Sept. 11, 2001

I woke up around 5:30 am, to the familiar sound of port-a-potty doors slamming. I was in my tent, in a pasture in Crane, Oregon, surrounded by 2000 other tents. It was the 3rd day of my first Cycle Oregon.

I had been training all that summer, while waiting for my job with Enron to be terminated. It did end, at the end of August.

I got up, and, in the chilly dawn, got myself dressed, packed up and fed. The prior day was a hard ride, up and over a high ridge, along a long, dusty gravel road, up and over another divide, and down into the flat high desert. Today's ride was only 35 miles, to Diamond. Easy.

By the time I was in the saddle, it was a bright, quiet morning, on a largely-flat two-lane blacktop, through fragrant sagebrush. After a few miles, I came up to one of the many rest-stops. Curiously, there were people clustered around one of the support vans, instead of waiting in long lines at the port-a-potty or quick-carbs stations. People were talking.

I joined the conversation. "Has something happened?" This was about 9 am. "The World Trade Center has been destroyed." "No shit?" "Yep". "Wow".

I continued down the road with everyone else. It was very strange.

Pulled into Diamond around 11 or so. Pitched my tent, grabbed some lunch, then headed over to the staging area where they had arranged buses, to take the early-birds up to the top of Steens Mountain. As I waited in line with others, I had my little shortwave radio with me, but news was spotty and reception poor.

We filled one bus and headed out. Still a beautiful, warm day as we motored down to Frenchglen, then began the gradual ascent of Steens. At the windy top, the view was impressive along the steep east face, down a couple thousand feet to the gleaming desert below. We hiked along the crest, then along the Kiger gorge. There were some rumors of what was going on in the rest of the world - some of them quite wild ("I heard that San Francisco was also about to be attacked").

After an amazing afternoon up there, we got back on the bus and were driven back to Diamond. There was the normal beer garden, and dinner lines. At the regular evening gathering, Jonathan Nichols of the Oregonian gave us what news he had, and mentioned that some folks were leaving the Tour, to try to get to their East Coast homes. He said that the directors considered cancelling the remainder of the ride, but that notion was quickly dismissed.

Someone produced a trumpet and played taps, which echoed in the desert twilight. Soon, I went to bed. The next day would bring more bike-riding and more scenery, followed by three more, taking us back, via Burns, to Prarie City and the bus-ride back to Portland.

We got into Portland late Saturday night. I was tanned and very tired, having ridden about 500 miles that week. I slept a lot over the next couple of days.

It wasn't until the middle of the next week that I finally saw the video of the planes hitting the Trade Center. I had totally missed the media frenzy/nightmare. I think that was a very good thing.

Cycle Oregon is going on right now. This is the first one since 2001, where Sept. 11 has once again fallen on a Tuesday. I know they are talking about it right now, as they finish their coffee, break camp, and mount their bikes.

I am so sorry what has happened to my country in these six years. A very few people have made a lot of money from this tragedy, and surely goodness and mercy have eluded the world, while Frat-Boy smirks and his buddies send their invoices to our depleted Treasury.

We could have been so much better than this. We could have pursued justice, rather than blind revenge. We could have embraced hope, rather than fear.

Nah - no profits in hope. One Nation, Under Intimidation.

nothing to see here - move along...

hmmm. At our camping trip last weekend, one of my friends had a copy of the new book "The World Without Us", and NPR just did a segment on that book.

The author described the crumbling skyscrapers and the huge fires that would sweep thru an unattended, unwatered Central Park. What he left out of that scenario is the likelihood that Manhattan will be under several meters of water, by the end of this century.

I pity my unborn grandchildren. They will shake their heads in disbelief, how we could have been so blind, so utterly consumed by our own consumption and diversions. They will never understand how, each night as we watched what was supposed to be the nightly news, we were told to be alarmed about restless leg syndrome.

We are a society full of Neros, fiddling around while Greenland melts.

I have to laugh

at this.

So, a wacko group up in Battle Ground, WA (makes perfect sense if you've ever been there) is urging Americans to 'boycott the Minneapolis airport'.

Umm, aren't boycotts supposed to target things or places which you can choose NOT to frequent? Anyone who is flying ANYWHERE on Northwest Airlines (which I frequently do) ALWAYS changes planes in Minneapolis (which I have done many times, and will again in 2 weeks).

I guess the folks in Battle Ground envision people saying, "You know that cross-country drive I'm doing next month? I staying clear of that airport in Minneapolis. THAT'll show them.'

For what it's worth, I've used the facilities in airports many times, and never did my feet touch the guy in the next stall. Guess my stance is not very wide.

yikes

Starting to feel like 1968 again.

I started college in 1969, having already, as a 17 year old, concluded that the Vietnam War had to end.

October 15th, 1969: I attended the first nationwide Moratorium in downtown Baltimore - my first mass anti-war rally. Big crowd, very exciting. Corretta Scott King spoke to us.

November 15th, 1969: I attended the GIANT Moratorium in DC (250,000, dubbed the 'largest anti-war protest in U.S. history' - the one shown in 'Forrest Gump'). It produced a stunning sense of solidarity, and a good time was had by all.

These two events made a big impact on me, and I think of them every time I attend yet another Stop-The-War event (there have been so many wars; so many events).

Now, it's this generation's turn to have that experience, with nationwide rallys planned for September 15th. Hope to see y'all there.

Progressive Voter Network news

I may have mentioned in prior posts that I have gotten involved with this new nationwide group (that does not yet have a web site).

It's an attempt to mobilize groups of neighbors into teams, to take specific actions aimed at influencing legislators on mostly Environmental and Energy issues. There was a nice planning meeting here at the house tonight, where I met the other local Team Leaders (I am one now).

The immediate target it to get Gordon Smith to sign on to one of the progressive pending CO2 emission reduction bills. Wouldn't it be nice if this group really developed a reputation as dedicated and persistent?

If nothing else, maybe we can all get adjoining cells at the Re-education Camp.

It must work, or why would they keep trying?

Received this morning:

Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 07:46:57 AM PDT
From: "Internal Revenue Service U.S.A."
Subject: September 2007 Tax Refund

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $109.30.

Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3 days in order to process it. A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access the form for your tax refund, please click here : http://sls-gc2p17.dca2.superb.net/irs/

Regards, Internal Revenue Service
© Copyright 2007, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A.

I love the 'allow us 3 days in order to process it'. If they really wanted to make it sound like an official IRS letter, they'd say something more realistic, like '3 months'.

just got home from Rodriego y Gabriella

Wow - what an amazing high-energy show. The zoo was sold out, and the crowd went wild.

I got there before 4 pm and, when the lawn was opened for seating at 5, I was about 30th in line. It was like the Oklahoma Land Rush, but I snagged a superb spot astonishingly close to the stage.

I relaxed, read the new New Yorker, and listened to Randi Rhodes on the radio, and, eventually, Karen and our other friends showed up.

It was a gorgeous night and the musicianship was mind-blowing. Took a while to get thru the traffic and get home, but here we are, in time to see the weekend forecast on the 10:00 news.

Heading for Tumalo State Park tomorrow morning, for 3 days of fun in the sun, floatin' down the Deschutes and sharing laughs and too much wine with our camping buddies (6 families).

Next week, I'll be starting a new project for the City of Portland, but, for the next couple of days, I'm not going to think about it.

great week for music and other activities

Last Saturday night, we saw Keb' Mo' and Robert Cray at the zoo. Keb' was great.

Last night, saw Stevie Wonder, in a powerhouse performance before a huge, loving crowd.

Tonight, it's back to the zoo to see Rodriego and Gabriella, for the 2nd time this year.

Tomorrow, it's off to the Bend area for the big Labor Day camping trip.

Not only that, but I am getting gorgeous red, ripe tomatoes from my tiny garden.

Life is good - the only darkside is that Karen and I are going to Wisconsin at the end of September, and we will be changing planes in Minnesota. What if I have to pee? Yikes!

hey, watch this

Kucinich on health care reform. I love this guy.

from Andy Borowitz today

Gonzales to Spend More Time Eavesdropping on His Family
‘Domestic Surveillance Begins at Home,’ Former A.G. Says

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned today, effective immediately, telling reporters that he wanted to spend more time eavesdropping on his family.

Mr. Gonzales, a champion of domestic surveillance and warrantless wiretaps while in office, said he was “totally stoked” about turning his prying eyes on his own family. “Domestic surveillance begins at home,” Mr. Gonzales said at a White House press conference. “That means nobody in my family is above suspicion, not even the little ones,” an apparent reference to Mr. Gonzales’ children.

Standing by Mr. Gonzales’ side, President George W. Bush praised his former Attorney General, singling out his “courage” for ramping up his domestic spying program on his own family. “If every head of every household was as willing to eavesdrop on his own family as my man Alberto is, we wouldn’t need a Homeland Security Department,” Mr. Bush chuckled.

