Monthly Archive for February, 2006

1,300

Published
by
alice
on February 28, 2006
in bush, civil & human rights, cool sites, defending marriage, war and wingnuts
. 0 Comments

That’s the Iraqi death toll in just the past several days. You’re doing a heck of a job, Rummy! No wonder the “i” word is back on people’s lips…

Has anyone seen a copy of this book yet? It’s from the Center for Constitutional Rights (ccr-ny.org). There’s more here.

What the hell is going on in Florida? They don’t care who’s running their ports (they do have just a few), but they’re all about spending googobs of money on hatin’ the homos! What is wrong with these people? Seriously — the possiblity of explosions, death, destruction and mayhem in Miami is not a concern for them, but they become hysterical at the suggestion that two people who love eachother might form a legal bond? Sigh.

I ran across this blog today and it cracks me up. This guy is wound pretty tight in a Lewis Black sorta way.

I think maybe I’ve posted a link to the balloon hat experience before, but it’s late and I’m too lazy/tired to check. It’s still cool.

###

Ouch!

Published
by
alice
on February 27, 2006
in bush and cheney
. 1 Comment

Bush at 34%, Cheney at 18%


###

Threes?

Published
by
alice
on February 27, 2006
in goodbyes
. 7 Comments

Friday – Don Knotts
Saturday – Darren McGavin
and now, come to find out Dennis Weaver — great philanthopist, environmentalist and activist — also died on Friday.

###

More ports, Fox, Santorum, Harris, Forests and Tunes!

Published
by
alice
on February 26, 2006
in bush, family values, shills, tennessee and wingnuts
. 5 Comments

Oh, boy. Turns out this ports scandal is scalable.

A United Arab Emirates government-owned company is poised to take over port terminal operations in 21 American ports, far more than the six widely reported.

In other news…

When you read the phrase or hear someone say “fair and balanced” in reference to Fox”News,” do you laugh or cry? Surely there is no one left on the planet with a cable tv subscription who doesn’t believe that Fox is little more than a propoganda arm of the RNC. Well, they’ve moved the goalposts yet again, folks. Now instead of just reading White House press releases, the Fox “News” team is actively out there campaigning for republican candidates.

And speaking of Santorum, the republican party’s paragon of ethical conduct has gotten himself into the kind of trouble that only Tom DeLay (and the uber-sleazy and shameless US Chamber of Commerce) would be proud of. It turns out that besides accepting special treatment at banks, our little Ricky has been lining the pockets of his aides with money that was supposed to go to charities.

But in today’s republican party, the sleazoid olympics are only just getting started! The American people are having a hard time deciding if Katherine Harris is really evil or unbelievably stupid, but one thing’s for sure: Jeb, Karl, et al are through dealing with this particular campaign bus whore. So much for family values.

Closer to home, Bush wants to sell off some of Tennessee’s forests to reduce the deficit. Hey — here’s an idea, George: how about you cut back on the millionaire tax cuts and corporate welfare instead of selling out what little wilderness we have left for a few bucks? What’s next? Selling our ports to the highest bidder?

Ooops.

Sigh. Well, just for fun, go see what was Billboard’s #1 song on the day you were born, or graduated from high school, or whatever…

UPDATE (Feb. 28th): Well, it looks like the answer in the Katherine Harris conundrum is a) really evil. For b) unbelievably stupid to still be an option, we’d have to upgrade it to stratospheric levels of stupid, since it would seem that ooops, I did it again might be appropriate background music for this revelation:

But long before any of us had heard of “butterfly ballots” or “hanging chads,” Harris was known for something else: accepting illegal campaign contributions. As a candidate for the state Senate in 1994, Harris received more than $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions from an insurance company she subsequently helped by introducing legislation that would have hurt one of its competitors. Harris said back then that she had no idea that the contributions she was getting were illegal, and her office seems to be making a similar suggestion this time around.

Stick a fork in her inflatable boobs. I think she’s done.

###

First the truck and now Barney!

Published
by
alice
on February 25, 2006
in goodbyes
. 1 Comment

Man, today kinda sucked.

###

RIP, trusty truck

Published
by
alice
on February 25, 2006
in goodbyes and photos - 2006
. 3 Comments

Oh, sad, sad day… DH was driving down North Market Street this morning and a huge suburban pulled out from one of those many side streets around Mia Cuchina right into his path. He tried to stop, and tried to swerve, but there was no avoiding the collision. We are very grateful that no one was injured in the accident, and also thankful that the other driver is fully insured. Unfortunately, it looks as though our truck has been totalled. This pickup, a 1988 Mazda B2200, has been with us since 1992, through thick and through thin. It has seen us through several moves (both our own and those of others) and countless hauling jobs, and was the vehicle DD used most often when she was learning to drive. It didn’t have a gun rack, a rebel flag or a giant “3″ on it (it did, however, have a stealie sticker!), but it still maybe made us yankees feel a little bit more like real Chattanoogans at a time when we were still acclimating to life in the South. It was a good, basic truck — standard transmission, no computers or power windows or other fancy stuff that might go awry — and therefore, a very dependable vehicle. I think the odometer was up around 150,000 miles and we had no plans to ever retire such a steady workhorse. We were worried we might lose her when Tennessee recently started emissions testing, but we actually made it over that hurdle just a few months ago. And now she’s gone. We’ll miss you, our trusty friend.


###

Awesome! Historic Films on Google Video!

Published
by
alice
on February 24, 2006
in movies
. 2 Comments

Here’s the poop (and the link) from BoingBoing:

Google today announced the addition of 103 historic films from the US National Archives in Google Video. Included:

* Footage of the Apollo 11 mission, and the first person to step on the moon: Link

* From 1894, “Carmencita – Spanish Dance” — one of the oldest films at the archives: Link

* A representative selection of U.S. government newsreels, documenting World War II, 1941-45: Link.

* NASA documentaries on spaceflight: Link.

* Films from the 1930s, that document the history and establishment of a nationwide system of national and state parks.

* Early footage of Native American life, the Boulder Dam, water and wind erosion in America, Civilian Conservation Corps workers, and the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

* From 1970, a motion picture documenting recreational programs for inner city youth: Link

###

Inventory

Published
by
alice
on February 24, 2006
in bush and quotes
. 1 Comment

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best, “The louder he spoke of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” And no administration in U.S. history has spoken louder, or as often, of its honor.

So let us count our spoons.

And with that, Stephen Pizzo has begun counting: emergency management, fiscal management, Katrina relief, medicare drug program, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, social programs, the military, the environment, trade, energy, consumers, human rights… it’s painful to see it all laid out there in a list, and that’s only the beginning (via Joe. My. God.).

###

Here Comes Al!

Published
by
alice
on February 24, 2006
in gore
. 3 Comments

woot! Via TGW, here’s an article by Dick Morris about my favorite ‘08 contender.

###

Friday Creature

Published
by
alice
on February 24, 2006
in friday creature - birds and photos - 2006
. 7 Comments

I hope no one is getting tired of pictures of birds at my feeders. I haven’t had the opportunity to take photos of creatures in any other setting in a while, but I suppose shots out the window are more in keeping with the title of this blog anyway. It’s always exciting to see a nuthatch at my feeder since these elegant birds don’t visit very often.

Want more creatures? There are plenty at the Friday Ark. Have a great weekend!


###