They always do this. Every time it seems. They start by being “different” and people get interested, motivated to hope once again. Folks start to believe, this time it will be different, this time, somebody is really getting it. And then of course, it happens. They, like a silly teenage girl sticking her toe in the pool and squealing and backing away, start moving toward the center. The center, that perceived land wherein “most American voters” supposedly live. The land of the uncommitted, that vast place where people sit with arms crossed and nod but remained unconvinced.

The perception is that this group of unknown, but of assumed large size,  is wary of the right and the left. They are believed to be suspicious of radicalism in general, liberal or conservative. They don’t want anything too awfully “different” at all, but some body they feel is “normal” whatever that means. And for a very long time in politics, once a candidate gets his party’s blessing, he (so far they have all been he’s)  starts to sniff around the heels of the great “middle.”

Of course, McCain has tried to do this a bit, mostly hoping nobody notices. He has a huge problem with doing so however because his base is so reactionary that it doesn’t leave him much wiggle room to court the ghostly middle. It makes him look down right radical to make any overtures. No, his only real way of doing so, has been to turn his back on legitimate liberal policies he has embraced in the past and move to the right, hoping his former liberal supporters won’t notice. Therein has been the place of his flip-flopping.

And to tell the truth, given what we know about McCain, we expected this. He is not at all the maverick he works so painstakingly to portray. He proved that with the infamous bear hug of joyous adoration he gifted one George W. Bush with in 2004. He made it clear at that moment in time that everything in terms of principles was up for sale to get what he wanted.

But, Obama, now we had come to think of him differently. He was not telling us what we wanted to hear, he was speaking truth as he believed it. No changing to embrace the supposed flowing tides of public opinion for him. Until he got the nomination sewed up. Then it began to change, imperceptibly at first. We told ourselves, well, it’s not really a change, it’s a refinement. We have to win the big one, after all.

But then, the issues started to be ones we really cared about, like FISA and the death penalty and gun control and NAFTA, and our boy, secure that he has us in his hip pocket, well now he’s wandering around salivating at the great “middle” of undecided America, convinced so it seems that he can’t win without attracting their fickle imprimatur.

Is that the case? Do people,  who are so totally uninterested in what is happening in this country that they haven’t made a choice yet, really matter at all? Are people this shallow not open to the last razzle dazzle they see before entering the voting booth? You get ‘em today and lose them next week to the newest slick ad. People this unsophisticated can’t tell the truth from a lie in the first place.

And what kinda price are you paying for this so-called middle? You are turning off the people whom you energized. You are losing those who for a moment thought you were different. They realize you aren’t and they opt out once more, a tad more cynical, a sad more cheated, and even more unlikely to ever bother again.

How does this happen? When did it start? I mean was there ever a time in our entire history when a candidate said, “This is who I am, this is what I stand for. If that’s what you stand for, vote for me.” Is that so politically naive that it must be met with gales of laughter and derision as the mere thought? Is it impossible to tell the damn truth any more? Do we have to incessantly make excuses and whisper “he’s not really changing, this is just to get the center vote, hint, hint, nudge, nudge.”

I’m tired of making the excuses frankly. I’m tired of explaining that in the real world one must make these kinds of compromises for the greater good– the greater good meaning getting elected. AT WHAT PRICE? Is this freaking price worth it? If this country is so shallow that it cannot clearly see that one candidate’s policies and platform is vastly superior to the other, then to hell with it. To hell with American politics, and the fact that we continue to look like idiots to the rest of the planet. Elect your moronic war-mongering dottering old man and I’ll spend my time in solitude in my meadow, ignoring the whole lot of you.

How dare you count on me, because I have no where else to go! I can stay home you know. I can say to hell with your realpolitik excuses and spend the rest of my days tending my flowers and sojourning with God. I am way too old to be continually slapped in the face with so-called “new politics” turned to “old politics” in the blink of an eye. As was said in the movie, “I’m mad and I’m not going to take it any more.”

Beware Mr. Obama, I’m growing tired of “change I can believe in” turning to the same old “change I have to compromise.” Remember who the hell got you where you are, and stop be seduced by the party hacks who think they know better. I think you are legit, but I suggest you better start proving that. Your election may depend on it.

For all of you who celebrated the 4th, I sure hope you had a good one. We sure did. We ate ourselves into a state known as “fatter than a tick.”

The brisket was awesome. That is the only word I can use to describe it. So tender it fell apart, and we just piled it onto buns and poured some barbecue sauce on it, and well, pigged out. The Contrarian seemed unable to even put his down for a taste of the other offerings. He moaned most of the rest of the day, unable to eat any more, even later in the evening.

The potato salad seemed one of the best ever I have made, I guess it concluded it had to step it up a notch to compete with the brisket. The pea salad was it’s usual self. The corn salad was a disappointment. I put jalepeno, cilantro, lime juice, roasted red peppers, diced black olives and seared the corn. The corn was canned because I find the frozen so tough. We are long out of our own corn, and of course our garden corn is far from being anywhere near ready. I just added salt and pepper and some olive oil and mixed it. All the ingredients sound good, but the taste was only hot, and flat. The corn flavor was totally missing.

The day was spent in total leisure, reading and I did some piecing work on a quilt wall hanging I started a couple of years ago. I also watched some of Federer’s match at Wimbleton and all of Nadal’s. What a body that Nadal has. I love Spanish men I have concluded. The Contrarian was not impressed. LOL. He thought he was going to get his revenge in the evening witha movie choice with John Travolta and HalleBerry. It started out a bit too gross (blowing people up) and we didn’t stay with it. We chose instead “The Long Hot Summer” with Paul Newman and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Troy Mills has a parade every year, but they are pretty much all the same as you might expect. It’s all neighbors and a bit of food in town after, and a tractor pull, the usual country fare. If you have seen one, you pretty much have seen them all. We’ve gone to a few, but don’t really care that much. We saw no fireworks off to the North as we usually do. Many communities are canceling because of the cost. The Contrarian hates them anyway, too much like mortar fire I believe.

So that was our day. Today, we get a repeat of yesterday’s dinner which we are very much looking forward to. Otherwise the day was back to normal. I took a walk, which was nice, but the heat is now getting back up fairly early, and my 9:30 am time found it already quite steamy. I go to the road now, so it’s a full mile. Not particularly tiresome except where I have to walk up hill through very loose sand. The Contrarian worked me up a sling for a water bottle which is really nice. The dogs accompany, but today left me on the way back and were laying in the shade when I got back to the house. The cats, Kate and Spencer who have been coming part way, decided that it was stupid and stayed at the house. Calvin and Hobbes have never been so inclined.

I hope your holiday or non-holiday was exactly what you would have desired. Ours sure was and that’s all you can ask for!

Cheetah with Cubs by Nick Brandt 2003. Is there anything more beautiful, more powerful, more dangerous than a Cheetah. Lone creature languishing in a tree, hunting with the speed that makes all prey quiver in terror. Yet she is gorgeous and tender as a mother. She worries not, she ponders nothing. She is. She unknowingly makes the world a better more wonderful place. She shows us that God exists, since somehow She must have graced this perfect creature with a touch so subtle yet imparting perfection in silent homage to humanity, the only creature capable of recognizing such purity of form. She demands our silent awed respect. And we give it gladly.

Okay, you know the drill by now. Candidate A or his supporter makes a statement about Candidate B, that B sees as damaging. Candidate B reacts in mock horror and disgust at the statement and calls upon Candidate A to repudiate the statement and for good measure repudiate the supporter. The media races off to interview all the parties and the 24-hour news talks about it all day, forcing the network media to at least carry one story about it on their nightly news. The 24-hour news then claims it’s a story that “won’t go away” and continues to beat it into the ground. Nobody ever tells the whole truth of the situation. Most people shake their heads in dismay wondering why nobody ever talks about issues. Which of course begs the question, “Do they think we are all morons?!!!!!” To which the answer might be yes, if you have read that book about how stupid the average voter is in America. But I digress.