Mr. Gonzales was noncommittal when a reporter asked him a question about the role that waterboarding and other forms of torture might play in his interrogation of family members. “Nothing is off the table,” he said.

Asked about his tenure as Attorney General, Mr. Gonzales was candid about his stormy time in office: “Frankly, I can’t believe it took this long for them to shitcan me.”

thanks again, Microsoft!

A couple of years ago, I built a handheld data-collection application for a client, that used a Pocket Access (.cdb) database on the device and used ActiveSync to sync with an .mdb file on the Desktop. It was written in VB.NET.

Worked great, but I had to use a 3rd party tool, to provide ADO services to .NET, since that was something Microsoft had neglected to include within the Pocket PC 2003 OS.

The other day, I tried to load the app on my (Windows Mobile 5) device, and it failed. A little detective work revealed that Microsoft had dropped all support for ADO in WM5. So, my clients are restricted to using PPC 2003 devices (fortunately, they bought 3), until such time that I can rewrite the data-access components of the system, to use a SQL Server Personal data-store.

Let me remind you that the reason that I had to buy Visual Studio .NET was that the original development platform for Pocket PC development (Microsoft's 'Embedded Visual Basic'), was obsoleted. EVB was free. VS ain't.

I see a pattern developing. 'Bait and switch' comes to mind.

Meanwhile, bye-bye, Fredo.

Josh Marshall nails it

From today's TPM:

"And here I think we get back to the root of the matter: We are bigger than Iraq.

By that I do not mean we, as America, are bigger or better than Iraq as a country. I mean that that sum of our national existence is not bound up in what happens there. The country will go on. Whatever happens, we'll recover from it. And whatever might happen, there are things that matter much more to this country's future -- like whether we have a functioning military any more, whether our economy is wrecked, whether this country tears itself apart over this catastrophe. But we'll go on and look back at this and judge what happened.

Not so for the president. For him, this is it. He's not bigger than this. His entire legacy as president is bound up in Iraq. Which is another way of saying that his legacy is pretty clearly an irrecoverable shambles. That is why, as the folly of the enterprise becomes more clear, he must continually puff it up into more and more melodramatic and world-historical dimensions. A century long ideological struggle and the like. For the president a one in a thousand shot at some better outcome is well worth it, no matter what the cost. Because at least that's a one in a thousand shot at not ending his presidency with the crushing verdict history now has in store. It's also worth just letting things keep on going as they are forever because, like Micawber, something better might turn up. Going double or nothing by expanding the war into Iran might be worth it too for the same reason. For him, how can it get worse?

And when you boil all this down what it comes down to is that the president now has very different interests than the country he purports to lead."

I should find this alarming, but I don't

you have to admin, though, that the headline is an eye-catcher.

just finished reading

this incredible book - highly recommended and a real eye-opener.

at last, getting organized

http://www.strike911.org/

also, you may find this equally amusing and disgusting - I did.

a new record

In my Inbox this morning, there were 9 new messages.

Two were unsolicited ads from companies with whom I had done previous business, two were obscure mail-delivery notices (for addresses similar but not equal to mine), and the other five were fraudulent scams (two identical copies of the same 'Dear Customer: your Bank of America account has been blocked').

Won't someone send me some meaningful email?

wow

I said, 'wow'.

hope Bush doesn't hear about this

as linked to from the Dilbert blog, this story about a new law passed in China. You've got to read it to believe it.

hurricane

I started watching Dean's evolving path over a week ago, when it was projected to brush the northernmost tip of Yucatan, before heading out into the Gulf, aimed at the Texas-Mexico border.

Several days ago, it started a slight bend to the south, and is now heading straight for Belize City. At the end of October, we are planning to take a trip to that area, with stops at both Belize City and Costa Maya, Mexico. Rather than the normal tourist activities, I am now thinking that we should sign up for a Habitat project, since that area is apparently going to be devastated tomorrow.

Oh well, at least our precious off-shore oil wells are not in direct danger. Whew!!!

a tale of two cities

This week, I attended two meetings with my congressman, David Wu. The second was a small group (about 10 of us) from the Progressive Voter Network, and our topic was totally dedicated to environmental and energy issues. He listened patiently, and our 20 minutes flew by.

The first, however, was what I want to talk about. It was at a local church, attended by over 100 folks, mostly with Impeachment on their minds. Other topics, came up, too, but many spoke on Impeachment, urging Wu to add his voice to the rising tide. He astonished the crowd by stating his position, which was he is yet to be convinced that actual crimes had been committed. The crowd groaned in frustration. But that's not what I want to talk about.

Toward the end, a gray-haired lady stood up, and made an eloquent speech. She said that History would judge us poorly if we do NOT take a stand NOW, and not simply let Bush/Cheney run out the clock. It is our duty to say 'NO' to what they have done to our country - our duty to our own history and to what this country is supposed to mean, to the rest of the world.

And the crowd went wild.

This morning, on NPR, they talked about Fred Thompson's appearance at an Iowa fair. He told them, "I'm Pro-Life, Pro-2nd-Ammendment, and I'm sick of people who are putting down the United States."

And the crowd went wild.

Living in Portland: priceless.

Along similar lines, Bill Moyers had a segment last night on Katrina and what it means, both as a symbol of governmental incompetence and as a reflection of our denial about climate change. Both guests were amazing, but one of them made a great analogy. Both guests were amazing - worth watching if you missed it.

a public apology

and about time, too.

If the Danes can do it, maybe someday Rove will as well.

ha, ha, ha...

someone else who says what I've been thinking

nice to get confirmation that I am not alone, but the message ain't pretty.

what's today's big story?

Yes, yes, I know Karl Rove is going to resign. That's pretty good, but take a gander at this.

Dennis is gaining both attention and respect. His appearance with Stephanopolous this past weeked was pretty electric (despite the stupid questions). I never thought this day would come, and, considering how much the Media was getting bored with the Obama/Hillary battle, this could be good for some new punditry.

just a thought, or two

Probably not at all original, but this hit me this morning. You've no doubt noticed the various States' scramble to keep moving the primaries earlier and earlier. There's even now a chance that the first primary will be this December. Why?

I think it's the collective unconscious at work - everyone (especially the GOP) wants to be rid of Bush as soon as possible, and, short of Impeachment, this is the safest way to hurry along the irrelevance which we all wish for him.

Change of topic.

Currently reading: The Yiddish Policeman's Union, by Karen's not-too-distant relative Michael Chabon (on her father's side). It's screamingly funny (more laughs-per-page than most of Woody Allen's recent New Yorker pieces in toto), but I doubt that non-Jews will find it so.

There are many concessions to non-Jews in the text (the first time kugel is referenced, it is as 'noodle pudding', a phrase Jews would never use in place of kugel). Ditto for 'skullcap'.

Other references would go over the head of anyone who didn't grow up with a Jewish education. For example, one of the detectives is named 'Karpas', which produced a big laugh in me. 'Karpas' is the Hebrew word for the 'eat a green vegetable' step in the Passover Seder. See what I mean?

It's sort of like James Joyce, without the intentional layers-upon-layers obscurity, but with an equally devilish sense of humor. This is a book to savor, and a heck of a great story, too. I am about a third through, but, unlike Harry Potter, I am in no hurry to rush thru to get to the end.

Saturday morning in Portland - cool but sunny. Perfectly delightful weather for household chores - a time to contemplate the luxury of living in this place, at this time. Far different from the BBC story I listened to, at 3 am, about falling water levels in Lake Victoria, Africa, as Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania deal with a deadly combination of climate change, invasives, the unintended consequences of human engineering, and the timeless devastation caused by human greed.

in other news...

While the US media is obsessed with Barry Bonds and the Hillary/Obama fake war, other news outlets are carrying stories of somewhat greater importance.

Meanwhile, here's a story of a kid with too much time on his hands.

back to reality

So, tomorrow (Monday), I need to plunge back into my various work projects, picking up where I left off two weeks ago, and juggling the new stuff that has filtered in while I was away.

So, what do I do in the final 48 hours before having to get back to all that? Last night, Karen and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie and, a half-hour, I finished reading the final HP book (which I started in earnest Friday morning, on the shores of Lake Crescent).

It was a slog, but I did it. Unfortunately, I am no wiser nor a better person for it. Enough magic for now!

as predicted...

this is not totally unexpected. Note especially the last sentence:

"India's Meteorological Department said unusual monsoon patterns this year have led to heavier than normal rains."

Funny (not) how much of the weather news these days contains the adjective 'unusual'.

Tick, tick, tick...

more on Lake Crescent

This is the classic view, from the shore directly in front of our lakeside A-frame at Log Cabin Resort:


Yes, it's really like that.

