Let It Be A New Day

Tags

911, Alvaro Uribe, Asteroids, astronomy, Cedar Rapids, Columbia, Detroit, Facebook, Flint, fundamentalism, Georgetown, GOP, Iowa, Islamic faith, journalism, Muslims, Qur'an, religion, right wing, tea party, tolerance, urban renewal, voters

Praise be to whatever Goodness speaks in your heart this day! In response to hatred, there is love being expressed, tolerance overflowing and men and women of good will gather in friendship.

A couple of important notices:

First, for those living near the environs of Cedar Rapids, IA, please take note that an interfaith “Day of Remembrance, Unity and Respect” is scheduled for 9/11 at 1-2:30 pm at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids, 2999 1st Ave NW, Cedar Rapids, IA. Members of the Islamic faith, Judaic faith, and Christian faith will gather for a few words and prayer. Please come if you can to show your support for tolerance, and unity in recall of our time of tragedy.

If you cannot attend, please consider this Facebook call for unity and tolerance. Dr. James McGrath has created a FB page called, “read the Qur’an day.” Please go and sign up. We cannot remain silent in the face of the hatred being expressed by a tiny minority. We must speak out. We are a nation of immigrants. Tolerance is what defines us.

I caught this over at National Catholic Reporter. Fr. John Dear, SJ, has written a post on the sad but true fact that what can only be described as dictator, Columbia’s former president, Alvaro Uribe, has accepted a teaching position at Georgetown University. Fr. Dear has a good history of both Uribe and Georgetown’s questionable dealings with the American war machine in the past. This is truly sad to hear. I certainly don’t deny that Uribe has a right speak his piece about whatever, but I surely think there were better choices for teaching our youth than one who has had such a close connection to warlords and other murdering types.

I was born in Flint Michigan and lived a considerable number of years in Detroit, so I know of what I speak. Both are ugly decrepit cities and nothing much can save them I suspect. Both largely grew to magnificence (or some semblance of that) through the age of the Automobile, now both rust away as the heyday of automotive power wanes.  The Boston Globe has an interesting article on how these declining cities deal with this. How to downsize? (Note: recently Detroit decided to go forward with wholesale demolition of old neighborhoods long abandoned–thousands of homes are involved so I understand) A truly innovative look at a problem.

To those of us who pay attention, the Teapartiers have always been an anomaly. A conglomeration of mostly uninformed folk, who rant about “our freedoms” while having little or no clear thinking about what the Constitution says or means. Ironically they are often “for” things that are in-opposite to long-standing constitutional norms. In essence, they are often willing to eviscerate the Constitution in the name of upholding it. DeWayne Wickham at USAToday has a great article about the new KnowNothing Party.

Oh and before I forget, let my say this: This refusal of most of the “high-ranking GOP leadership (read Palin, Boehner, Gingrich et al) to condemn the Qur’an burning is disgusting and amounts to an endorsement. They are willing to allow their hate spewing followers to believe they favor it rather than have the guts to stand up for what is right. So much for ethics. But then who ever assumed they had any?

And we see that John Sidney McCain is criticizing the President for allowing the tax cuts for the rich to expire. Oh but, darn, McCain voted against them when Bush proposed them? How to reconcile this old fart? Just another one of your vengeful acts isn’t it John? You hated Bush for beating you, and you hate Obama for beating you. You need to go sit in your chair and muse about the dust bunnies in the wind.

If I hasn’t come to you yet, it will. Which came first: the insipid vapid (id words you see) moronic lack of intellect of the average American, thus requiring constant feeding of irrelevant nonsense, OR the increasing laziness of the journalistic working man and woman, who has traded actual journalistic skill for a few tips from Entertainment Nightly. Huh? Well, D-Cap tackles this one.

Christian Beyer is a fine writer and thinker and knows fundamentalist Christianity from the inside. See his blog entry today: It’s time for Christians to declare jihad against Fundamentalism. Just an excellent read.

Sad to say, but perfectly predictable, the right-wing and GOP are using the upcoming 9/11 date to raise money and spread hate. They have been doing it for years, and plan to continue it seems.