Here’s the story. Once upon a time there was a general. His name is Wesley Clark. He was valedictorian of his class as West Point and went on to be a Rhodes Scholar and obtain a Master’s Degree in Military stuff, and command the Kosovo war front. He has by everyone’s standards had a stellar career in the military.

The retired General, a supporter of Hillary Clinton, and now supporting Barack Obama goes on Face the Nation. It is almost exclusively reported that he said:

“I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.”

 McCain responds with wagging his finger and claiming that he had “hoped that my opponent would not sink to personal attacks” and that he should “cut loose” Wesley Clark.

Barack Obama responds to McCain, by stating:

“For those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country - no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary. And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides.”

Here is what really happened:

1. Bob Schieffer commented that Obama had not “ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.” Clark responded by restating that and finishing it by saying that these were not qualifications for president. Last time I checked my Constitution, they were not, though my guess is that the Republicans are using a different one that I am used to in the first place.
2. Before this exchange, General Clark had made statements about McCain’s service and called him a bonafide hero.
3. Many of our finest presidents have not had military experience. Many have. I don’t know of any correlation that military service makes one a better president. None has been presented that it does.
4. Clark was absolutely correct in stating that McCain’s service never ever involved command of any men during wartime. His command of a squadron during peace time gives him zero experience as a potential commander in chief.
5. McCain has gone on record in the past stating that he doesn’t view military service as a necessary qualification for running for president. Shouldn’t we take him at his word?
6. When asked what in his Vietnam experience he felt gave him qualifications for president,  McCain bacame  visibly angryand refused to answer. Later he apologized for his anger, and said, unbelievably, that he just hates to have this part of his life brought up! Now that is chutzpah wouldn’t you say?
7. Three Senators who did see actual ground combat in Vietnam oppose this war. Kerry, Webb and Hegel might have at least the same credibility as a man who flew over the country, got shot down and spent five years in seclusion.
8. Senator Webb has raised the same question regarding the qualifications of being a POW and no one said a word. This was before McCain had attained the nomination.

One wonders why the media doesn’t have any interest in the real story here. It makes one wonder just how securely they are wrapped around John McCain’s little finger. The good old boy has been generous with sitting around for hours on the bus treating the media boys ( I doubt girls) to rollicking good stories of the old days. He glad hands and pats them on the back. He swears and makes crude jokes. They eat it up, considering him a regular guy.

The ignore his misogyny and his vicious temper. They ignore the blatant backtracking and attempts to rewrite his past. Just yesterday he audaciously claimed on GMA that he “never said that he didn’t know much about the economy.” No, he now rewrites that to say, he “doesn’t know as much about the economy as national security.” It’s a blatant lie of course. They do have copies of that stuff old man. Xeroxes and stuff like that? But Robin let it go, as they all do. He’s done this time and again. Even people like Jon Stewart who do occasionally hold the McBushman’s feet to the fire, can’t help but laugh adoringly at his sputtering denials in the end.

Enough of this liberal media bias. It’s not true, and hasn’t been for years. Not since all the media has been co-opted by big business, Disney and GE and Rupert Murdock. Seriously folks, you think they are pro-Democrat? This whole nonsense leveled at Clark is proof enough of that.

And I don’t let Obama off the hook either on this one. One would have wished he had the balls to stand up and be counted. His people are excellent at running down the facts. All he had to do was say, please point me to the fact that General Clark got wrong. That’s all he had to say. But he did the usual crap, he caved and backed away and left Clark twisting in the wind. Let the bottom feeders go to town on him. He should have responded to McCain’s call to cut ‘em loose with a “that would be absurd” kind of remark. Instead he has further pissed off the Clinton contingent and I hear a fair piece of Arkansas.

I for one am tired of this notion that McCain’s service is sacrosanct. He got shot down. I am sorry for that. He was a prisoner of war. He was tortured. I am sick he suffered. That doesn’t mean I close my eyes to his behavior since then. It doesn’t mean that the old man is somehow entitled to be president because of it. Plenty of others suffered, plenty died. His history makes me question his mental stability frankly. I’m not sure I trust his finger on the button. Especially when his theory of foreign policy is to shoot first and then negotiate. Mostly I’m sick of his bringing it up every bleeping chance he gets with smarmy “humor” used to mask his out of control anger issues.

I’m just trying to set the record straight. That is something the “Straight” talker should understand.

I’ve been pondering a good deal since yesterday when I left so abruptly. I couple of people noticed. I guess I owe an explanation of some sort. Let this suffice.

I am not complaining, whining or pleading you should understand that. No one owes me a moment’s attention but those that are required to do so by some relationship we have agreed to enter upon. I told you after all that I am eclectic, and so you should understand that blogging while a pleasant hobby, is not the hobby to beat all hobbies. There are only two things that I am forever devoted to, one is my husband, the other is my spiritual journey. Beyond that, everything else is negociable at any given moment.

The simple fact is that things cannot go on as they have. I shall explain why, though I need not of course. But there are some out there in the vast unknown space of internet land who have expressed some interest and I feel I owe some answer. So, I shall explain why my decision is what it is.

First as I said, blogging is not the be all and end all of my existence. Unlike some who seem to be in love with working ten and twelve hour days at this craft, I am not in that vein. It provides an outlet, serves a purpose, and I intend to continue, but this way no longer works for me, and it will stop.

Second, I don’t believe I’m finding an audience. WordPress has rather good statistical information and the stats don’t justify the time input. Almost none of the links I work so hard to provide are actually activated. This suggests that my audience whatever it is, enjoys something other than the stories I link to. This is supported by the comments, paltry as they are. Most are in reference to how much they like the pictures and the jokes. The material in between, where all the work is, are seldom remarked on, and if so, so generally that they indicate that there is very little real interest.

My intent was to foster a dialogue of ideas. I hoped people who read some of the links, would agree or not, and make comments, which others would in turn read and comment further on. Since that is not happening, it begs the question why I should continue in this vein.

Third, as I have stated before, the time element is killing me. I spend literally four to five hours a day in order to do this. Dial-up is simply a bitch. I could do the same thing in half the time with a faster speed, but I can’t force the phone company to do it for me obviously. They don’t choose to make that service available to me out here in the meadow. I have house work, cooking (which I love doing) crafts which I have virtually ignored, reading, gardening, and a host of other pursuits like any normal individual which I wish to do. I can’t do a lot of most of them, because I’m working most of a full work day on this blog. And the results simply don’t justify that.

I cannot at this point even read thoroughly a good deal of what I link you to. I simply don’t have the time. Now how stupid and insane is that? It impinges on my being able to visit other blogs and comment on them as I would like as well, it impinges on my participation in other internet things, searching for new sites that intrigue me for instance. I have not the time to even figure out how to upload my own pictures! Worst of all my spiritual life suffers because I don’t do the exploring that I find essential to a vibrant and upward moving faith.

So it’s all become crazy to me. And I end up coming off as complaining when people don’t comment and let me know that they are reading anything. Well, flat out they aren’t reading much it seems. And that is clearly not their fault. It is mine. I am not writing what others what to read, plain and simple. The answer to that problem is two-fold.

First I ask that those who find something they enjoy here, tell me what it is. If I agree that I enjoy it too, I’ll continue with that particular phase of things. Not the jokes however, that is just time wasted for me. The other side is that I am going to read things I want to read and if something motivates me, I’ll write a few paragraphs and post it. It won’t take me all day to do so, if you ignore it, well, it’s as they say no skin off my nose. I guess I’m trying to say, that my frustration level decreases by the amount of time I don’t spend doing this. I want to set down MY thoughts, and I can do that fairly quickly. I guess I am selfishly saying that this blog is for me. If it amuses you, gets you thinking, makes you fume and hit the comment button, fine. If it leaves you going ho-hum, so be that as well. I guess that sounds arrogant, but blogging is personal. I should not be trying to create something that you like, but more what I like doing. Nobody is paying me for this for God’s sake.