Thursday afternoon, we hiked along the old railroad bed, to the Devils Punchbowl (just on the other side of the point you see above, on the right):

...where the water is a couple hundred feet deep, to go swimming and take silly photos jumping off the bridge. It was a glorious afternoon, and, as I splashed around in the astonishingly-clear water, I glanced over to the road on the opposite side of the lake.

I drove on that road in 1976, on my first cross-country trip. Last night, I pulled out my journal from that trip and read the narrative of that day. Now, over 30 years later, I find I have come back to this place many times, sometimes after long absences. Odd how these things work out.

Today is the 25th anniversary of my father's death. He was 75 when he died. I was 31. Time flies.

back home

It's been a wild two weeks, first in Manzanita then up at Log Cabin Resort, which we had not visited for almost 10 years. Aside from the steep increase in the cost per night, little has changed at this gem of a destination.

Will write more later, since we just got home an hour ago and there's lots to clean up and put away. The animals were happy to see us, and the house is reasonably clean.

Our friend Dave took a bunch of photos - I took hardly any. Not doubt he will share the most embarassing quite soon.

Up to about page 250 in the new Harry Potter book. I didn't want to do it, but circumstances led me to it.

the real estate deal

Yes, the seller must have laughed with derision, as he counter-offered $5k below his asking price (which was $80K above our offer). The property had been on the market for over a year, originally listed at $380K, and reduced to $325K. Karen offered $240K, on the outside chance that he'd be willing to take his profits (he originally paid $150K in 2005, and has, since then, split off 1/3 of the lot and built a new house, which he is listing for $480K).

At any rate, it is not going to be our great deal, and, considering that the seller's real estate agent is also his girl-friend, he's not going to get 'taken' by a couple of slick (not) Portlanders.

Did 5 loads of laundry, and the two house guests are, even as I type, in the air bound for points south. Spent today organizing our camping box and repacking for a slightly-different kind of week, among mountains and lakes, instead of the ocean (although there will be some oceanic experiences - more later).

--------------------------------------------------

FLASH!! Just got a call from our realtor in Manzanita. The deal is not yet dead! Karen is willing to up her bid to $275. We will get some faxes with three degrees of compromise, to sign and fax back to our rep - she will deal with the seller while we are out of town, over the next few days.

Here's the funky old 1920's house (which the seller was going to just bulldoze, but is currently occupied by a very nice single English lady and her young son):



and here is the view from the back, looking out over the Nehalem river, the bucolic valley, and surrounding ridges:



The funky house needs either a major rennovation or a tear-down. Karen imagines a duplex, with a large deck overlooking the amazing view, with one unit permanently rented by a local, and the other available for us, our friends, or other occasional renters.

In order to make that vision happen, just imagine the sheer number of car trips between Portland and Nehalem, that this would entail! Yikes.

(temporarily) back in Portland

We've been in Manzanita for the past week. Had a little rain, a little sun, a little wind, and a lot of clean, refreshing air and vistas. We even put in a bid for a view property in Nehalem, with a little house on it that currently has a renter. If the Seller accepts our low-ball bid (unlikely), we will just sit on it for a couple of years, until we decide what to do, but I'm expecting him to laugh at us before tearing up the offer.

Tonight we are cleaning the house and our clothes, and starting to think about the next phase of Summer Vacation '07. Tomorrow, our two guests (Karen's 96 year-old Mom and her long-time-friend-who-has-MS-and visits-us-each-summer) fly back to California, and, Sunday morning, Karen, Dylan and I head out for a few days up on the Olympic Penninsula, with a house-sitter staying here to watch the house, animals, and vegetation.

Expect to have very limited internet access next week, but it was fun in Manzanita, walking up and down the streets with my WiFi enabled Pocket PC, finding the open hot spots to check mail and news headlines. It never fails.

Lots of laundry still to go tonight, then we are all going out for a last dinner (Thai). Happy Summer, everyone.

cool

Maybe human ingenuity WILL save us, after all.

stress levels are declining

The past few days have been very hectic, with two out-of-town guests arriving, a big dinner party Tuesday night, and a construction project in the yard that went terribly wrong last Friday.

The crew is here today, and they claim they will finish before they quit for the day. They have a lot of stone pavers to lay, and the sky is darkening. One hour into the project, last Friday, they tore up the electrical line which, we emphasized, is the one thing they must NOT do. It took until late yesterday to get that fixed, so that things could resume.

Also, work has been very busy. Just when I had thought I had put all projects to bed for two weeks, I got hit with a last-minute request from a client, that necessitated connecting their Access database with a MySQL database over the internet, and applying its data (customers and orders) to the Access tables. Naturally, the MySQL database was still under construction, as its developer was frantically applying last-minute changes, prior to going live TOMORROW!

Unfortunately, several design issues which affect my stuff were still in flux, up until 30 minutes ago. Yesterday, we were both working against his database at the same time, which was horrifying. He agreed to freeze his design at this point. I may have to do some work on this next week, at the beach, but I hope not too much.

My piece doesn't have to be ready until mid-August, so I have a little breathing space. Still, it was a shock to have this come up this week, just when I thought I could relax.

We leave for a week in Manzanita tomorrow morning. Then, we're back in Portland for a day or so, to take the guests to the airport, then we leave for a week at Log Cabin resort, where we last stayed about 10 years ago, when the boys were little.

Still much to do in the next 24 hours, but vacation is near.

dog daze

Supposed to be over 100 degrees today. Still early - beautiful morning so far.

Down in the computer dungeon, where it's plenty cool, but no work to do - waiting for clients to make some decisions and test out stuff I delivered last week.

Reading lots of blogs, but, more important, am absorbed in Gore Vidal's novel 'Julian', which I've read a couple of times over the years. It's about the 4th century Roman emperor, who was the last best hope of preventing Christianity from taking over. Every page has depth of both imagination and historical insight.

Before waking up this morning, I had a vivid dream that took place at my father's office, on West Water Street, in Elmira, New York. He had driven me downtown and, staying in the car, asked me to run in and get something for him. I walked thru that familiar door and into that familiar space, where I had seen him countless times.

The business was dissolved long ago. The building that housed his office was torn down after the devastating 1972 flood, and the site is now a park by the now-placid river. My father died in August 1982.

Today would have been his 95th birthday. Odd.

Our summer plans are coming together. This Friday, Karen's friend Barbra, who has been dealing with MS for several years, arrives from Napa. Karen's 96 year-old Mom arrives from Pasadena next Tuesday night. We all go to Manzanita for a week at the end of next week.

Then, we are home for a day (to take the out-of-towners to the airport), then we drive up to the Olympic penninsula for another week.

But today and tomorrow, it's going to be hot, and all I can think about is the billions of dollars we are flushing away in Iraq, and how the Roman Empire became so totally rotten.

James Madison said:

"If the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds to believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty."

Enough

I continue to marvel at the scenes from 'Sicko' that showed 100s of thousands of people marching in the streets of Europe, demanding that their voice be heard. The film stated it plainly: in France (especially) the government fears the power of the People. In the US, the People fear the power of the government.

The 2nd point that the film makes, is that life in the US appears to be intentionally structured to keep people fearful of getting in political trouble, because it might mean losing their job and their health insurance.

Independence Day is tomorrow. It's beyond time for a Declaration (we don't even need a new one - the original is still just fine).

I am disgusted.

Constitutionally speaking

If you read the clause about Impeachment, it includes 'bribery' among the sins for which officials can be impeached.

Seems to me that commuting Scooter's prison sentence is the same as saying "I'll do this for you, and you keep you damn mouth shut, OK?"

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

before I go to the dentist this morning...

I took this simple test, and you should, too.

Spoiler alert: you are very likely headed for Hell. I am.

the invisible man

Dennis Kucinich was to appear at Benson High School last night. I had planned to go, but hurt my back Saturday, and spent all day Sunday in bed (reading Civil War history, so it wasn't a total loss).

This morning, I checked the web sites of all three Portland TV stations to read how the event was. Surprise! Not a single word, from all three, including KGW (i.e. 'Northwest NewsChannel 8').

You'd think that an appearance by a Democratic Party presidential candidate would merit mentioning. It might even be important enough to take the place of the news video at the top of today's list: Employee inflating a tire injured when it exploded.

If I was paranoid, I might tend to believe there was a conspiracy to keep news about Dennis from the public. Ya think?

a quaint notion

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
– Declaration of Independence, 1776

a night at the movies

Went to our local multiplex this evening, with Karen and a couple of friends. Before the previews began, the theater ran what amounted to an ad for the National Guard, praising its wonderful advantages and other benefits.

We all sat there muttering to ourselves, until someone had the courage to shout 'Bring them home now." The theater erupted in applause and cheers, and I turned to my friends and said "I love this town."

And then the movie began - Sicko.

We emerged from it depressed and enraged. You will, too. See it.