Ya know there is just plenty of crap to worry about. I worry a lot about that seething mega volcano just waiting to erupt in Yellowstone. That will take most all of us out. I worry about the state of our magnetic field, without which we will all be toast in days. Well, now I gotta worry about asteroids again! I thought we had that one all taken care of with an array of telescopes all searching for any misdirected balls of iron. (Jupiter with its super-massive gravity well is largely to blame–just so you know where to direct your ire.) Turns out NASA which runs this safety program is RUNNING OUT OF MONEY.

So I figure, we should perhaps set up a citizens brigade or something. You can leave your name and number and the night you would like to take your watch. Don’t push. Sharp eyes and a pair of field binoculars are required.

What’s on the stove: chili today. Oh I know it’s early, but I was hungry for some, and I made it really good and hot, and with some fresh corn bread. HA!

Related Articles

• Islamophobia After 9/11: Enough, Already (beliefnet.com)

Exploring the Known Unknown

Tags

anti-matter, Asteroids, astronomy, atheists, brain science, conversation, Earth, happiness, Mars, moods, physics, psychology, quarks, science, sub-atomic particles, trust, water

From time to time, it occurs to me that I have been derelict in my duty to you in bringing you the latest in scientific discovery. No doubt, you depend on me for this, and so I’ve been shopping the blogs for the best and most useful bits of mystical magical info found around the Internets. (It’s the tubes you remember, a highway where kazillions of bytes are swirling through a vacuum induced plumbing maze.)

So, get pen and paper ready to jot down these factoid particles so that you can wow them at the next office lunch.

***

It’s a case of the more you look the more you find. And I’m not sure this is any longer a good idea. It seems that with newer techniques, more and more asteroids are being found around the Earth.

This cannot be a good thing, for no one wants one of those darned things to run into us. And plenty of that has occurred in the past, and present as well, if you believe all those made for TV movies such as Attack of the Killer Asteroids.

Frankly knowing this is about as comforting as knowing that Yellowstone sits atop one of the hugest volcanic calderas known to man, or alien probably for that matter. One day, that baby is gonna blow, and well, won’t we all wish we lived in Hawaii then? So sweet dreams with this piece of juicy news.

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Once upon a time, we wondered if there was water on Mars. Now it seems we can’t stop finding it. Once thought to be confined to the polar regions, it seems the dang stuff is just everywhere now. Most if not all in icy glacial type configurations.

I recall that just last week, I heard that they were now thinking that there was actually water, again in frozen form, on the moon. I’ve become rather suspicious.

After all, WE have been to both places. In the case of the moon, we have been there quite literally, tramping around on foot and by vehicle (emissions control? did we have any?), and in the case of Mars, via little rover landers.

So, given that we have nearly trashed this planet, no doubt we have induced climate change on both the moon and Mars as well. And that’s a fine how do you do isn’t it? I imagine God might be a tad ticked at us.

***

Heads up liars and cheats, another tool in the old arsenal is not working. You thought that getting me in a good mood would make me susceptible to trusting you? WRONG!

So say scientists anyway. It seems that our predisposition to trust or not is only enhanced by being in a good mood. It doesn’t make us more likely to trust the likes of low down scoundrels who are out to take us to the cleaners.

Another plus for the good guys. As to who thought up this wonderfully quirky experiment,  I have no clue. But do continue to ply me with free lunches, free booze, and well, anything free in an attempt to woe me to your side. I’ll be happy to accept your largess if I still refuse to give you my life savings.

***

Speaking of happiness and all, this just in. It may be time to cancel the cocktail parties and other water cooler type conversations. You know the ones I mean. Hanging over the partition between your cubicle and your office mates. Chatting about the weather, the football pool, and the chances of nuclear fusion as a good energy source. Okay, maybe that last one goes in the other column.

Anyhoo, again the ubiquitous science community has determined for your social pleasure, that people are much happier the more they engage in real deep conversation rather than the polite meaningless drivel we mostly engage in most of the time. Who would guessed? I mean are these folks geniuses or what?

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I suspect I need say little more, since the diagram at left pretty much is self-explanatory.

But in case you are even slightly confused, physicists want you to know that they are busy creating new stuff, most of it of the anti-matter sort. Somehow, it’s not dangerous, or so they say.