So that’s what you can expect in the days to come. I will probably continue the autobiography because it’s an interesting exercise for me. I love doing the Sunday Editorials, so I shall continue those. But otherwise you’ll be getting photos and essays on varied items of the news or other thoughts that surface in my mind.

To Pat and Deborah, I deeply appreciate your comments. Pat you go girl. You probably are deeper than I will ever be. Don’t for a second believe that your reading list is somehow not good enough. Wisdom can come from just about any place or anyone. Your words suggest you have assimilated a huge amount of it. Please blog, we all need to hear from you. Deborah, I cannot express how envious I am of you and your melding of a serious scientific profession with such talent as a jewelry designer. I would give a lot for either talent. Tell us more please of life in your country. We all could benefit greatly from learning about your culture.

See ya when I have something more to say! Knowing me, you can assume that it won’t be long!

Mohandas Gandhi, 1946 by Margaret Bourke-White. This is truly one of my most favorite images of Gandhi. The simplicity of life portrayed is something quite humbling to us all. So great a man, so humble a task. We can learn so much by his example. The pity is that we have not in large measure emulated his peaceful resistance to injustice.

It is shaping up as a lovely day. I went for my walk, and discovered on the way down the hill that the heavy rains have washed away so much sand that the utility cables are uncovered as they cross the lane. The Contrarian is now up there trying to rebury them, which I hate. I wish he would just hire someone to do it, and have the power cut off while doing so. It’s also something as Gilda would say.

I’ve got dough on the rise for making some bagels. They are quite simple really just a bit time consuming in dividing the dough and making the rings. They are one of the few breads that are simmered in water before baking. Strange to say the least by the process goes very fast and they bake up very quickly as well.

I’m making a skillet ziti today for dinner. We saw the recipe on Test Kitchen on PBS the other day. It’s fast and frankly better than the usual baked ziti which always ends up dry. The pasta just sucks up all the sauce no matter how well done the pasta is cooked ahead of time. In this recipe you cook the pasta in the sauce which you water down extensively, then add some cream, basil, parmesan, and then cover with shredded mozzerella and bake for about 15 minutes to melt the cheese.

I have to run to Center Point tomorrow and pick up a couple f things for the 4th. I forgot to get radishes which I need for the potato salad, and some nice big hamburger buns for the brisket. I’m really excited to taste that, and very happy that it is such a no work recipe. Just 12 hours in the oven at 250 and its ready for the barbecue sauce. I got out my recipe for Chocolate molten lava cakes and I’m set for that. It’s a very simple recipe as well. I’d love to hear what you are having for the fourth. LOL. My plea for the books that have changed your life went unrequited so, I have no illusions. I guess everyone is busy these days with no time for any comments. I know I struggle to find time myself to stop by everyone’s blog and leave a couple of comments each week. Things will no doubt improve again in the winter months.

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Congrats are in order to Deborah again at (Mis)Adventures of a Crafty Wifey. Seems she got her first wholesale order for her jewelry. See, she is making lovely things and making money while I obsess about being a good neighbor and commenting on blogs! LOL. I think I should be crafting. Drop by if you can and give her a shout.

I didn’t know anything about Julian the Apostate. He tried to reverse the Christianization of Rome in the 4th Century CE. He was obviously unsuccessful. He died in 363 CE on June 28th. Read more about his regressive individual at Ancient/Classical History Blog.

Sandi’s Crochet Blog never fails us. She has three posts all worth looking at. So, as I often do, I’ve linked to the main site and you can scroll at your leisure. I liked the drawstring crocheted bag that would be great for a picnic or the beach. She also has three very cute headbands. Any little girl or big one would love any of them.

We tend as youngsters to get a very romanticized notion of the colonization of this country. Some of us never get any updating of that basic information. That is sad, because it causes us as adults to assume things as fact and factor them into our thinking on other subjects. American Revolution Blog helps to disabuse us of some of those notions we learned as children in school. Reality is always better than fantasy when it comes to critical thinking about real problems. Do yourself a favor and read this post.

The bagels are done, and frankly I am not into blogging. I need a break and its just too much work for too little reward. I’ll be back whenever I feel like it. LOL.

Louis Faurer captured this image called “Bowing for the Collection, French Vogue” in 1973. These vaguely art deco images never fail to capture my attention. The elegance so reminiscent of the era is simply lovely, to me at least.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. It was somewhat chilly here, and overcast. We got some rain, but not enough to be bothered about. I made an apple pie which is being devoured by the Contrarian and myself. The chicken salad was wonderful Saturday and oh, that chipotle-cheese spread was utterly delicious on the burgers Friday. I put about two good tablespoons in the meatloaf mixture today. I slurried it down with a bit of worcheshire sauce and some of the meat juices so it would blend thoroughly. It’s in the fridge firming up for baking later today.

My walks have been lovely. I have a chair at the top of the hill so I can sit and admire the fields for a couple of minutes. I’m now up to 1/2 mile, and may be at the road for the full mile by the end of the week. It amazes me how quickly the body responds. I hardly breathe hard in less than a week climbing the hill. The first day, I had to stop half way to catch my breath. The Contrarian cut a nice sapling today and debarked it and trimmed it nicely. It’s now drying in the sun. It will make a fine walking stick for me. At my age, broken or sprained ankles are not desired. And the ground is quite uneven in places, and certainly any walk through the grasses is torturous, given the mole dens and whatnot.

The Contrarian is making the final weeding of the garden. Soon it will be my responsibility as he turns to wood. He desperately doesn’t want to get caught like we did last winter with snows too deep to get to the wood pile. What started out as a little tree trimming of a branch or two, finally ended in cutting down an entire tree a few yards from the house. The good news was that he quickly discovered that it was dying, so there was no real loss. Given we have hundreds of trees it was not a big deal, although the size of it still made me feel a pang of regret at its loss. It opens an amazing vista to the west that we never had before I will say.

Well, off to the news of the day

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I worked in the drug business for years. I represented drug dealers, users, and all the other alleged criminals whose crimes are connected in one way or another to the drug business. I can honestly say, that the “war” on drugs has been a failure. We merely make a dent in the business at best. It creates and fosters its own criminal enterprises. It is the root cause of many other crimes, especially property crimes, but also a lot of personal assault crimes. Drug rehabs work to the same degree that alcohol rehabs work, not at all until the person is totally motivated to change. Is it time to decriminalize the usage of drugs? Read this story from Alternet and see what you think.

John McCain thinks the surge is a roaring successand justifies everything he continues to claim about his take on war. What has all this 5 years meant to Iraqi citizens? Read Tom Engelhardt’s report today. He calls it an obscenity, and frankly I agree. I doubt many Iraqis feel the price has been worth it.

We saw Bill Moyers Journallast friday night, and this report was very informative. Barbara Boxer leads the fight for the cap and trade billin the senate. This is the Lieberman-Warner Bill that has garnered a great deal of support but of course is objected to by the oil interests. I think with some work, you can get to the full transcript of the show and see the ridiculous behavior of  the self-styled evangelical senator from Oklahoma, Inhofe, who treated Al Gore like some kid, in the senate hearings and had to be publically reminded that he was no longer the chairman. It’s a vitally important issue if our kids and their kids are expected to breathe in upcoming years.