Canada is looking better all the time.

so much news, with many levels of importance

On KPOJ this morning (our local Air America affiliate), they presented an air-tight case for Impeachment, over the warrantless-wiretapping and attendant stonewalling and disregard of the Congressional oversight. Quite convincing.

Meanwhile, 5 more GIs dead in Iraq and the Bushie Supreme Court turns its back on its own precedents.

These, among others, are serious issues here in the human dimension.

And yet, my attention is drawn to the last three words in this headline.

Tick, tick, tick.

obama, where are thou?

hmmmm

the solution to all our troubles

It appears clear that the strategy of the Democratic Party leadership is topermit the Bush Administration to 'run out the clock', rather than calling the Executives on their many, well-documented (and acknowledged) High Crimes.

I do understand the political calculus behind that decision, and a convincing argument can be made that, the longer the festering Bushies remain in power,the more rats will leave that sinking ship, the more outrageous abuses come tolight, and the more damage is inflicted on the already-crippled NeoCon/GOP regime.

With this, Democratic electoral prospects for 2008 are improved (given enough turnout to clearly overwhelm the finely-tuned election fraud techniques, that the Rovians have mastered, since the Coup of 2000).

The only downside that I can see, is that we face another 18 months of needless military deaths (a small price to pay for Power), blatant Defensei ndustry corruption (ho hum, nothing new there), and the continued transference of the nation's remaining wealth into the pockets of the already-hideously wealthy.

No problem.

I say, if we are going to be saddled with the Cheney/Bush Administration until January 2009, let's make some lemonade out of those lemons!

My remedy is simply to continue to go about our daily business. Let the Mainstream News Media continue to direct our attention to Missing and/or RichWhite Women, let the Stock Market continue to reflect the Good News of International Corporatism and Globalization, and, above all, let it stand that the Vice Presidency is a 'special' Constitutional position, with unlimited power to dictate (and enforce) national policies that were previously unthinkable.

We can let Clinton, Obama, and Edwards duke it out for the top slot. Heck, maybe we can even let Kucinich's voice be heard, for a change - what does it matter? The position of 'President' is, now, such a pre-9/11 concept.

Consider this: Al Gore for Vice President!

surprise, surprise (not)

latest poll from New Hampshire shows Gore leading Hillary. Cool, eh?

Cheney, Cheney, Cheney - scared you, didn't I?

Fooled again. DOH!

This has got to go down in history as the most-perfect expression of Self Actualization in modern times:

You are appointed to head the Find-a-Vice-President committee, by a know-nothing, frat-boy, scared-shitless figurehead, and you nominate yourself. Then, you take over all the controls, and let the figurehead President do all the ceremonial fluff jobs (that the VP traditionally handled).

I heard this morning that the Secret Service's code-name for Cheney was 'Back Seat'. Quite amusing - those guys sure have a finely-tuned sense of irony.

Bush was all-too-happy to let Dick run everything (more time to exercise and cut brush!) and, now that Cheney is a runaway train, it's too late to rein him in. He is The State, and the rest of us better shut up, and that includes you, too, George.

The perfect symbol of this: when Bush was called to testify before the 9-11 Committee, and The Administration (hmmm - who could that be?) insisted that Bush and Cheney appear together, not under oath.

The Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy editorial cartoons were spot on.

Only now is it emerging that Back Seat considers himself as the Supreme Overlord, accountable to nobody and with limitless power, and, coincidentally, with a stock portfolio that, come 2009, will be in great shape.

It's hard to know if this is a case where the Bush Crime Family was outfoxed by the quiet guy from Wyoming, or if they are instead quite contented, in that Back Seat delivered the goods (think 'The Carlisle Group') far more effectively than W ever could have done.

Too soon to tell.

currently reading

'Under a Green Sky'.

Yikes.

a very random thought, leading to a long digression

From time to time, I browse the offerings in the craigslist 'CD/DVD/VHS' category, to see if someone is offering the 'Vertigo' DVD for $2 (I can dream, can't I?), or anything else I'd be interested in. It always astonishes me (speaking here as a movie snob) how many times you see an ad like this:

"Must sell today - $5 each"

...followed by a list of 10-15 generally stupid and/or insipid 'popular' movies.

To me, this is a tribute to the Genius of American Marketing, which, somehow, convinced the dumbasses of Our Fine Country that it's reasonable to continually shell out good money to own a completely disposable film - one which is difficult to justify paying $8.50 to see in an actual theater.

I suppose that people feel that, by buying these DVDs, they are 'building a video library' that they will proudly display in their drawing room, to convince guests and potential paramours with their urbane sophistication. How else to explain this list, actually found in a craigslist ad today:

Billy Madison
Irobot
Scary Movie 4
Stealing Harvard
Wedding Crashers unrated
War of The Worlds (New one)
Soul Plane
Family Guy Movie
Fun with dick and Jane
Stuck on You
Yours mine and ours
King Kong ( New one)
Date Movie
Bewitched
Saw II
The 40 year old virgin (New in plastic)
American Wedding
Die another day 007
NAtional Lampoons Black ball
Willy wonka and the chocolate factory
Malibus most wanted
The waterboy (Adam Sandler)
Elizabethtown
The benchwarmers
South Park Movie

Which leads me to mention the two most-recent DVDs I purchased for my video library. I bought them at my local Safeway, which had a 2-for-$10 special sale: 'Gettysburg' and 'Dr. Strangelove'.

I am an obsessive Civil War student. This goes back to the following experiences of my youth:

1) collecting the Civil War trading cards that are still fondly remembered

2) learning that my home town was the host to the prison camp that was called 'the Andersonville of the North'

3) discovering the weathered, stone block, along the curb in front of the Water Street house where my grandmother used to live, on which was carved something like 'boundary of the Elmira Prison camp - 1864'

4) and the Big Experience - visiting Gettysburg with my family, around 1958. I remember driving the battleground tour route, stopping at the key landmarks. I VIVIDLY remember the museum and the famous 'Electric Map' (with the narration using a phrase which was forever burned into my brain: "blood dripped in the Devil's Den".

But I digress.

I have read many books on Gettysburg, including the famous eye-witness account by Frank Haskell, and I was thrilled to see the film, produced by Ted Turner almost 15 years ago. For a measly $5, I could have a film that obsessed the writer/director for 15 years, that was partially filmed on the actual battlefield (apparently, they had to very carefully position actors and props to hide the innumerable monuments, statues, and markers), that involved thousands of volunteer re-enactors and equally-obsessive attention to detail, whose remarkable performance by Jeff Daniels completely erased all the bad karma from 'Dumb and Dumber', and, finally, whose eloquent and thoughtful script firmly established that Longstreet was right.

A couple of years ago, a chilly, snowy January, the Nature Conservancy sent me to Harrisburg, PA, to do some training on the Invasive Weed database I developed for them. I used that opportunity to use Baltimore as my base-of-operations (visiting friends there, from long ago), and I drove to Harrisburg via Gettysburg. I had an entire afternoon to drive around and had the place mostly to myself.

There were 3-6 inches of snow on the ground, but I spent a considerable time on Little Round Top

and at The Angle.



It was the first time I had been back there since my visit as an 8 year-old.

But I digress.

We look at Gettysburg knowing about World War I, and the profound futility of an infantry charging an entrenched line, that is well-supplied with (compared with the Napoleanic Wars) effective artillery and (relatively) easier-to-reload, accurate rifles. We today understand that Lee was blinded by his brilliance and successes of the preceeding campaigns (remember that his astonishing victory at Chancellorsville was only 2 months before). We understand (kinda) how 15,000 men could be convinced to obey the order to march a mile uphill, entirely exposed, in 90 degree heat, against Hancock's seasoned veterans, for glory and honor.

The 'Gettysburg' film was over 4 hours. I watched the first half (leading up to the 20th Maine's defense of Little Round Top - words cannot express this) at one sitting, and began the 2nd half. I paused it just as Longstreet gave his sad, silent nod to George Pickett, to prepare for the Charge.

It was appropriate to pause at that point, when it must have seemed within grasp that the Confederate army just might be on the verge of the final, decisive action, that would end (and win) the War, already in its 3rd bloody year.

I waited two days to watch the (now inevitable) finale. When it was over, Lee's gamble had been lost. Nobility and self-sacrifice were not enough to overcome, as Longstreet said, 'the mathematics'. The war would continue for two more years, and, if Gettysburg was a harbinger of the mass slaughter of World War I, even more horrifying battles were to come the following year, at Spottsylvania and (shudder) Cold Harbor.

But I digress.

Haven't watched the 'Dr. Strangelove' DVD yet. I've seen it many times. I'm waiting for the right moment, to savor it's many pleasures. Reading the Internet Movie Database page for that film, though, I did come across this delicious trivia tid-bit: Stanley Kubrick never told Slim Pickens that this was a comedy. Think about it.