What you see here is an anti-nucleus, containing an anti-proton, an anti-neutron, an anti-Lamda particle, as well as what you can clearly guess on your own, an anti-strange quark. Said, anti thingie was present at the Big Bang, when God (okay, maybe not, but maybe) wiggled his finger and thought, “A universe, now that would be nice. Start cooking up while I baste the turkey.”

As you undoubtedly already see, this discovery opens up unprecedented ideas about, well, particles, and asymmetries. You understand, I’m sure. The strangeness value  means that non-zero errr, strangeness exists at the core of collapsed stars. Go and check any collapsed stars you have stored in the freezer and see if I’m not right.

***

Where do atheists come from? I was pulling for the Isle of Man or the Northern Hebrides, but alas, no actual location was given.

Another of those wonderful question and answer things, wherein conclusions are that the better educated and more IQ’ey among us are more likely to disdain the idea of a God, and opt for idolatry of the human as the highest form of intelligence.

Before all you non-believers start patting each other on the backsides and high fivin’ and all, listen up. I’ve read elsewhere that most “scholars” are not impressed with the self-reporting analysis much.  In fact, a close look at the numbers suggest that the highest educated seem a bit more believing than the undergrad types.

What is of perhaps more interest is what constitutes the atheist mind? That answer is not yet forth coming. I’m of the opinion that its a little too much puppy dog tails and horseradish myself, but so far the jury is out. Other contenders are too much fish sticks for lunch during the formative years of six through twelve, or exposure to too many episodes of  the Honeymooners.

Happy Weekend to ya!

Are YOU Listening?

Tags

Asteroids, baseball, Breads, Breakfast rolls, Bush, chicken, chocolate, church/state, Civil War, Condiments, Constitution, Coolidge, Crafts, Desserts, eclipses, economy, Election 2008, environment, Father's Day, foreign policy, fruit, fundamentalism, Gardening, gay rights, greed, Iowa, lobbyists, Media, medicine, morality, pie, potpourri, quilting, SCOTUS, sin, witchcraft, Women's history, world history

After having done the laundry room yesterday, I can sure say I’m glad that I don’t have to do my washing outdoors like these women. This is listed as women washing from North Dakota 1900-1910 from the Fred Hultstrand Photo collection, located at the Library of Congress.

Did I tell you I’m totally blessed with a wonderful husband? The Contrarian has graciously taken on the task of some housework and cooking today as my digestive issues returned with a fury last night. It’s the most confounding disease, and you can never peg how long it will last and how severe it will be. The last time, hardly a week ago, was a cake-walk. This morning I awoke feeling beaten to a pulp and I’m still belching up a storm. Sorry for being so graphic. I’m just tired mostly and so this is the perfect place for me; a long session traveling the internet in search of the stories you can’t live without. So let’s get to it.

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101 Cookbooks has a most interesting dessert recipe made with cream cheese and tofu and chocolate. It sounds a bit weird but Heidi promises that it’s a real taste sensation. It’s called Heavenly Pie. Drop by and take a look and see what you think. She changed up some of the ingredients and I suspect you can do the same.

I think sweets are on my mind today. Abby Sweets has a delicious sounding recipe for  Pecan Honey Sticky Buns that I think might peak your interest. It sure did mine. This is the perfect brunch item for those lazy Sunday mornings, lolling on the terrace with coffee and the paper. Okay, sitting in a lawn chair, reading a good novel and swatting flies and trying to keep them off your buns!

First off let me say that I very much admire Tiger Woods. Even though I basically despise golf, we cheer him on in every contest that I am forced to watch. I find him a terrific roll model for kids and frankly a roll model for us all by and large. That said, I found this article disturbing. Does Mr. Woods owe us some kind of moral response to wrongs in society? Read about his partnership with Chevron and see what you think?

The sickening cesspool of Iraq seems to be sucking our money faster than water drains from a tub these days. In another stunner, a Pentagon audit finds 15 BILLION dollars unaccounted for. That’s your money and mine folks, and it’s intolerable as I see it. When oh when is somebody(s) going to be held accountable? It seems the only people doing well are Halliburton and Blackwater.