Wes Clark has weighed in on John McCain and his “qualifications” to be president. Clark suggests that McBush never had any command responsibilities and thus his actual service is not really any kind of recommendation at all. This issue would not be one, were it not for the fact that McShame can’t stop telling us in funny or serious asides that he was a POW, every single chance he gets. Yes he was, yes he was brave. Enough already. Blue Girl Red Statebrings a fairly lengthy review of the McLiar’s claims alongside the real truth on this issue.

We reported that the technique of choice for Repubiboobs this years is going to be fear. Scare the beejesus out of everyone, and maybe they will vote for McBu$h. Got it? Well, seems that turncoat Lieberman is the ideal puppy to promote their new agenda. He claims that we are going to face a terrorist attack in 2009. Prescient? Wishful thinking? Joe is crude, rude and way out of line. This is all about Israel first, middle and last for him at least and he’s become the willing stooge for McMac for this reason. 

Of course Obama is using the perfect stategy against McBush. He is tying the aged behemoth to the idiot boy Prez, Bushie. Easy enough to do, since that is exactly what Mac is, another Bush, and more of a war monger than Georgie ever thought of being. The real puzzler is that the Senile Sensation has chosen to fight back by trying to relate Obama to Jimmy Carter. Read the Britannica Blog’s analysis of this strange policy and why it gets the old guy nowheresville.

A very interesting book on the GOP is out. Called Grand Old Partyand written by Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam, it suggests that polling of self-identified Republicans say that most are for most domestic programs favored by Democrats. The real problem is that the power Republicans don’t care about this agenda, being totally tied to big money, big business interests. Of course many of us have been scratching our heads at this for some time. How the elitists are able to confuse so many middle and working class people into doing their bidding when they have zero interests in their needs is phenomenally bizarre to say the least. Ezra Klein reports.

Reality hits us dead in the face once again, as we spend a day with Hussein in Baghdad on “vacation” for a week from his duties as a reporter. This is what life has become for Iraqis due to our lust for oil. After you have finished, check the link at the top to “sovereignty” and read how Iraqis feel about our behavior. We are so completely and totally out of tune with the culture of Iraq that we inevitably make more enemies than friends. Inside Iraq is aptly named as the writers there give us a truthful look at Iraq with each post.

Rep Steven King (R. IA) is a wingnut. Although it appears to be a serious article, Iowa Independentlays out the legislative genius we have here in the man. Did I say he’s a Repubicoot wingnut? Read of his brilliant legislative history in Congress and his patently pandering behavior regarding Sioux City and think seriously about whether you want to pay this do-nothing for another two years. Throw the bum out, I say. If you think I’m going a bit overboard read this little gem, wherein the doofus claims that a Democrat has incited a terrorist attack on our very own Dick (the oily man) Cheney’s chief aide. Too funny, and the man is a joke. Did I say wingnut? I must have.

I am quite proud to report that Senator Obama has come out against the gay marriage ban proposal on the California ballotcome this November. I was unsure how he would decide on this issue. I’m just simply one of those people that things everyone should be treated fairly and gay relationships deserve the same protections in the courts as other more “traditional” ones. Further. I leave it to God to decide the rest. I’m not going to presume I know His wishes on this. Governor Schwarzenegger also opposes the ban. The “Straight”talking McCain is of course on the wrong side of the issue, same as he was in his own home state of Arizona. He lost there too. MyDD has the story for you.

Spaceship taking off for the outer regions of your mind. Fair warning, we are entering the spooky world of the National Review, and your brains may be fried if unprotected! It seems, there is good reason why women make less then men.It’s the jobs we choose, and therefore we should not, as Mr. Obama does, support the important fair pay legislation now in Congress. It’s totally unfair to those employers who have discriminated against women employees and paid them less, because dang, if you can hide it longer than 180 days from your employee, you oughta win, and not have to pay them the same as the good old boys. Is it required to write for the NRO that you forget important facts, like the fact that the woman in question had to sue late because the employer purposefully hid it from her that similarly situated men got paid more? Is it required that you have no brain to write for NRO? These important questions will be on a test, so I’d suggest you study.

As Repubelitists tell us that we don’t need it, and it’s half way to communism if we do, 59 MILLION people in America last year avoided medical care because they could not afford it. Yes, 59 MILLION. That is up from 36 million just five years ago. This utterly tragic and senseless situation is unconscionable on its face. No amount of arguing that we need anything other than a total and complete overhaul of our health care system will do. No amount of nasty conservative, “most are too lazy to work and buy their own” diatribe can be tolerated. This is a national disgrace, one the rest of the world looks at in utter amazement and disgust. The NYTimes  has the story. And by the way, folks, this includes people with insurance, who are under insured.

Kevin Drum for the Washington Monthly, reports that “sob,sob” the neo-con machine of slash and burn the opponent seems quiet these days. They just can’t seem to work up the slathering enthusiasm for going after Obama. They can’t find a “swift boat” issue, and don’t want to waste all that money they sleep in every night for nothing. I’m sad too, so sad I may bake a cake. But I don’t count out the masters of sleaze. McPhool, proves again and again, that he likes to hire the very dirtiest of the tricksters as his new bosom buddies.

Wee doggies, some folks can get positively apoplectic on the subject of Johnny McCain and the mislabel of maverick. I mean, goodness, a whole post citing all his reprehensible flipping and flopping. I especially liked the one about the only congressman in history to actively campaign against two of his own pieces of legislation. Now that is down home flopping! It’s called Full Metal McCain, and to all of you out there who detest him as I do, a grand read, and plenty of ammo for your next political discussion with family and friends. Give ‘em hell.  As Drum says, whoa, sure glad I am not likely to get in the cross hairs of Matt Taibbi. And in the final analysis, it’s a damned fine read.

These stories just defy common sense. I know that oil and gas interests are against any concept of global warming. That would be self-evident. They care about profits, and the future, well hell, we all have to die. But how any human being can buy into that is beyond me. We are no longer in an if global warming is true, IT IS DAMN IT.  Now my life is going to be aggravated no doubt, but I’m  not going to outlive the real problems. Our kids are going to have to, and their kids may not survive at all. Seriously there was a time in my life when I wondered whether it was ethical to bring children into the world. And that was about Vietnam. That was nothing compared to this. This is planet killing. The stooge Inhofe from Oklahoma, is simply a shameful excuse for a human being hawking for the oil companies. If hell exists, God has a wonderful corner for him no doubt. The Salon has this very important story of how Congressional fronts for Oil and Gas are giving your children’s lives away.

I know I keep harping on Iraq and not being the security delight that Bush/McBush urge us to believe. And I think I am right. More evidence is produced at the Washington Independent. It seems that private security contractors (NOT Blackwater) don’t see any real change at all. Indicators are that violence measured in trajectory rather than in mere numbers suggest it is steadily on the rise. Read the report, look and the charts and decide for yourself. One can but hope that Obama who will be traveling there soon, will get the correct picture. McStupid by pushing Obama to Iraq may wish he hadn’t after all. The big lie is being exposed.

I just threw this one in for the joke factor. It has no chance of moving through Congress at all, and is the kind of thing that politicians do to look good on the homefront. But pulleeeeezzzzzz. There is a bill lately introduced that would (you know the drill) make marriage illegal but for a man and a woman. Okay. Big deal you say. Well, you gotta look at whose names are on the dang thing to get the joke. None other than (drum roll please) Larry (I have a wide stance) Craig, and David (oooh how much do you charge for an around the world?) Vitters! Two of our stalwart Republinuts who are hardly poster boys for Christian virtue. Read on when you stop laughing.

Okay, so you see there is this Baptist scholar. And well, he says, well, that women, get what they deserve. Yeah, violence against women is because dumb women don’t get it that men are the boss, and men get mad when women don’t get that men are the boss, and they sometimes hit things, and those things could be women, and that’s how women get hurt. They ask for it. Scholar of what may I ask? Much thanks for Think Progressfor this one. Oh by the by, this all started with Eve and her sin, which is now all women’s sin, that we can’t give in to our husband’s control. Wingnut biblical analysis like this is beyond absurd, it’s perverted. Follow the links within the article to get the full views of Bruce Ware brain dead though he is.