I guess I can't end this post without shamelessly listing my own 'video library', in no particular order. These are films that I can watch over and over:

Casablanca
Lawrence of Arabia
Amadeus
Vertigo (VHS)
Stop Making Sense
Buster Keaton silents (a bunch - all VHS)
Rocky and Bullwinkle - Season 1 (3 DVD set)
Fargo
The Producers
The Great Escape
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

and, of course:

Gettysburg
Dr. Strangelove

And now a couple that I picked up various places, that you can have for $2 apiece:

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (worth watching twice, but that's all)
Lifeboat (Hitchcock's ham-handed WWII propaganda - Karen won this in a contest - worth watching once)
Melinda and Melinda (hey, it was only $5)

Must sell today (or let me know and I'll give it to you the next time I see you).

Just got one of those GOP robo-calls

Just like Randy Rhodes described a few days ago. The nice lady asked me if I would be able to answer a brief survey question, after listening to a brief message from Senator John Ensign. I naturally said 'sure', while quickly googling that Senator.

Of course, the recording was all about those damn liberals, especially Hillary and Obama, who want to destroy all the wonderful things that Our Great Leader, Ronald Reagan, stood for. You can imagine.

After a very brief delay, the lady came back on the line, and asked if I agreed that 'the country is on the wrong track, and we need to return to the ideals of St. Ronnie'.

I said, 'I certainly agree that the country is on the wrong track', but before she could launch into the "now I've got him" pitch, I added '...but not because of the reasons the Senator mentioned.'

'You see,' I continued, 'I believe the only President who has done more damage to America than George W Bush was Ronald Reagan.'

There was a short pause, and then the line went dead.

Wonder how they got my name and number. Obviously, they didn't go thru Homeland Security.

perfect example of "if you're in a hole, keep digging"

this

so much good stuff on the 'net today

Just came across this astonishing interview with a former high-profile Israeli, who has written a book declaring that Israel should have moved beyond Zionism long ago, and, instead, has become a dark reincarnation of the Nazism that gave it both a Reason To Be and a lingering, destructive paranoia.

It echoes much of what I have come to feel about Israel, a land that was presented to my childhood eyes as a Shining Beacon of Hope, Righteousness and Optimism.

That vision was dashed after a visit from an old friend (probably 10 years ago or more), who has lived in Jerusalem for many years, in an Orthodox community. This person, born and raised on Long Island, who I've known since I was 18, sat in my kitchen and calmly asserted that 'all the Arabs are dogs, and should be killed.'

Something went wrong.

a revised Declaration

nicely done

first Kurt Vonnegut, and now this

Another of my childhood heroes is gone.

FLASH: Bush told the truth!

Remember, months ago, when he said, "Oceans no longer protect us"?

Apparently, this is correct. Now, they can kill us.

maybe we should have elections more often

Wonder of wonders - Gordon Smith voted with the Democrats in the Gonzales 'no confidence' issue. Nice to see him listening to his conscience.

Too bad the same thing can't be said for Lieberman, but that's another story.

Capitalism: the economic model with a sense of humor - Part II

Once again, we see that one of the many let's-give-the-appearance-of-doing-something-about-National-Security measures is relaxed, because the Travel Industry is taking a hit.

The best thing to come out of Homeland Security (sic) is that the TSA is able to offer plenty of people minimum-wage jobs, reminding air travelers to take their shoes off, and seriously searching grandmothers and overweight white guys.

Maybe we can get the Airlines to complain to the Members of Congress, that, somehow, these measures are costing them money, and that, unless some of this nonsense is relaxed, it's No More Contributions For You. That should do it.

And now for something completely different.

I read this, but couldn't quite understand the scientific explanation offered. I guess, if I read it again, it will remind me of something that I read previously.

fun with scams

got one of these today:

Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2007 09:13:00 AM PDT
From: "Mapule Baloyi"
To:
Subject: FROM MAPULE BALOYI

Good Day!
My Name is Mr.Mapule Baloyi, a credit officer of the Lloyds TSB Group plcUk.
I have a proposal to discuss with you concerning one of our latecustomer who is a national of your country.

[snip]

You get the idea. I thought that the sender's name was so odd, that it had to be an anagram, so I fired up the Internet Anagram generator, and found some possibilities:

PLIABLE AM YOU
BLAME PAL I YOU
LABIUM PAY OLE
EMAIL OPAL BUY
ALL YA BE OPIUM
LOYAL PUMA BE I

Guess I was wrong.

music and terrorism

I separated the songs from our Seattle performance into individual tracks, so you don't have to listen to all the banter between songs (which you can still hear here - again, our group was called V'Chaverim).

The MP3s are all here, for your downloading and listening pleasure.


Now, to terrorism.

Last Wednesday, I flew from Portland to Minneapolis, and, in both the Portland and Minneapolis airports, the recorded voice informed me that the Homeland Security (sic) Department has set the current Terror Level to 'Orange'.

Last Monday, I flew back from Milwaukee to Portland, and, in both the Milwaukee and Minneapolis airports, the recorded voice informed me that the Homeland Security (sic) Department has set the current Terror Level to 'Orange'.

What happened between those two points in time? The Bush Administration (sic) announced they had foiled a serious plot to wreak havoc at Kennedy Airport.

You'd think that that news would have had an effect on the Terror Level, wouldn't you? Guess not.

Maybe it's going to Orange from now on.

Be perpetually afraid, and take off those shoes, buster!

UPDATE: maybe the Terror Level didn't change after the new Plot was disclosed, because the actual threat was disgustingly OVERSTATED.

a transition day

So, after all the driving we did last week, when we went to Ashland, we just finished another busy few days.

Friday afternoon, Karen and I drove out to the Rock Creek campground east of Mt. Hood, where we set up camp. After eating, we went for a long walk with the dog, along the lakeshore. It was still and warm at sundown, as we settled in for a peaceful evening.

The folks in the space next to us, were just getting warmed up, however, and their rowdy antics lasted for hours, disrupting the sleep of everyone else. It was really the most inconsiderate yahoo behavior I've been around in years - quite remarkable.

They settled down somewhere long after midnight, and, fortunately, packed up and left early Saturday morning. After a while, we headed out for the annual Wamic rummage sale, a long-standing obsession. We got a bagful of assorted useful stuff for $1, including two stainless-steel saute pans (that match our daily pots and pans), an ink-jet refill kit, catnip toys, and more.

Then, we checked out a minor State Park that I'd heard about but had never visited. The White River flows south and east from a glacier on Mt. Hood, and its canyon, a few miles south of Wamic, is quite deep and impressive. It crosses a major lava flow near Shearer's Falls, the site of White River Falls State Park. The thundering sound from the parking area promises a spectacle, and the view from above is indeed impressive. However, following the 1/4 mile, steep, dusty trail, down into the canyon, is worth the effort.

Much more of the waterfalls and canyon is revealed, as hundreds of swallows swirl around and around. There are also the remains of a 1910 power-plant at the bottom - someone went to a lot of trouble. Here's the view:

By the time we got back to the campground, our friends were beginning to arrive. Over the next few hours, the gang showed up, we had our normal splendid dinner and campfire, and the wine was flowing, and the night was quiet, as it should be.

Sunday morning, it was bright and breezy, and the stiff wind continued all day. Karen went golfing with the golf-nuts (they call it the annual 'Wamic Open') while I stayed around camp, reading and organizing stuff, while I waited for Dylan and his friend Jordan to show up.

They got there around 11, which was a major relief, not only for their safety in making the drive and finding the campground, but because their arrival was the critical piece in the weekend's plan. I turned over all our gear and the dog to them, and, after Karen got back, the two of us headed off.

We drove north to The Dalles, then continued into central Washington, up to Yakima. This was the route I had taken (in the other direction) one day in 1976 - the first day I ever set foot in Oregon. Traffic was pretty light and the day was beautiful, although still windy. At Yakima we join I-82 to Ellensburg, thru a surprisingly remote and empty landscape. This was a road I had never taken, which is always a thrill. We hit I-90 and turned west, towards Snoqualmie Pass.

It's a dramatic drive thru the Cascades, with snow-topped mountains, sweeping alpine vistas, swirling clouds, and even a bit of rain. The temperature dropped 20 degrees as the rain increased. By early evening, we were on the long downhill ride into Seattle, as the views changed from mountains to suburbs to urban congestion. Six hours driving finally brought us to our hotel, where we got cleaned up, got a bite to eat in a neighborhood BBQ joint, connected with our friends, staying at the same place, and finally settled in, on a real bed in a quiet room.

Monday morning, after breakfast, we headed over to the nearby Seattle Center, where I checked in our group for the Folklife festival. Then, over at the theater, I had a chance to warm up and get a feel for the piano. I was satisfied. Ed, Ilene and I met and talked through the six or seven numbers we had prepared, and changed into our concert clothes (we had a genuine dressing room, which was a hoot).

