The Art of Misdirection-Here We Go Again

http://www.learn-great-magic-tricks.com/misdirection.html
I reference the link above because the Congress is interviewing another bad boy baseball player. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7796272/Clemens-going-against-more-than-just-McNamee-?MSNHPHMA I get so tired of these Congressional hearings that misdirect attention from pressing issues like foreclosures, economy, primaries, Iraq/Afganistan, oil prices and the like. I helped the 2004 democratic take over of the Congress primarily so that we could focus on real issues - not bogus ones. So my question is: What is it that the media doesn't want us to notice while they are covering this issue?

Aloha and Representative Abercrombie

http://www.house.gov/abercrombie/
This is the website for Representative Abercrombie from Hawaii. I listened to him on C-Span on February 7, 2008, a week or so ago. He absolutely made sense about what we are actually doing in Iraq -- occupying force, not war anymore. He absolutely made sense lots of things. From immigration to ... and he did so in a civil manner which is refreshing on a radio program where the government shills for the President's inepitude. This fellow did not do that. He listened, he responded, he was a professional. Here is the information printed on C-Span's page for 2-7-08. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) 1st District, Armed Services Subcommittee Chairman talks about the cost of Iraq war the and what U.S. policy should be. Rep. Abercrombie is a member of the Out of Iraq Caucus. He also wants troops to have the best body armor and armored vehicles that the military can provide as long as they're in Iraq.

Lois and Lehrer, Move Over

I feel a new obsession coming on. Perhaps it is cabin fever from being stuck on the 395S for over 4 hours last night inching through the ice storm after the road was closed by VDOT. Whatever it is, this website is just what I've been looking for. http://www.govtrack.us/ It is the website that posts bills working their way through Congress. I simply cannot locate the stuff any other way. The government run websites are 'way too confusing. But govtrack does that here. They blog on the affects and effects (look the words up--not into word babysitting today) of bills on citizens. I think I'm in love.

Thingie for today

Your Mood Ring is Magenta

Weird Creative Insipired Thriving

Mood Ring Generator

Check it out at http://www.blogthings.com/moodringgenerator/

Lehrer + Krause = Bliss

As all of you must know by now, I am a devoted fan of Tom Lehrer. Marvelous thinker, mordant sense of humor. I have now found a new star in that vein. Lawrence Krause formerly Physics Chair at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. What is it about Clevelanders that I find so appealing? I need to see if I can find a reprint of his comments. He was a breathe of fresh air to this miasma of misinformation we get inside the Beltway.

I have copied a link to the page as well as a quote from another page which I find simply wonderful. First the link: http://www.aei.org/events/eventID.1553,filter.all/event_detail.asp

Now the quote from a different website: Krauss will discuss how the trillions and trillions of elemental particles that are in every part of us are actually restless galactic travelers that belong to us only temporarily. Lawrence says that atoms drift through space and time, reconstituting as stars, planets and people in the ultimate recycling process. “I’ve always thought that one of the most poetic things I know about science is that almost every atom in our bodies was at some time inside an exploding star,” said Krauss.

https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/employee/articles/2001/07-27-01-krause.html

Enjoy!

Victims' Rights and Military Tribunals

Finally made it onto the call in for c-span this morning. Just a quick question on whether the families of the 9/11 victims will be able to confront the 6 individuals going on military tribunal for their part in the attack. I was surprised my phone call was answered. I was more surprised that I was the first on the program to ask the LA Times fellow my question. I need to do more research on what victims' rights will be for these tribunals.

Playing Mah-Jong

It is all about stereotypes, folks. I used to believe the only people who played Mah-Jong were old, nursing home crotchety ladies who made impossible rules no one could follow. But...I am learning how to play Mah-Jong at my synagogue. Which makes me? I hope open minded enough to realize that stereotypes are just plain wrong and are something for me to challenge from time to time. So go and challenge some old beliefs for yourself.

Double Binds

When expectations exceed reality on an unconscious level....