First Lady of Baseball? Oh I bet you wonder who that might be. It will be a surprise I can tell you, most unlikely. Travel to the American Presidents Blog and get the answer and a nice little vignette about the president’s wife who had a passion for the game.

I talk long and hard about the misuse of history to further personal agendas. No one is more guilty of that than David Barton, alleged historian and distorter of all that is history. Mr. Barton, head of “Wallbuilders” is on a crusade to prove that America is a Christian nation and he lets no facts get in the way of that mission. Read a scathing but accurate report from American Revolution Blogand Lindsay Shuman. We first heard of Mr. Barton on a skimming of the religious cable channels. He was doing a series based on his book before two evangelical preachers, who nodded and oohed and ahhed at his every “revelation.” Pure utter nonsense, but to the unlearned sounds mighty fine no doubt.

No one who reads this blog regularly has any real question about where I stand on most issues. I am pretty vocal. I am appalled a the idea that McCain could have the opportunity to continue the reorganization of SCOTUS to reflect an ultra conservative agenda which tramples on individual rights, protects business excess and promotes majority rule over protection of minority rights. But sometimes, I figure you are entitled to both sides, and I especially enjoy giving you that when I can send you to a place that gives you intelligent, fair coverage of both sides. Bill Moyers Journaldoes just that. Read the discussion of “How strictly should the Constitution be followed?” featuring Jeffrey Toobin and Thomas Sowell. Yes, Sowell writes for NRO, and mostly I think he is a wingnut, but read on and see what you think.

Say what you will, the Bushites continue to at least provide plenty of hysterical fodder for water cooler giggling. The latest is storming the airways and blogosphere today. Scott McClellan, former WH press secretary has a book out and boy is it causing a stir. The WH is exclaiming, “this ain’t the Scott we knew.” It’s a hoot I tell you, and everyone is talking. Read Blue Girl Red State‘s humorous biting take on the media frenzy that is just starting up. As I ran though a dozen or more stories about this, it seems apparent that the WH has joined ranks and officially are pretty much proclaiming that poor Scott has obviously lost his mind. To a person they say, “This can’t be Scott, something has happened to him.”

Still looking for more and better excuses to imbibe? Wine I mean. Well Britannica Blog has more for you. It actually may help prevent certain types of liver disease, and don’t we all want to do that? So sip away, and know that you are doing your heart and your liver good.

For some this is definitely too much effort period. But think again. Making hamburger buns homemade will surely set you apart, create lots of talk in the neighborhood and make lots of women hate you for being so, well, super! I suspect you will find that they, like most things, taste ever so much better than the gluey tasteless things we get from Wonder Bread. Coconut & Lime has the recipe.

Of course with the summer grilling season just underway, we are all looking for new recipes to wow friends and neighbors. Nothing gets more tiresome that the usual, ribs, barbecue chicken and brats, so take a look at Citrus Chicken under a Brick and do something new and exotic to boot. Thanks to Epicurious for this one. I love to butterfly chicken and weight it down like this. It just works wonderfully.

Lucy Rebecca Buck was a diarist, and if you are interested on her take on the Civil War as she lived through it, be sure to make it to Civil War Women and read her mini-biography of this woman. Different from her usual nurses, this lady wrote daily of what life was like for her during this period. I find these accounts simply fascinating. A snapshot of another world in another time and place. You come away with an entirely different feel for history and you undoubtedly realize how little we have changed over time.

Gardening Tips and Ideas has a great post on creating your own potpourri from your own garden. She gives you all the information you need to create your own jars of aroma. Just a few things will be purchased, the rest comes from your own lovely roses and herbs. Enjoy this crafting delight.

Garrison Keillor has a post on soldiering. A bit late, but certainly with so many of our young men and women still in harm’s way, it’s still topical. Mr. Keillor has a wonderful way of putting things in perspective and giving us a good ponder. Somehow I don’t think Harley Davidson will be offering Garrison a contract to promote hogs any time soon.

Monday in my Editorial, I alluded to the politics of yesterday promoted by Bush/McCain–one shall not speak to those we are opposed to. I find it more dangerous that the rational approach suggested by Mr. Obama. A couple of history profs tend to agree with me it seems and find that other US presidents also did as well. Read “Must We Ever Fear to Negotiate” at History News Network.