We were performing in a beautiful theater, probably the most fancy venue I've ever played. We were the 3rd act in the 'Big Jewish Show', and, I must say, it was great fun. We were all relaxed, and, despite Ilene's guitar issues (one of the pegs holding her B string to the body popped out during her first number, hit Ed in the head, then continued into the audience), the playing and singing was well-received.

THE ENTIRE PERFORMANCE IS HERE (our act is called V'Chaverim).

Karen was in the audience, with the video camera and its manual. She never did figure out how to turn it on, so all we have are a couple of still photos. Here's one of Ed and me, on stage, getting ready to start:

After we decompressed from our performance, we changed clothes and headed out to wander thru the festival. Someone said there were 100,000 people there, and that seemed possible. An amazing scene - dozens of separate stages, plus innumerable street performers along the walkways. Food, too!

Too soon, though, it was time to head out. We connected with Ilene, walked back to the hotel, loaded up the car, and headed south. I-5 was an easy drive - traffic not bad and a superb day.

Home by 6. We spent hours cleaning the house and doing laundry. I emptied one duffle and immediately began packing my larger one, since I leave for Wisconsin Wednesday morning.

Today's my day to get a few things organized, mow the lawn, send out some invoices, and prepare for yet another trip. The people of the future may find it hard to believe that people lived like this.

Kucinich tells the truth about the Oil

Did anyone besides me watch Kuchinich on C-SPAN, passionately pleading that we abort the obscene Hydocarbon Law we are forcing on Iraq?

It began while Monica Goodling's appearance was happening, but I watched the last 30 minutes or so.

What a performance - I bet no media outlet takes notice. He is the voice of moral conscience, and nobody wants to hear that we are all complicit in this grand theft.

After all, it's a long-standing tradition that bullies take what they want. Recently, I heard the European invasion of North America described as 'armed robbery'. Indeed.

I read the news today, oh boy

Let's see, should the big news for today be Al Gore's new book, or this?

back from a delightful interlude

but first, this

We drove to Ashland last Thursday, checked into our wonderful B&B, went for a short stroll in Lithia Park, grabbed some dinner, then headed off for our first play. It was superb - great writing, acting, etc. Our local theater company in Portland will be doing it next year.

Friday morning, we headed off for a wildflower hike, along Grizzly Peak. It was 5.4 miles of quiet forests, great views, and a zillion colorful flowers. We got back into town around 3, in time to rest a bit before a great dinner here (I had a wonderful vegetarian chili rellano), and then another play, a break-neck, silly farce, with wild puns and costumes. Pure fluff.

Saturday morning, we were picked up at 8:15 at the B&B, and driven to the put-in for a raft-trip down the Upper Klamath, organized by this company. The water was wild and white. I had done part of this run several years ago, but we did a much longer stretch. Karen had never done this river and was apprehensive, but the guide was amazingly cool and competent, and the thrills were many and the lunch was embarrasingly abundant. Due to the inaccessibility of this river, the shuttle driver had to drive over 200 miles from the put-in to the take-out.

We got back to Ashland around 5, just long enough to shower and get cleaned up, before the arrival of one of Karen's distant relatives, who is currently on contract with the Shakespeare Festival this year, as a 'dramaturg'. We went out to dinner at the classy Ashland Springs Hotel. The food was exquisite and astonishingly expensive - our splurge meal of the trip.

After dinner, we walked a bit thru Lithia Park, then, after some ice cream, said our good-byes and headed back to our room.

Sunday, we headed back to Portland, via Jacksonville, stopping in Albany to have lunch with Karen's cousin Rion, who lives in Corvallis. Arriving home at 4 pm, we found the house, Dylan, and the animals all in good shape. I was exhausted, but then a phone call came thru from another good Portland friend, who invited us to dinner at her new house, so it was off again.

By 9, I was ready to collapse, and did. How's that for 4 days?

worth reading

from Common Dreams

now, the Not worth reading: an update on My Life

Karen and I leave later this morning for 4 days in Ashland. We are going to plays tonight and tomorrow night, and hope to do a little hike tomorrow and a white-water trip on Saturday. It's our postponed-for-two-weeks Anniversary getaway.

This being the 21st Century, the B&B where we're staying has WiFi. Gives new meaning to the phrase 'getaway'.

Actually, this is the beginning of a very busy month, with all kinds of events and travels between now and late June. Updates later. For now, it's time to finish packing and hope we can hit the road by 10 am.

like father like son

this explains why Fox News is successful.

Dick, Dick, Dick...

"May 10, 2007 -- WMR has received a third well-placed confirmation that Vice President Dick Cheney, while CEO of Halliburton, was a client of the escort service of DC Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey. In addition, one of Cheney's closest military advisers and friends was also a client of the DC Madam's Pamela Martin & Associates escort service. Cheney used the escort service while he was a part time resident of the posh Ballantrae section of McLean, Virginia."

WMR is Wayne Madsen's blog. No wonder Shooter scooted off to Iraq this week! No wonder the media has been pressured to keep the lid on this matter.

Best comment on this story, from another blog: "He just went to see her for a heart massage."

have you seen these videos?

new Bill Richardson ad

Jane Fonda on The Colbert Report

Wesley Clark on O'Reilly

snoozin'

not much happening - work-load slow - weather nice - upcoming fun trips.

Last night, I made a casserole using greens entirely from our garden, with feta cheese, egg, lemon, etc. Karen, who is supposedly lactose-intolerant and off cheese, dug in and pronounced it very good.

The tomatoes and peas are looking good. The basil and peppers not so good, but hanging in there. Still waiting for the parsnips to germinate. The broccoli I planted last fall is still putting out tender stalks, and the leaves were part of the casserole.

No library books out at the moment - a rare occurrence - so I am reduced to finishing back issues of The New Yorker and the perennial stack of books at my bedside. Have been dipping into a book of Mark Twain's speeches (he often provided copies of his texts to reporters beforehand, and many of these survived), and, although occasionally quite clever, not on a par with his other brilliant stuff.

I still miss Kurt Vonnegut. The last library book I finished, yesterday, was 'Fates Worth than Death', a pastiche of autobiographical pieces he released back under George Bush I, which I had never read. It was like discovering a hidden treasure that had been in a time-warp. It was a little odd to have to make the mental adjustment, every time he referred to Republicans and their dirty little wars and corruption, to remind onesself that that was a different time. Yeah, right.

Waiting to hear from a client about some changes they want. If I don't get an email from them soon, I'm going outside to pull weeds.

Paris in the springtime

So, the media has its celeb-of-the-week story, with Paris Hilton off to the slammer. Seems like the Martha Stewart story, except we kinda like Martha, and we don't like stuck-up rich people.

I suppose this is enough to satisfy the public's need for incarceration-of-bad-guys for now, but I still yearn for some genuine come-uppance for Commander Guy and his Lost Planet Airmen.

22 years

It's our anniversary today, and we both actually remembered! Hasn't always been easy, but, if we make it thru the upcoming kitchen rennovation, we should be good for another few years.

it's a bi-polar world

I was hit by overwhelming depression Saturday - a combination of things political and personal. I spent 5 hours in the middle of the day lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering what it would take to make me leave it.

It broke around 7 pm.

Sunday was a beautiful day, again. I spent 4 or 5 hours digging out blackberries from an area I spent two days on, last year. Little by little, the battle against those intruders goes on. By 2 pm, I could report 'Mission Accomplished', and had the scratched and bleeding arms and legs to show it.

Got myself cleaned up, rested a bit, then reported for accompanist duty at a dry-run/performance of the Portland Jewish Choral festival program, which is actually happening next weekend. I am playing for three different choral groups, and Sunday's rehearsals and performances kept me occupied for over 3 hours. It went well - final rehearsal is Wednesday night.

What a contrast between those two days.

Forgot to mention that, on Sunday, I also made progress on my vegetable garden. The peas are coming along nicely, and I now have tomatoes, peppers, and basil growing, with the parsnips seeded. Also, the wintered-over brocolli and rhubarb is doing great and the fruit trees have passed the blossom-stage.

It's almost enough to make one believe in God. Almost (but not quite).

Reading Greg Palast's newly-released-and-enhanced 'Armed Madhouse' (I got an autographed copy for a $50 contribution to his investigative fund). It is depressing.

Also reading a collection of Mark Twain speeches/lectures. Some of it is dated, but, when he's good, he's very good.

I understand he was a bit bi-polar, too. I respect that.

Happy May Day.

more Vonnegut

here's a wonderful interview with him, with a surprise ending. Worth reading slowly, savoring the humor and humanity.

another crony bites the dust

So, the guy Bush placed as head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) resigns for 'personal reasons', and the media is licking its lips, looking forward to tweezing out all the salacious details of the DC Call-girl ring.