Foreclosures

Perhaps I am too cautious. However, it seems to me that the foreclosure crisis started when the price of a house rose to ridiculous amounts. The houses in my area are out of my price range. I rent. I have to rent. The townhomes in my area are over $400,000 and there is no way I can afford that. The folks who did buy, who were encouraged to buy, who were literally told it was a fiscally great idea to buy, did so on the assurance that the market would continue to go up and up and up. At some point, folks, the sky will fall and that is just what happened. Folks scrimped, gathered money from all sorts of places, went together with other families to live in the same house so they could afford the houses which continued to drive up the market. Now that the mortgage rate for the 30 year is dropping, we are seeing the same pressure to buy, buy, buy. And I am keeping my checkbook closed because the price of housing still isn't going down enough for me to risk taking on a mortgage in this economic climate.

Healthy Meals - Healthy Lifestyle A La Carte - Chicken Parmesan

Healthy Meals - Healthy Lifestyle A La Carte - Chicken Parmesan

Wanting to eat healthier is expensive. I am so clueless, however, that I need to look at these kind of websites for ideas these days.

C-Span and Car Radios

You'd think I'd learn to turn the radio knob in my car off. It would spare me all the emotional turmoil I get into when I listen to my inside the beltway soap opera, aka C-Span. I listen to C-Span because I really don't have time to hunt online to find the relevant transcripts of really fascinating hearings to read through. Listening is much faster -- although listening can be very tough on my car radio when I get so frustrated with either the guest or the callers that I hit it. The radio. I hit the radio when (a) C-Span says it has a call in number but the number doesn't work, (b) when the number works but the phone disconnects, (c) when a caller is abusive, (d) when a guest is an idiot. Any one of those things and my car radio is in serious danger. As a case in point, the Mukasey hearing on 2-7-08 was carried live on C-Span. It was embarrassing. Sadly, the link may not be live anymore. But perhaps someone more intrepid can find the printout of the hearing. Perhaps I will look it up on my newest love....Govtrack, see my newer post. Atty. Gen. Michael Mukasey responds to five questions posed to him by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), House Judiciary Cmte. Chairman. The Atty. Gen. was asked to discuss the politicization of the Justice Dept. and waterboarding, among other issues.2/7/2008: WASHINGTON, DC: 3 hr.

Who Knows

I made the mistake of listening to C-Span's coverage of the economy and the Senate interview yesterday with the head of OMB. But I got frustrated because I couldn't find the hearing.

It was held 2-5-08. Because real news in the U.S. is embedded and hidden as much as possible, I cannot locate the hearing. I know that the Bush Administration came into office with one goal of making governmental websites more accessible. To that end, they re-designed all the government access portals. After those re-designs, I couldn't find a thing unless I out-stubborned the web site.

So perhaps that is why OMB Director Nussle came across as an idiot yesterday. Maybe he can't use the portal any better than I can. He was asked question after question and could not answer them. Not would not. Could not. He admitted he didn't know. This was the same fellow whom Google identifies as a former member of the Congressional Budget Committee before he was "elevated" to the OMB. It makes me scratch my head in frustration.

It is my observation that almost to a man, none of the folks who have testified before Congress know what is going on either. From Alberto Gonzales to Nussle, these folks spout rhetoric and make promises they don't keep. Or, in the case of the attorney firings at Justice with Monica Goodling, they lawyer up and won't testify at all

So, what exactly is going on here? I guess no one really truly knows. But it concerns me because as a voter, it is my duty to make informed decisions and without information how informed can a voter be??????????

U Snooze, U Lose

It is a U Snooze, U Lose election.

Political Wake Up Call

This is going to be a tough election for me. My favorite, Dennis Kuchinich, bowed out of the race due to media pressure to leave. After all, when NBC changes the rules to keep you out of the debate in Los Vegas even a blind man can see the writing on the wall. And the wall says that the media is not fond of Dennis. Now the only one left standing in my belief area is Obama. I see the media starting to do the same thing to him as it did with Dennis. The pundits' mantra of the moment is Hillary, Hillary, Hillary. I am not fond of pundits. I am not fond of political slaughter house chutes that force voters to make limited choices. There is death on both sides--Republican and Democrat because the voters are not being allowed free choice. I see Hillary winning the nomination and Senator McCain winning the election and I shudder. We need alternatives in this country to vote for. We need a change from the ground up -- starting with the 4th estate, aka news outlets. The news has snoozed these past 8 years. Frankly, the news snoozed through Clinton too except for the Monica incident. (Mind you, nobody died when Clinton lied but that's just a bumper sticker that represents my personal opinion.) That's the only positive thing about Clinton, though, I can think of. If Hillary is nominated, the entire country will lose. We don't need another dose of NAFTA endgame - Bill Clinton's maneuverings to achieve passage of ...
NAFTA endgame - Bill Clintons maneuverings to achieve passage of NAFTA in the House of Representatives from National Review in News provided free by ..... We certainly don't need more Whitewater boxes lost in her living room for 4 more years. We just don't. We have more important issues. To quote an old Clinton war cry, "It's the economy, stupid!" And sadly, the Clintons brought us NAFTA and outsourcing which has ruined the U.S. economy.