And on that squirrelly note, let’s call it a day!

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“The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action.” Frank Herbert

“The cloning of humans is on most of the lists of things to worry about from Science, along with behaviour control, genetic engineering, transplanted heads, computer poetry and the unrestrained growth of plastic flowers.” Lewis Thomas

“Efficiency is intelligent laziness.” Anonymous

“Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.’ And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.” Ronald Reagan

“About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.”  Herbert Hoover

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A Chinese investment fund manager paid $2.1 million to have lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett in the most expensive charity auction ever held on eBay. If he’s hoping for an investment tip, Buffett will probably tell him not to waste money bidding on stuff on eBay. Paul Seaburn

The Texas supreme court has ruled church exorcisms are constitutional. Such a religious ritural is a very complicated procedure. The devil is in the details. – Alan Ray, Stockton, Calif.

So President Bush has removed North Korea from the list of countries that support terrorism and has moved it to the list of countries we are gonna invade just for the fun of it.

When Bill Gates left Microsoft the other day, his staff gave him a gold watch from Switzerland in appreciation. And Gates was apparently so moved by the gesture he reciprocated by giving them Switzerland.
– Marc Ragovin, New York

According to a recent European study, rising temperatures due to climate change are forcing many plants to move to higher elevations to survive. Unfortunately for men, this doesn’t mean your chest and back hair will seek higher ground on your head. Paul Seaburn

The other day, On Faith, the section of the Washington Post  website that deals with matters of spirituality, asked the panel and its readers to comment on the book(s) that had had a significant impact on their lives. It got me to thinking.

I had often played the mind game of “if you could only have ten books for the rest of your life to read, what would they be?” Now I often fudged on this question, by including multi-volume works. Could one use Charles Dickens entire collection for instance, or the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica? But I often thought about it, and although I don’t think I ever decided all ten, it provided an interesting way to assess what books I thought were important in my life.

The On Faith  forum, by posing the question in a different way, raised an somewhat different way of examining my admitted love affair with books. And yes, I do love books. I don’t love them just for what they contain, but for what they represent. What do I mean by that you ask? You are asking aren’t you?

Books contain of course information that I wish to know. It may be frivolous information sometimes, if for instance it is a joke book. It may be the most important information I can possible conceive of if for instance it contains information about God. But a book is a whole lot more than just an information dispenser.

A book also represents something beyond what it actually contains. It represents our apparent inborn desire to express ourselves publically and for posterity. It suggests we often feel that what we think, is important for others to know of. We think, apparently that it is quite likely that others haven’t thought as we have and need to. We think, no doubt, that we have discovered some truth unknown. Like a mathematician who has discovered a new solution, we are sure that our take on whatever will change other’s lives in some way, significant or otherwise.

A book also represents our species attempt to codify the entire breathe of our acquired knowledge. Of course, a book, does so only as to a tiny piece of that entire wealth of knowledge. This was a troubling thought to me when I realized that some many years ago. There was a time when a man or woman could actually have in their own home, a fairly complete library of human thought expressed on paper (or papyrus). A person, with sufficient funds could acquire most everything committed to writing in his/her world as they knew it. They could afford to hire copyists if need be.

Even many generations later, it was still quite possible to learn most of the big ideas, the framework if you will of human learning. And it was quite possible to keep up on all that was added each year. There was a window, I am sure, when that was possible. It was perhaps a very small window, or perhaps it lasted fairly steady until the printing press. Then things started to get out of hand.  Suddenly there was a mechanical means to transport my ideas to you at an increasingly cheap price. You could respond with agreement or not by writing of your own.

Of course, as more and more people got the hang of this, it kind of exploded. And it’s been exploding ever since. Today every major university has it’s own publishing house I believe. Books that can’t acquire sufficient interest in the main publishing world find niche publishing nearly everywhere. And of course, self-publishing is now simple and fairly inexpensive. And of course, websites and blogging make it free and well what can be simpler?

It came as a sad conclusion on my part that I could not begin to read everything I wanted to even if I read nearly all day and night. I could not even make a dent in it any more. There are fifty times more books produced each year, or a hundred, or three thousand more than I can possible read. I find that incredibly sad. I want to at least read everything that I want. But I cannot. 

Books themselves still hold a place in my heart of deep awe. I can find no happier store on the planet than a bookstore. I could without effort spend hours just poking around. I used to recall in my college days that after a trip to the campus or off-campus bookstores, acquiring the list of books needed for the next semester’s classes, that I would sit on my bed and one by one, look at each in turn. Feeling the covers, admiring the paper, hearing that first crackle of the binding giving way a bit. I admit that sometimes I did this more than once before that first class.

I never did what some do, refuse to write in or underline. Books in the end are things to be used, not worshiped for themselves. I write freely, I love yellow highlighting, but I do feel a twinge at disturbing the specialness of some. It is always with some trepidation that I make my first mark in a new bible.  I feel nearly the same as to Shakespeare. The more expensive, the more beautifully bound and papered, the more I quiver at that first mark, and the more likely I am to be careful to do it unobtrusively with pencil.

I have bought and sold a lot of books over the years. That saddens me no end, and there is a part of me that wishes I could retain every single one I have ever had as some testimonial of who I am. For, truthfully, a saunter through anyone’s “library” should tell you a good deal about the person should it not? It would through mine for sure. It is testimony no doubt to my eclectic spirit. I wish I could learn all the things I’m interested in. I want to be a renaissance woman. I’m not sure that is possible any more, though I still hear a person called that from time to time.

I try hard to give books away, but to tell the truth, I’m pretty stingy about it. I just never know when I might want to look something up and it will be one I gave away. I remember a science fiction book I sold or gave away in a box of others. I would give a lot to find that book again. I can’t remember its name. It was an anthology, common in the genre. This one had a twist. The editor posed the question: “What would happen if Jesus returned in a way that was undeniably a fact?” A number of 5-10 authors wrote stories based on that premise. Oh how I would like to reread those stories.

I have mentioned that I’m an eclectic crafter. I can do a lot of things whether they be knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, beading, etc, decently, but I’m no expert. I cannot find only one perfect, something that I want to devote myself to for a lifetime to the exclusion of all else. I’ll never be a master quilter, though I certainly appreciate master quilters and envy their work.

I am also, I find an eclectic reader. A bookseller of a small town where I once lived,  once called me that. I had a collection that day of four books I was buying, a book on horses, a book on bonsai, a book on quilting, and book on Roman history, as I recall. “My, that is certainly an eclectic group of books to be purchasing,” she said. I mumbled, “yes, I have varied interests I guess.”

So I move in and out of areas of interest but never fail to remain a loyal fan of most, and thus, still try to keep up with the major outlines of a number of subjects. I read about Roman history, mostly during the time of the Caesars. I read about astronomy and paleontology as a means of I guess understanding my human origins. I buy and adore cookbooks, and examine every single recipe, marking those I intend to try. I love all kinds of crafting books, mostly for the inspiring photographs. I have made a couple of quilts, following the directions of a particular pattern I was taken with. I love gardening books, especially those with brilliant pictures of lovely vignettes that I too can create.

There was a time i read a huge amount of science fiction. I learned a lot about the power of fantasy and day dreaming, and still love movies and TV shows that focus on a world of tomorrow. For several years I read almost exclusively theology and biblical exegetical material. I still read a lot in this area, but not as much. I read perhaps a bit more “spiritual” work now. Recently I’ve read a lot of old French/English/Russian classical fiction. I’ve been surprised how much I learned of history in those endeavors. Read Don Quixote if you want to see just how dangerous was the atmosphere in the days of the Inquisition.