Wouldn't it be better to ask why the Bushies felt that it was beneficial to install as head of that agency, a guy whose former position was as....ready?....chairman, president and chief executive of the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company.

I like to watch the corporate ABC evening news, to see just how selective and skewed their coverage of the day's events are, but, to me, the most amazing aspect of Corporate News is the parade of phamaceutical ads. The profits must be mighty indeed for this industry to have so successfully bought into both Big Media and Big Government.

THAT's the story worth pursuing, not the 'massages'.

Back to the ABC Evening News - their 'coverage' of the Democratic candidates forum (I was going to write 'debate' - how silly) consisted of a very brief wide-shot of the group, followed by very short close-ups of Hillary and Obama. The copy behind the pictures was 'not much happened.'

I am amazed they passed up the opportunity to play Gravel's clip dissing the front-runners, but impressed how, once again, they managed to suppress any reference to He-Whose-Existence-Must-NEVER-Be-Acknowledged (Kucinich). Instead, they hurried on to a shocking, revealing, controversial segment about how Baby Boomers have lots of money to spend on luxuries.

Hoping to head downtown this afternoon to participate in the A28 Impeachment rally. East end of the Hawthorne bridge - noon.

tick...tick...tick...

bees

John McCain speaks his mind

awesome

Mark Crispin Miller video, and a story

"Did George Bush Commit Election Fraud?"

Mark was in Portland last year, and Karen and I went to hear him speak. This is a great summary of where we are, and outlines the big picture beautifully.


And now, a story.

Last weekend, there was an Earth Day event at our local Home Depot, where a group was collecting used/broken/obsolete electronics, for recycling. I took a bunch of things, both working and not, that had been cluttering up my office.

I have always been a radio guy - there are at least 6 that I use pretty regularly - and I own several others. My current favorite is a wind-up model, that puts out a lot of sound, and never uses batteries. But I digress.

One of the radios that I dropped off last weekend was about 6" x 3" x .5", required three AA batteries, and had no built-in speaker - totally obsolete by today's standards. I purchased it around 1980, in my home town in upstate New York, for my father.

At that time, he was still at home, wheel-chair bound but well into the decline that ended with his death in the summer of '82. His mind was still active, and I knew he was horribly frustrated by his growing physical incapacities. I visited from Oregon, and bought him two things:

First was a horn which I attached to his wheel-chair - the old fashioned type with a squeeze-bulb that produced a silly honk. It looked ridiculous, and he loved honking it for visitors (and, to call my Mom without having to yell, which was the main point). Somewhere, I have a photo of him sitting in that wheelchair, with that stupid horn visible.

The other was that radio, of course, which he used, for hours, with the accompanying headphones. He always tuned in to the 'easy listening' FM stations that were popular at the time (maybe still are), and I know that that music brought him a lot of comfort.

When I handed over the radio to the recycling person, I flashed on all that and it felt good to be reminded of the pleasure that music brought him (both from the radio and when I played the piano for him), but I also took note of one other thing. On a smooth area on the face of the radio, there was still the residue of a label that had once been applied, and then removed.

That label was applied in the hospital where he spent his final, agonizing four months (I was there much of the time). It had his name and room number on it. He had obviously wanted it with him, when he was admitted.

A year or so after he died, my mother decided to sell the house we all grew up in, and move out to the Bay Area, where my brother and his family lived. I went back to that house for the last time, to help prepare for the big garage sale.

Of all the items I could have selected to send/take back to Oregon (including some great old furniture, that Karen still sadly recalls, and was probably sold for next to nothing), I don't remember anything I brought back with me, except that radio. I don't think I ever used it.

After all, it required three AA batteries, and had no built-in speaker. Why would anybody be interested in something like that?

this is big

hmmmmm - the key paragraph:

"What's clear, however, is the highest ranks of the Republican Party's political wing, including White House counselor Karl Rove, a handful of the party's most tech-savvy computer gurus and the former Republican Ohio Secretary of State, created, owned and operated the vote-counting system that reported George W. Bush's re-election to the presidency. Moreover, it appears the votes that gave Bush his 118,775-vote margin of victory -- the boost from Ohio's countryside -- have yet to be confirmed as accurate. Instead, the reporting to date suggests that what happened on the ground and across Ohio's rural precincts is at odds with the vote tally released on Election Night."

house.of.cards.

great news!

this - let's keep the story from disappearing down the Memory Hole of the other Bush Crime Family crimes.

To add to this delicious stew, it appears that, tomorrow, Kucinich will be introducing a House resolution to impeach Cheney. How nice.

this is surreal

It's Rich Little's official web site, where he has Quicktime snips of all the impressions he does.

I'll bet the audiences of today are just thrilled to hear Ronald Coleman, Edgar Buchanan, Frank Fontaine, Joseph Cotten, Walter Pidgeon and Charles Bickford come to life once again.

And the winner of the 'who the fuck was that?' award goes to this clip. Rich, you gotta be kidding. Is it really necessary to brag 'I do a great Roger Livesey'? Why not just stick to the classics, like this *uncanny* (not) Robert Goulet?

Seems appropriate that the Bushies would select him to do the Correspondents Dinner this time around. After all, Rich was named 'Comedy Star of the Year' (in 1974, back when many former and current Bushies were needing a few laughs to nurse their hurt pride, following Nixon's downfall).

Gives new meaning to the phrase 'frozen in time'.

By the way, did you know that WikiPedia has an entire web page devoted to 'Canadian impressionists'?

John Dean article

Once again, a clear assessment of the week's big story, from someone who knows. Here is the best excerpt, if you aren't going to read the whole piece:

"In a premise to a question for Gonzales, Senator Whitehouse said he had found correspondence in the files of the Senate Judiciary Committee from the days when Orrin Hatch was chairman relating to an investigation of the relationship between the Clinton White House and the Justice Department (under Attorney General Janet Reno).

Hatch was concerned about the independence of the Department of Justice, so he wanted to know who in the White House could speak with whom in the Justice Department. The correspondence showed that four people in the White House (the President, Vice President, chief of staff, and White House counsel) could speak with three people in the Justice Department (the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney and the Associate Attorney General) - period.

Senator Whitehouse discovered - and created a chart to make the point - that in the Bush White House, a shocking 417 people could speak with 30 different people in the Justice Department. It was a jaw-dropper.

[snip]

Gonzales really had no response when asked about this subject. But this information shows that, in this Administration, the Department of Justice has become a mere political appendage of the White House."

That's what it's all about.

Harry Reid

At some point, even the most die-hard Confederate had to acknowledge that the Civil War was lost. Ditto for the German citizen (take your pick: 1918 or 1945) or the Russian citizen looking at their debacle in Afghanistan (which, by the way, in case you don't know, was brought about thru Jimmy Carter's plan to use CIA assets to lure the Russians into a disasterous, unwinnable occupation, where we armed the native Afghan resistance and brought in and trained radical Islamic troops in insurgency tactics, under our former buddy, UBL).

But I digress. Harry Reid says in public that Bush's war is lost. Any observer of world history and imperial over-reach knows that this is true. But the media blames Harry, and Bush mutters about 'pulling the rug' out from under the soldiers.

Let's face facts, folks. US foreign policy since the end of WWII has led to death, corrupt and repressive governments, shameless profiteering, and environment disaster. We are complicit in War Crimes, and, still, so many of us are unwilling to trouble our beautiful minds with the reality of what our love of the Good Life has meant to the rest of the world. If you have doubts, read this book, which I finished last night.

Instead, we fervently pray that Sanjaya will have a nice career, in whatever he chooses to do next.

We need massive buckets of cold water poured over our heads, and Harry contributed one yesterday. Too little. Too late.

The Gonzales hearings reveal an obvious long-range plan, to fix the system to insure Republican electoral victories forever - a systematic corruption of what used to be called 'Justice', in order to continually suck power and money into an already-bloated Monster.

Unfortunately, history seems to imply that, when things get corrupted to this point, heads eventually roll - the only question remaining is whose heads. Stay tuned.

MadMarine, are you still out there?

What do you make of this? Yeah, I know, more propaganda from Al Gore's insidious plan to profit from fear-mongering (now including those wiley Norwegians).

Why do I even bother posting this stuff? I am sinking into despair about this beautiful planet, that we ruined thru our God-given (well, Evolution-given, actually) insatiable greed and quest for comfort and convenience.

To me, it's no wonder that we haven't made contact with any other 'intelligent life-form' elsewhere in our galaxy - perhaps it's the Nature of Life that any civilization sophisticated enough to be able to produce machines to transmit and receive electromagnetic communications is also going to inevitably suffocate in the by-products of its industrialization. Perhaps I am over-anthropomorphizing.

I saw a video clip of Vonnegut last week, where he was asked what message he would deliver to the people of The Future. He looked into the camera and said, "We're sorry. Forgive us. We were drunk on petroleum."

well, he's got MY vote

Never have I felt so honored by an elected official.