So, no, we don't need to hear all the arguments against Bill again from the sore losers of the failed impeachment proceedings. Those fights are over and done and yet... With Hillary in the game, they will come back to life. If only because the newscasters who snooze can just dust off their old columns and old opinions and not wake up.

We need to wake up.

Aquarium Cats

My Cats have decided that watching the fishies swim in the aquarium is better than the Food Network. Not surprising. The fish are food they can get nose to fin with. Cats are smart! I have covered the tank to keep them from using it as an additional water bowl. Didn't work. So today, I put some old cat "good cat" placemats on top. That actually seems to help. Maybe my cats read too!!

A Plague on Both Your Houses

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/health/research/29plag.html?ex=1359262800&en=934238753ec0a93b&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

From Buddhist Wisdom 1-31-08

How much of your life do you spend looking forward to being somewhere else?

-Matthew Flickstein, "Journey to the Center"
Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from "Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations," edited by Josh Bartok, with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org.


So true!

Joe Biden, Disraeli, and Michael Mukasey

Sorry folks, I made the mistake of listening to the hearings on the "waterboarding" issues yesterday. Here is a link for those who want to catch up on the news.

News results for attorney general
PRESS TV
Senate grills attorney general on waterboarding - 22 hours ago
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey told the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that he will refuse to discuss the legality ...

What I suspect doesn't show up in this report are the comments of Joseph Biden to Attorney General Mukasey. He quoted from Benjamin Disraeli. For those who want to see who that was, here is further link. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
Benjamin Disraeli served twice as Prime Minister, the first time from 27 February to 1 December 1868 and the second, 20 February 1874 to 21 April 1880. ...www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/dizzy.html - 14k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Okay, all set now? I bring this fellow in because I want to document a comment from Joe Biden that is attributed to Benjamin Disraeli when he was interviewing Mukasey. There are three catagories of lies, "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics." Love the quote. For the record, there is some dispute about who said that. Mark Twain deserves some of the credit for bringing the quote to the attention of the public. See, for instance, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies,_damned_lies,_and_statistics

Mess of Pottage

I am writing today about the stimulus package which really needs to be renamed because it reminds me too much of the K-Y Intimate Lotion ads on the TV these days. And folks, there are not enough bottles of lotion to help the economic package go on smoothly. Even worse it reminds me of the tale of Esau and his brother Jacob. For those who need serious refreshing on the saga, here is link to what I am going to discuss. http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p98.htm For the others, here is a shorter version. Two brothers (twins), one father, one mother (who thought she couldn't have children), one bowl of pottage (bean stew). Esau, the older brother loved to hunt. Jacob, the younger brother, was a farmer. Jacob came home hungry one day and bugged Esau for his bowl of stew (aka pottage). Jacob tricked Esau into giving up his birthright (father's blessing) for the food. In giving up his birthright, Esau (the older brother), fades back into history. In taking his older brother's birthright, Jacob (the younger brother) marches into history to eventually become Israel. All brought about by a mess of pottage. And the situation is analogous even more when the Government chooses to sell our debt to foreign nations. It is chilling. Our birthright sold to finance a war many of us no longer agree with. A war many of us believe was started under false pretenses. The proposed stimulus (see KY Intimate Lotion) package is another mess of pottage. If the government were serious about helping us, it would say we didn't need to file our taxes this year. Not give us measley $500.00 checks which get used in one weekend with a family of four. Not sell off Treasury Bonds to pay for these checks. Not, not, not. Here in lies the crux of the story. In giving up long term rights to gain short term satisfaction we all lose our birthrights as Americans.

Camelot

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