Getting back to the question of what books have influenced me the most? Oh I wish there was one that forever changed my life. None did, but they did shape my vision of who I am and who we are as human beings on this tiny dot of blue. Here is my list:

1. A book I have no title to. It was a child’s book and featured a picture I will never forget. The earth was molten grey with a bulging blob that continued to pull farther from itself like taffy. As the pictures progressed, the second blob popped off, and became our moon. It is not true of course as we know today, but I got me for the first time wondering about the universe.  Astronomy and astrophysics has been a life-long interest ever since. I watched nightly on PBS in my thirties as Voyager  went past Jupiter and Saturn as the guys and gals at JPL went nutty with happiness, describing all the new “finds.”
2. Broca’s Brain, by Carl Sagan. A spectacular tour de force, by someone entitled to be called a renaissance man. He ignited not only a resurgence in my love of astronomy though his Cosmos series on PBS, but also with this book which started me on a quest to understand evolution. I went from there to learn of the Leakeys and their work in Africa and Don Johnson and his find “Lucy” in I believe Turkey.
3. Mila 18, by Leon Uris. Reading tomes about war is hardly a good way to understand war. Julius Caesar did that in his Commentaries. Uris shows us the human condition of what it was like to be a Jew in Warsaw. How it was like to live and die. How it was like to be hunted. How normal people can do abnormal things when faced with death. The tenacity of the human will to live is examined in excruciating detail. I understand how they manage in Darfur, Baghdad, and other regions of unspeakable horror much better than I would have otherwise.
4. The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer. There is a good reason this book won the Pulitzer Prize. It takes any notion that war is romantic for the soldier and shreds it. It is hot, buggy, bloody, sweaty, frightening, and just evil. There is no glory, no honor. There is pain, suffering, and death. War is truly hell.
5. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. What greed and wealth can do to people. How good people are beaten by nature and their fellow men and women. How we can ignore and devalue the worth of the poor. How we can define them as “other.” But also how  we can find utterly beautiful humanity among and between us when we have utterly nothing but ourselves left to give. We see the best and worst of what we are capable of.
6. The Bible. To be fair, reading this the first time, I was simply appalled by the incongruities and horror of a wrathful God who “ordered” the destruction of entire towns, including what can only be conceived of as innocents. Studying the bible was an entirely different thing, and taught me true love, compassion, brotherhood, forgiveness, and a host of other values. It’s an ongoing love affair. I will never stop studying it.
7. The Science of Mind, by Ernest Holmes. This gentle man studied the world’s great religions and came up with his own version of God that was a huge breakthrough for me. Page after page, I read his analysis of the bible and other great books and said, yes, yes, yes. That is exactly what I was wondering, that is what I couldn’t reconcile. I found more love and peace in God and Jesus from Mr. Holmes than in a host of other Christian spiritual books. His New Thought philosophy endures to this day. I expanded to a entire new group of similar writers such as Deepak Chopra’s How to Know God, Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now, Rumi, Gustavo Gutierrez, On Job, Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ. This list could go on to include Augustine’s “Confessions,” and St. Theresa of Avila’s Interior Castles. This is in no way an exhaustive list. It is but a start to the journey Mr. Holmes started me on.
8. The Complete Works of Shakespeare.  I learned the beauty of language, quite plain and simple. Never did anyone write with such utter controlled perfection. He has no doubt been the singular influence on writing in all of history.

I could go on with this list for days I suspect. Another great book is just around the corner. A mere walk through my bookcases turns up another and another. Who can not put Dickens on the list for instance? Who can ignore Thoreau? Emerson?  The Federalist Papers? All and so many more have impacted and shaped my life in various ways. All help define who I am today. That is the key here. Who I am today. For, I shall not be tomorrow what I am today. For I shall have read something new, and it will imperceptibly have changed me, or magnificently changed me as the case may be. How exciting is that?

I know I am asking a lot, comments have declined to a trickle once again. But I would very much like to know you, something of what makes you who you are. Please share with me your list of important books. Take a trip through you mind and reclaim what changed you, shaped you and made you who you are today. We’d all be pleased to know you better! It’s just what I’ve been thinking about today.

Christopher Walken at his residence, 1989 by Michael Tighe. I just find Mr. Walken one of the most interesting faces. His career has been nothing short of eclectic, he is amusing in an interview, but somehow is changeless over the decades. I just always find him fascinating. Some of the movies he does are way too scary for me, others are a pure delight. He never seems to seek the limelight, just turns in a journeyman’s performance always.  A true actor.

Wow, another week is ending. I am always surprised at how fast they go by. One of the true painful ironies of aging. It should be just the opposite don’t you think? We got about 3/4 of an inch of rain in a fairly lively storm this morning. It sure woke me up with its mighty thunder crashes. A river is running again, which just goes to show that the ground is still fairly saturated not far beneath the surface.

Hamburgers, home fries, and coleslaw on the menu for today. I made that chipotle-cheese spread. It is pretty strong, and it’s refrigerating and hopefully tightening up. I think I won’t put it on the burgers in the pan, but just put it on the table as a condiment. It has a heat that needs to be individually regulated by amount I think. I also pureed it rather than leaving it chunky. The idea of biting into pieces of roasted chipotle peppers didn’t seem quite appetizing to me. I think its pretty hot, and I definitely don’t like things too hot. I love jalepenos and of course chipotles are simply fire roasted jalepenos. Why they change the name I don’t know but it’s common with other hot peppers as well. I think Aneheims become Anchos when dried. In any case, I’ll tell you how it went if I remember next week.

Let’s see how the week is ending. I sure have been ranting to the Contrarian a lot the last day or so. Anger at the SCOTUS gun decision, and a number of other things. Such government waste I see everywhere, and so much of it caused by tying unrelated items to legislation that people want. So we fund crap because a no vote kills a wonderful bill. I think it’s much worse than it used to be. Virtually no bill gets through now without tons of unrelated amendments which line somebody’s pockets at the expense of the taxpayer. The entire government seems to need a overhaul and I haven’t a clue how it will be done unless we as the electorate simply won’t take no for an answer and start voting them out until they do our bidding. But then again, there are so many doltish voters I’m not sure I trust them either. LOL. Where is Plato/Aristotle and the Philosopher King????? That’s what we need, and I’m nominating myself!

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I thought you might like to know about a few books that are just out and recommended good reading.  They are: The Real McCain,by Cliff Schecter, The Big Sort, by Bill Bishop, and Bad Samaritans,by Ha-Joon Chang. Read the analysis of each by David Sirota, at Alternet today. I’ll see if I can pick up a copy or two for review for you.

If some one you love suffers fromPTSD, then there seems to be a lot being done lately to alleviate this viscous affliction. Ecstasy, unbelievably seems to work for those severely afflicted. Many long time sufferers, like from Vietnam, have long learned coping mechanisms to deal with it. The Contrarian has, and he does quite well, however, we have the option to live in the most favorable situation for him too. Take a look at this report that originates from the Times of London.

I am definitely not pleased with Senator Abama’s stance on child rapists and the death penalty. He is for it, I am unalterably against the death penalty period. I find it beneath an civilization that proports to call itself civilized. It says to everyone, we give up on solving this problem, we will just do away with such people. I believe that life is God-given, and while I in the case of individuals defer to everyone’s right to act otherwise over their own bodies, I draw a line when I, as a citizen, am forced to be a player in the action of murdering another human being. That said, at least it is clear that Mr. Obama’s position is NOT one that he has adopted as politically expedient, but one he has held for some time. Ezra Kleinbrings us the story about the origination of Obama’s stance.

Inside Iraq reveals to us Americans the names that Baghdad has had over the millennia. I would have to say, that the last two are ones we are responsible for. Still, a little history is good eh? We sometimes forget the incredibly rich history that is the junction of the Tigris-Euphrates, otherwise known as the Fertile Crescent.