Ho Ho Ho

First is was the nappy-headed Hos, and now it's just plain old Ho in the news.

As important as 'Tiny Bubbles' was to American cultural history, I'm sorry that the public mourning over the loss of Kurt Vonnegut is already fading. Flag should be a half-mast for a month, to honor the Sage of Indianapolis.

Hell, make that two months, and, while we're add it, let's dump 'In God We Trust' from our money, and replace it with 'So it goes.'

So it goes.

I distinctly remember being a very little kid, somewhere back in the late 50's, experiencing an electric shock of genuine astonishment, as I finished reading a short story that was innocently nestled among others, in a schoolbook anthology.

I think it was the very first time I realized that a 'mere story' could produce a feeling that the entire world had just shifted, and would never be the same.

The story ('I remember it as if it was yesterday'' is the cliched phrase here) was 'Report on the Barnhouse Effect'.

Years later, when Kurt Vonnegut's amazing novels became popular, I consumed them with the eagerness that was reserved for only two authors - Vonnegut and Gore Vidal (imagine reading 'Messiah' as a 12 year old). At some point, I realized that Vonnegut was also the author of 'Barnhouse Effect', and that made the memory of that story's impact on me even more intense.

I loved all of those early books: Cat's Cradle, Rosewater, Mother Night, and those two towering works of genius: Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse Five. As his output continued over the years, I continued keeping up with each release, not always with the same fervor as the early novels, but Vonnegut's voice always delivered a perspective to which attention must be paid.

In the last few years, I have loved reading his short pieces in 'In These Times', especially reprints of his college commencement addresses. His final gem of a book, 'A Man Without a Country', should be read by everyone.

Vonnegut always made a big deal out of his smoking Pall Malls, and his outrage that they had 'not killed him yet'. This morning, I hear he is dead, from complications from a fall. How appropriately ironic.

Somewhere, back in the 70's, I was visiting my friend Dr. Ken in New York City. I can't remember how much we had been smoking and drinking, but it may have been considerable. At some point in the evening, we decided to go to Vonnegut's apartment and tell him that we appreciated his work and that we hoped he'd be happier in the future. He was listed in the Manhattan phone book, and we went to his door.

There, in the mail slot, was a piece of paper with his name (clearly ripped from a personal check). We knocked. Nobody home. We were relieved.

So it goes.

so, you say I only talk about bad news?

take this!

Just imagine all the money flushed/lost in the GWOT having been diverted to energy research in 2001.

So many lost opportunities, all due to the results of the Coup of 2000.

here's hoping...

What opened the final crack in the Nixon regime? The disclosure of the secret taping system, that revealed a treasure-trove of corruption. We may be on the verge of a deja vu - read this.

It's hard to view the multiple email accounts in any light other than a deliberate plan to circumvent the public records law. Susan Ralston's email to Abramoff admitted exactly that.

So many laws broken, so much silence about this.

Why? Occam's Razor says that the people with the capacity to make an issue of the Bushies criminality are better off with them still in power, than with them tossed out and held accountable for their crimes.

Someone on Thom Hartmann's radio show this morning posed an explanation that is reasonable for me. Bush can't commit the US to an Iraq withdrawal until the Iraq Congress finishes work on the pending law, that hands the greatest share of the oil revenus to Exxon/Mobile and BP.

Once that step is finalized, Bush will truly have his 'Mission Accomplished' moment, and can gracefully leave center stage, confident that he has done his duty.

Meanwhile, Karl Rove is to appear in Portland on Friday. I don't know the details yet, but Thom Hartmann said he will be attending, not to confront. Seems like an opportunity to make a statement.


Finally (says Mr. Language Curmudgeon), an eHarmony ad on the radio this morning had the sexy-voiced woman describing her interests, among which was her 'Internet web site'. Isn't that sort of like a 'Food grocery store', a 'Car gas station', or a 'Animal Veterinary Hospital'? Again, Occam's Razor says that, yes, the sound of the message is now more important than the meaning of the words.

As further proof of that, we have this.

I gotta go.

now playing...

last night, we went to see The Lives of Others.

Very disturbing - highly recommended. Good thing it can't happen Here.

nice day

I got up early this morning, before the sun was really over the horizon, and walked outside to smell the clean, cool, fragrant Spring air.

Turned into a sunny, warm and dry day. Trees and shrubs flowering all over the yard.

I worked on a programming project for a while, but I had to stop, go out, dig some weeds, transplant some peas and basil, check the lettuce, and pretty up my little vegetable patch with some fresh mulch.

Then cook dinner for four hungry 19 and 20 year olds. Then (now evening, with Venus bright in the west), I took the dog for a walk. Time for a piece of apple/raspberry pie - both from last summer's harvest.

More GIs dead in Iraq. More Bush lies about Iran. More evidence of total corruption of our democratic institutions.

At least my dog is happy. Cats, too.

Good Friday coming up, then Easter. Spring. It's all connected.

scam or just weird?

We bought a used dining-room table last night, from a craigslist ad, and posted our old table on craigslist this morning. Here it is:

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/fur/305926217.html

I soon got an email from an interested party, and replied with our address. Here is what I got back:

Hello,

Thank you for the prompt response to my mail enquiry am quite satisfied with the condition of the item and price. Am very much interested in buying the item from you and i would like to make an outright purchase immediately, so i will advice that you withdraw the advert from the web.

I will be paying with a certified check. Furthermore my mover will be coming over for the pick up as i might not be available for the pick up myself. I would have loved to come and look it up but presently am not chanced to do that but am OK with the information from the ad. I will need the following information to make payment arrangement

1,Your full name to be on the check.
2,Your postal address.
3,Your phone number both land and mobile.
4,Your postal code.

Please do send me the following information as soon as possible. Regards.


My Scam-O-Meter is flashing red lights, but I can't figure out how the fraud will occur. Maybe they really do operate a fleet of trucks, that pick up stuff, drop off a bogus certified check, and then resell it, but that seems like a lot of trouble.

Maybe this is only step 1 , and step 2 asks for more confidential personal data, so they can do an identity theft. Seems much more plausible.

I wrote back that those terms are not acceptible, and we would be happy to accept cash from someone who comes to the house and haul the stuff away. Will I ever hear back? I doubt it.

Oh yeah, here's the sender's email address: dr.derickhanes242@gmail.com

I think the 'dr.' is a nice touch. On the Internet, nobody knows if you're an idiot or not.

Obama-rama

So he's pulling in tons of contributions - this is good. I feel he's a good guy, despite some history of standard political whoring (they all do it, except Peter DeFazio).

I'm certainly glad he's in the race - livens things up. I am just afraid that we are setting ourselves up to repeat the Bobby Kennedy story. There are wackos who will never stand for a tall man to be President (look what they did to Kerry).

We want our emperors to look like Napoleon (or, up until November '06, W).

I'm just guessing, but...

...when I see this AP story this morning:

"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would free the 15 detained British sailors and marines Wednesday as an Easter holiday "gift" to the British people."

All I can think is that a country with 2500 years of collective memory of international relations (and actually learning from its mistakes) is no match for the American neo-cons.

With all the rumors floating around that the Bushies were planning to strike Iran this weekend, the perfect tactic to defuse those plans is to take an action guaranteed to dominate the 24/7 international News Machine for the next three days, reinforcing the global image of Iran as being generous and reasonable.

Maybe I give them too much credit for subtle strategic thinking, but just remember how much great publicity Cyrus got in 538 BC, when he encouraged the exiled Jews in Babylon to return to their homeland. It's in your Bible - look it up (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

is this weird?

or what? Amazingly, the comments are all about the creepy content of Bush's words, but I am creeped out by the veep-creep, creeping in the foliage. It's alarming, sad, and...well...creepy.

happy Passover

Matza Brei:

Not as good as Mom used to make, but still...

as we have long suspected...

this great post by Digby ties it all together. The Karl Rove operatives have been working tirelessly to corrupt the highest levels of our republic, since their preparations for the Coup of 2000. The new Monica makes the sins of the old Monica laughably (almost) trivial.

Tip.of.the.iceberg.

Meanwhile, I was struck, while listening to the radio news this morning, how odd it is that Americans just can't be bothered to devote their precious energies to the many human tragedies around the world, but it's Headline News that, now, up to 16 pets have died from tainted goodies.

Millions of (non-white, non-Christian) humans dead vs. 16 pets. Apparently, now, folks are preparing lawsuits, claiming emotional distress over Muffy's untimely end.

Americans: so sheltered; so isolated. So plugged into The Matrix.

UPDATE: did I say 'since...the Coup of 2000'? How could I have been so naive? Check this out (watch the whole thing, but the payoff begins at 3:53).

intentional irony, or unconscious denial?

You decide. Contrast the content of this article with the accompanying ad: