerate foul language. It's what the rule book said. I'm funny that way.)

added: the wrist has been duly slapped. text of the resolution

When the Shuttle Takes a Leak

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=10&month=09&year=2009

What looks like a comet at first, is actually the space shuttle Discovery dropping "liquid waste" prior to last weeks landing. That's right; that beautiful image is the result of a "massive urine release."
A fine way to start the day.

Retro Debates

Everything old is new again; nostalgia isn't a new phenomenon. And the health care debate is another echo from the past:

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The debate is about health care. The threat is of a march toward “socialism.” The words come from a famous voice. Not Sarah Palin in 2009. It was Ronald Reagan in 1961.

“From here, it’s a short step to all the rest of socialism,” Reagan, then an actor, warned in a 1961 record sponsored by the American Medical Association after President John F. Kennedy created a commission that laid the foundation for Medicare.

Many of the arguments against President Barack Obama’s overhaul effort are refrains from previous debates over health- care policy and Social Security dating to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

“There are substantial echoes of the past rhetoric in what we’re hearing today,” said presidential historian Robert Dallek.

In 1945, the AMA helped portray Truman’s proposal for national health insurance as a creep toward communism. Three years later, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce produced a pamphlet, “You and Socialized Medicine.” In 1993, the health-insurance industry tried to scuttle President Bill Clinton’s proposed overhaul by funding ads featuring a fictional couple who decried a “government takeover” of health care.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ayd_OJxPgHII

Time to try some new arguments, people.

Debating With Dunces

These are the people that we're up against on health care reform. As you can see, they're well "infromed".

And they know America!

They oppose the "pubic" option; only liberals like "pubic" choices.

And they really, really hate "politians"; in fact, they're never, ever going to be "polite". They want new "dipers", too.

"Literacy" is a liberal concept, and they're doing everything they can to destroy it.

It's simply not possible to have a rational debate about something as complex as health care with people who're this intellectually vacuous. Although they are making a very strong case for education reform.

So, here's my suggestion, Mr. Obama: push for a public option, but with an exemption for idiots.

The Reality of Shrub's Legacy

Not that facts seem to matter anymore, but the numbers are out on the impact from shrub's domestic policies, and they're dismal. This is no surprise to those of us who paid attention:

On every major measurement, the Census Bureau report shows that the country lost ground during Bush's two terms. While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked. By contrast, the country's condition improved on each of those measures during Bill Clinton's two terms, often substantially.

The Census' final report card on Bush's record presents an intriguing backdrop to today's economic debate. Bush built his economic strategy around tax cuts, passing large reductions both in 2001 and 2003. Congressional Republicans are insisting that a similar agenda focused on tax cuts offers better prospects of reviving the economy than President Obama's combination of some tax cuts with heavy government spending. But the bleak economic results from Bush's two terms, tarnish, to put it mildly, the idea that tax cuts represent an economic silver bullet.

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/09/closing_the_book_on_the_bush_legacy.php

Along with two wars, and assorted other disasters, this is shrub's legacy. This is what Obama is trying to fix. But the media will fixate on Tea-baggers, liars, and the assorted beltway "tut-tutters". The actual economic realities of real people aren't "news".