Chris at Inside-Out the Beltway, tells a tale I suspect many in the blogging world would agree with. Many of us feel terribly uheard. We don’t seem to matter. (As always folks, I am the smallest of the small “we’s here.). Chris notes that although the blogosphere, the liberal vein at least, has been unalterably apposed to the “compromise” FISA bill, our candidate, Mr. Obama has virtually ignored us. (Good news is, that last I heard,  Obama has changed his mind!!) Still the analysis is worth your reading, since it is not directed singly at Mr. Obama.

McCain must be sad to note that only 38% of his own state at this point claims it will vote for him. Obama is only ten points behind. Wouldn’t that be a hoot if Obama beat the old man in his own state? Worse yet for the old battleship, polling in Alaska, long a red state, shows that Obama is only 4 points behindand he is claiming that he intends to campaign hard there. McBu$h it seems has no plans to even open a campaign office there. I bet those plans will change. Deplete his resources! Stories from MyDD.

Somewhere in a cave, deep deep under Arkansas, prevented from seeing or reading any news for low unto 200 years, Patrick Michaels scratches an essay on rock with a stone. His continuous mantra is “There is no such thing as global warming. It’s all a big lie perpetrated by liberals.”The reason why numbnuts like Michael’s apparently dispute global warming is that it makes his friends the oil and gas folks queasy, thinking about cutting emissions, turning away from fossil fuels and the like. But dude, even if this horrible changing that WE ALL CAN SEE is merely cyclical, the consequences are still undeniably bad right? And if natural does that mean we are morally prevented from trying to ameliorate the consequences? Wake up MORON.You have now left the twilight zone (National Review). We return you to regular programming. By the way, Hansen is a highly respected climatologist.

I hate guns, just so you know. I spent nearly twenty years defending those accused of crime, most with guns. I can’t tell you the times some kid, 18, 19 years old, sobbed in a jail cell, “It just went off.” Whether it did or not, is not the point, the gun gives you that immediacy of reaction to any perceived slight that cannot be retracted though you have already changed your mind a split second later. All this in the hands of a kid, who brain has not yet grown to a degree where he can rightly assess the consequences of his actions nor temper his impulses. It isn’t even so much that I object to the right of a person to defend their home, although handguns are by far the worse choice. A 410 shotgun for the uninitiated user is more likely to stop the intruder than a handgun which more often than not won’t hit the target. It ’s the idea that that the gun lobby continues to fight every dang restriction on checking backgrounds and such, using the stupid slippery slope argument. Now that that is put to rest by the decision by SCOTUS yesterday, well you might think they would back off. They have not. So the slippery slope was just a ruse. It’s all about acquiring more money by selling more guns, no matter whose hands they get into. Always has been always will be.

Did we err miss something? Didn’t we make it clear enough? Do we have to spell it out again? We voted you suckers into office (Dem majority in Congress) to help put a stop to this filthy war of choice. When are you going to do it? Reuter’s reports that Congress has passed new funding for the Iraqi/Afghanistan wars, with no attempt to tie the funds to any timetable. Did you think we wouldn’t hear? Oh yeah I forgot, it was tied to other issues like the GI bill and other good stuff. Okay, so if you have the majority, why do you keep allowing bad crap to be attached to good stuff? We have now poured some 800 BILLION dollars down that cesspool of a war.

The McDummy is campaigning real hard in Iowa claiming he has “broke with the President” on climate change. Has he really? Naw, that much was quite evident when he nearly tripped himself backtracking on his “no drilling in off shore to, let’s drill off shore.” It all sounds strangely suspicious to the type of stuff that (shudder) Cheney and his band of elfin energy exciters have always wanted. Soooooo, it seems the MacEnergyman is just more of the same old, ”GIVE THEM OILMEN WHAT THEY WANT,” group. Nuf said?  

Oh let the lying begin. Those proponents of torture, you know, they guys who formulated the policy for the Bush brigades at the White House are busily trying to obfuscate, duck and dive as they  play with words in attempts to tell the Congress nothing. Addington and Yoo can get Oscars for their performances in non-speak. The Washington Independent has the story.

Proving once again that it is dangerous to pretend to have a brain, Sean Hannity the finger-waving ditz at Foxy,had normal people rolling in the aisles once again. First he touts the new Bush rapprochement with North Korea as a “clear foreign policy victory.” OOOPPPPSSSSSS. John Bolton, equally without brain matter quickly said the victory was North Korea’s. In less than 30 seconds, dear Sean (If I only had a brain) was exclaiming that he was perplexed by Bush’s naivete’. “What happened to trust but verify?” he ponders. What happened to checking to see a person doesn’t have marbles rattling around in his head before you hire him to be a political commentator FOX? Too too funny folks. Oh thanks Think Progress for the belly laugh. I needed that!

Are we flipping or flopping Mr. McBu$h? It seems that Mac don’t even wanna discuss the possibility of impeaching Bushie, saying it just is not a good thing in general. But, but Johnny my boy, you sure did vote to impeach Bill Clinton? Remember or having an Alzheimer’s moment again?

A couple of good posts by Urantian Sojourn today. One is deeply thoughtful and says it better than I could. James Dobson has said some very unkind things about Obama, all from his own personal interpretation of the Bible. It would be helpful if Mr. Dobson remembered that. Saitia reminds us all. And in a humorous aside, Propagandee reports that Bush is about to have a new building in San Francisco named after him. Flushed with successheh? Good one.

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“When I was born I was so surprised I didn’t talk for a year and a half.” Gracie Allen

“Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.” H.L. Mencken

“If the human mind was simple enough to understand, we’d be too simple to understand it.”  Emerson Pugh

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” Galileo Galilei

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Big ruling coming out of the Supreme Court now: they have ruled individuals have the right to carry guns. Oh my God, yeah, but now listen, seriously, don’t think you can just go into a gun store and buy a gun. No, no, no, no, no, there is still a strict 15-minute waiting period. David Letterman

The Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns and ruled that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting. When he heard the news, George Carlin was given a warning for using the seven words you can’t say in heaven. Paul Seaburn

In San Francisco, they may rename one of the city’s largest sewage works the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. What an insult. Sewage plants are in the business of cleaning up messes. – Janice Hough, Palo Alto, Calif.

How about John McCain? Who would vote for John McCain? I don’t know if you know this, but John McCain now, he’s got a bandage on his head. Did you see that, John McCain? The poor guy, got a bandage on his head. Here’s what happened: apparently, he tried to answer the iron. David Letterman

Hey, there was an interesting study released today which says that people who live here in the state of California are less convinced that there is a God than the people of any other state in the country. On an unrelated note, more than 800 wildfires here in California are currently burning out of control. Jimmy Kimmel

These haunting eyes are of  a Nova-Walpi, North American Indian. I sadly don’t know if Nova-Walpi is a tribe or Nova is his name. Such things didn’t seem important enough to record I guess. The picture was taken by Edward Sheriff Curtis in 1904.

One  can but guess at his thoughts, a whole different life and wayy of seeing the world are hidden from us, but we are called  inward and can somehow feel him through his penetrating eyes.

Oh a busy day, in fact, they are all busy at this point, trying to catch up for long days spent inactive while the rains continued. Now we are a buzz with busyness. The garden seems okay, but as i said, much may be so stressed that it will simply put on a quick flourish to set some seeds and then die. Nothing to do but wait and hope for the best.

I did my cleaning today and then went for my walk, something I started yesterday. Trudging up the hill is hard, so I don’t go far yet. It’s a half mile to the road, and i went at best 2/5 of a mile. Not far. At one time I walked sometimes six miles, though four was more normal. I’ll extend the distance next week. Bear went along with me, going into the corn fields to take a pee. Not very nice of him. I am as always enchanted by what I see, the lovely green fields, the sounds of so many birds, the tracks of so many animals.