History of American Women features a lady accused of witchcraft back in our colonial time. Elizabeth Jackson Howe was born in England and immigrated to the colonies as a very young child. Things went bad in Ipswitch and poor Mrs. Howe was accused of causing illness through witchcraft. She was tried in Salem in 1692. Convicted, she was hung on July 19. A sad blot on our history indeed.

Are you sick of the media frenzy that we encounter daily on so-called gaffes of the candidates? I sure am. Inside-Out the Beltway has a fine post on being fed up with non-news and the increasing case that the media at large has lost its ability to report NEWS.

If you have a moment, drop over to inspired by antique quilts and get a look at the lovely butterfly motif quilt she has done. It’s simply lovely and perfect for a girl’s bed, or your own certainly. A wall hanging would be fine also. It certainly looks homey and comfy and just makes me feel warm all over on this still chilly day.

Sister Joan Chittister has a great post about how we are again losing our way in this election cycle. Much like Inside-Out the Beltway, she decries the non-news that the media remains focused on and finds again, that women take the brunt of the slams. Read her always interesting takes on the world, and politics today.

We talk about terrorism as a given,  and a growing crisis in the world. Certainly a number of folks, mainly McCain and the warmongering Bushites play on our fears almost constantly, mostly to hide their own ineptitude and personal agendas. However, what is the real state of terrorism today? Fareed Zakaria points out that the idea that terrorism is on the rise is flawed, and suggests that the culprit is, you guessed it, the American government. See how the Simon Fraser Study, done in Canada, sets the record straight.

The subject is greed, remember the movie with Michael Douglas? Greed he said was “good.” Well, we have been greedy haven’t we, we in the US that is, and we collectively in the West. How’s that doing for for ya now? On Faith takes on the subject with the posts from a the panel and plenty of comments. Weigh in on this fascinating moral, economic topic of the day.

George Will on Sunday’s George Stephanopolous show said in regards McCain’s cleaning house of his lobbyist bloated campaign, “he honestly believes it doesn’t matter since he is honest.” Well bully for him. I don’t buy it. I can swim with the slime but not get slimed is a poor way of convincing me for sure. It just makes me crazy to think that he proposed legislation some years ago to ban what he got caught doing to such an extreme that he instituted a “new” policy to do what he tried to legislate years before. Uh, what? Okay, let me start again. He introduced legislation I’m told to disallow candidates from hiring lobbyists for their campaigns. That didn’t pass so he then fills his campaign with lobbyists? And when the press called him on it time and again for their sleazy associations, he then institutes a “new” policy banning all lobbyists from his campaign. Is he nuts? Anyhoo, go to Political Animaland read Kevin Drum’s latest scoop from MSNBC. Seems McCain’s national campaign co-chair was working for a Swiss bank lobbying Congress about the mortgage crisis at the same time that he was advising McCain on economic strategy. McCain is obviously suffering from dementia.

I guess eclipses still cause a minor flurry of excitement around the world today. Solar more so than lunar certainly. Did you know that they have stopped battles and induced truces on the spot historically? Rogueclassicism has a nice piece on eclipses over history and how they effected the lives of those who witnessed them.

I believe that for the first time, polls in California suggest that the electorate there by a slim margin now favor gay marriage. This will come as a shocking thing to the reactionary right who claims they are the arbiters of all things moral. I can hardly wait to check out the forums where there will be much gnashing of teeth no doubt.

Oh and in case you missed it, McCain and Bush were scheduled to hold an open fundraiser a few days ago, which is why McCain couldn’t make the vote for the Iraq funding or the new GI Bill (convenient of course). Trouble is and was, that there were so few tickets sold, they turned it into a house party, and closed it, afraid that more protesters would show up than supporters. It’s too too funny. Seems the Mac is between a rock and hard place these days.

Glenn Greenwald has another of his killer posts on journalists and their desire to find themselves innocent of lazy work during the run-up to the war. Only Katie Couric it seems even suggested that the media could have done a better job. Most defended themselves saying they asked a lot of questions. LOL. It’s an excellent post, and one I suggest you should read. This is why blogging has taken on greater importance. Anyone who knows history knows that a free often belligerent press is what helps keep us free. These people cave in at the first threat of loss of access and its despicable.

Well ya can’t say that Iowa isn’t in the forefront of important stuff. Researchers at the University of Iowa are setting up the Asteroid Deflection Research Center to bring scientists from around the world together in the development of new technologies to protect the planet should we face an impeding killer asteroid strike. I feel a good deal safer knowing that, and I’m sure you do as well.

A strawberry rhubarb terrine? Oh that sounds mighty fine to me. I adore rhubarb as I might have mentioned once or twenty times. Simply Recipes has a great summery treat to make.

Are you addicted to Taco Bell’s hot sauce? Well probably not, but then again, maybe you are. Anyway, Secret Recipe Bloghas the copycat recipe for you. And hey, making your own taco sauce is not a bad thing, and it’s probably way cheaper than buying the bottled stuff. I may well give it a try when the jalapenos are ready to harvest.

This posting caught my eye, because, well frankly I think the dude is right. I’m outraged about torture being done in my name by my government. And if you peruse the blogosphere, plenty of other people are as well. But I don’t frankly see a lot of media attention being given to the subject. Believe me, if the media smelled in the lightest whiffs of a breeze that the public cared about this subject, they would be covering it daily. The Nation asks, “Where is the Outrage?” and I have to say, yeah, exactly where is it America?

To the seven deluded people in America who don’t think that McCain is just another Bush in disguise,the proof would tend to be in the voting record would it not? Obama will surely have a field day in arguing that McCain voted for Bush policies 100% of the time in 2008 and 95% of the time in 2007. So much for distancing! Think Progress gave us the news.

Tip Junkie has a number of links to sites with ideas for crafters who want to make something special for that man in your life for Father’s Day. There is quite a long list with plenty of variety, so get busy and make something special for Dad this year.

We linked you to a bio today of a woman hanged in Salem after being convicted of witchcraft. We look upon these things as horribly misguided actions by people who were backward in thinking. Amazing as it may seem, 15 women have been executed in Africa for just that offense recently. Kenyan mobs have done this, sad to say, rounding up “offenders” in villages and burning them to death.  Our thanks to Women of History for the story.

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“Unprovided with original learning, unformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved to write a book.” Edward Gibbon

“Men live in a fantasy world. I know this because I am one, and I actually receive my mail there.”  Scott Adams

“We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.” Anais Nin

“My mother buried three husbands, and two of them were just napping.” Rita Rudner

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More crazy product warnings:

Earplugs
These ear plugs are nontoxic, but may interfere with breathing if caught in windpipe

Mattress
Warning: Do not attempt to swallow

Fix-a-Flat
WARNING: Do not weld can to rim.

Rain Gauge
Suitable for outdoor use.

RCA Television Remote Control
Not Dishwasher Safe

Road Sign
Caution water on road during rain.

Road Sign
Cemetery Road. Dead End

Children’s Superman Costume
Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly.

Rowenta Iron
Warning: Never iron clothes on the body.

Nabisco Easy Cheese
For best results, remove cap.

Japanese food processor:
Not to be used for the other use.~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

 

The cruise liner Norwegian Spirit crashed into a Manhattan pier. The entertainment director tried to spin it positive. “Today our ship photographer will take your photo in front of some ruins. – Alan Ray, Stockton, Calif.

According to a new study, teenage girls whose boyfriends are gang members are nearly twice as likely to become pregnant as girls not dating boys in gangs. This study was conducted by Dilmore University of Hoboken (DUH).

A 77-year-old man has become the oldest person to reach the summit of Nepal’s Mount Everest. He made it by repeating over and over to himself, “I haven’t fallen so I CAN get up.” –– Paul Seaburn, Spring, Texas

Hillary thanked NASA profusely for the encouragement and vowed to fight on now more than ever after Phoenix’s photographs of Mars revealed there is as much life there as in her campaign. – Eugene Cappuccio

Both George Bushes have been accused of being in bed with the Saudis for years. But when they ask for a favor — more oil — they get a resounding no. I guess they just aren’t very good in bed. – Charles Almon