A buck must have walked down the lane, since I saw a very large track today. No doubt following what was obviously a doe and her fawn. The cute little tracks of the baby, no doubt fascinated by all he or she saw. A coon also passed by, and a pheasant for sure. The coyotes have stayed away of late. We also think that a big cat is about though we only saw him once. He was running across the field to the north, and had that tale so like a cat, long and kind of swaying. It was definitely not a coyote. Such tales are always around, but nobody has every killed or found one dead, so it always remains mystery.

I made meatballs and sauce for spaghetti today. I had made foccacia a couple of weeks ago, and I got the leftovers into the freezer for just such a meal as this. I don’t think I’ll bother with a salad. Plenty to eat without it, and we had one a couple of days ago. I did the Cilantro Chicken from last weeks blog recipes. It really was good. Plenty of leftover chicken breast and that will make a nice chicken salad for Saturday. Tomorrow is hamburgers with some of that chipotle-cheese sauce that I also featured last week or the week before.

We watched something on the news that caught us up. Dogs and cats who have been given up due to floods or losing homes in the mortgage foreclosure disaster. We’ve decided to take in a new dog, and later I’m going to try to locate where to go here in Iowa. It just broke my heart, so many of the little guys in shelters not understanding what has happened to their world. Our two dogs are 9 and 11 respectively, so it’s a good time to transition we thought. We love them so much, and nothing can replace them, but we have room for more, and can’t stand to see so many lost when we can offer them a good home and safety.

Boy, I’m yacky. Better get on to see if anything new is out there in internet land.

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101 Cookbooks has some tips on making pizza on the grill. Although her ingredients are a bit foofoo for my more pedestrian tastes as far as pizza goes, the tips are still valid of course. If you are thinking of trying this, and it does sound fun, then give it a look.

If scones are something you would like to try, then skip over to A Mingling of Tastes and find her recipe for Oat Scones with Dried Cherries and Walnuts. They are easy to make and serve as a nice alternative to the usual muffins or toast. A bonus, there are two other muffin recipes that lead into the scone one, so you get three great recipes! 

Since the 4th is on the way, I thought I might give you my potato salad recipe. I have only found one other that matched it. But I realize that potato salad  is one of those things that people tend to like the way mom made it. Here goes, and these are estimates on ingredients, I don’t measure a thing.

Sherry’s Awesome Potato Salad

Potatoes, 5-6 medium large or equivalent of waxy potatoes like Yukon
An equal number of eggs hard boiled. 6 if using Idaho potatoes
scallions, about 6, tops and green parts sliced thin
radishes, about 8, chunked so they will hold up for a few days
sour dill pickles, about 2 medium finely diced
about 1/3 cup of green olives, diced
dressing:
mayo, a good cup
dijohn mustard, and yellow mustard, about 3 TBSP's in all
salt, pepper,
celery seeds
a bit of juice from the dill pickles or olives 1/4 c. or so
mix it all together, decorate if you desire with fresh chives,
parsley, and some like sweet pepper slices. That's it.
Adjust anything to the tanginess you like. It's the dill pickles
that make the difference here.

ALemon Glazed Bundt Cake might be just the thing for that 4th of July celebration. If so, Chocolate and has a nice recipe for you. I think I’m going for gooey Molten Lava cakes myself, but I love lemon desserts a lot and this will be on my radar for later this summer.

Garrison Keillor graces us again with his wit. Today he counsels that Barack Obama could learn a thing or two from Jesse Ventura. Do say? Always fun and a nice change of pace from our favorite pundit on life!

One of the things that keeps history interesting, is that there are so many different ways to approach it. It is surely true that history is written by and large by the victors, but today, with so many more tools of examination, historians can look at it from a number of different ways and pull out the threads of unknown facts drawing a clearer and very different interpretation. One way is to examine history from the point of view of colonialism. Read more at History News Network.

Another of those great science things. Archaeologists who look for bones, have uncovered the earliest known 4 legged animal scull. They expect that this will help them understand that important transition between fish and those creatures that first walked on the earth. I don’t know about you, but this stuff always fascinates me. I feel like I’m taking a walk along my family tree. It lived 365 million years ago, and lived in water. They think it looked a bit like an alligator but with fins. Cool eh? Thanks to Live Science for the story.

If you are a baby boomer as I am, this next one also from Live Science may be of interest. Are you blue, and prone to being in the dumps a lot? Seems there is a good reason for that. Boomers, says the Pew Report, are just not very enthusiastic about the future. Looking around the economy, and the world, I can see why. Sigh, boy this bums me out!

On Faith has a compelling question: What book has made a difference in your life? I mean, where do I start? It seems every ten years or so, I would revise the list. Most everyone would agree that the bible or your choice of religious book qualifies. But oh the other possibilities are endless. Mailer’s the Naked and the Dead made an impact on me on the subject of war that I have never forgotten. I think I see a separate post for this. How bout we look at the subject Sunday?

The Scythians were horsemen in Central Asia. A very well preserved body of a Cavalier was found in 2006. Much has been learned about the gentleman since then. He died some 2,300 years ago. An amazing amount is known about him and his life through the use of modern forensic tools. Read this interesting account at Rogueclassicism.

Scientists did not believe it possible. They were wrong. It seems volcanoes are busily blowing their cool, errr, hot in very deep waters in the Arctic Ocean. The great pressures and weight of the water were thought to prevent this occurrence. Not so, not so. Read more at Science Daily.

New news for dieters! If you want to lose weight, stop thinking about dying for crying out loud. And the thoughts don’t have to be directly about yourself. Watching death related material such as crime shows, and the awful news, also contribute. We get the munchies it seems. Wow, somebody will be writing a book about this. “Diet with Laurel and Hardy,” coming to a bookstore near you!

Truly, nothing says summer better than corn salad. You can make this in any number of ways, as long as you start with grilled or seared corn kernels. Then add whatever fresh veggies, (also grilled) and do the dressing and boy you have got a great accompaniment to just about any summer dinner. I’m adding it to my July 4th day menu I do believe. So far that makes the  Texas Brisket barbecue, potato salad, pea salad, and corn salad, and the molten chocolate lava cakes. Simply Recipes has the wonderful recipe.

I just love these copycat recipes. The Secret Recipe Blog today gives us the wonderful  Macaroni Grill’s “Penne Rustica.” This recipe should probably be cut in half for the normal family. I can’t even begin to think about a sauce that requires 8 cups of cream!

Oh I found a recipe that is well, time consuming and a tad expensive to make, but I think it worthy of your attention. Tuscan CoffeeCake Bread. I mean is this made for Sunday on a lazy hot day or what? The wonders of dried fruits and warm fresh bread, with butter melting. Oh, I may get the vapors just thinking of it. I have to get some of the dried fruit, but I am definitely making this recipe. The Sour Dough is to be thanked for this gem of a bread.

The Village Shop Blog shows off some of her work that is going in a new shop as “samples” of what a person can do. I’ve never been asked to do this, and with good reason! I think they are simply lovely and so very encouraging to me as a sometime quilter.

Tip Junkie has a host of tips. They go from fun and funky craft ideas to recycling ideas. The recycling craze is really catching on as more folks realize that with prices increasing everywhere on everything, a premium is now placed on getting the full usage possible out of everything. You can find some good stuff here.

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How about some Murphy’s Laws:

Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view.

Two wrongs are only the beginning.

If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then..

If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.

It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.

Trust everybody … then cut the cards.

All the good ones are taken.
If the person isn’t taken, there’s a reason

Money can’t buy love, but it sure gets you a great bargaining position.

Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.

Friendly fire ain’t.

Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.

Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch to be sure.