As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap

UPDATE VIII: Spill, baby, spill!

"Right now, royalty rates for offshore leases end up promoting dangerous deep-water drilling — the deeper you drill, the less you have to pay the government in royalties. Under the Deepwater Royalty Relief Act of 1995, Congress even waived royalties on millions of barrels of oil for certain deepwater leases from 1996 to 2000. This and other royalty relief programs have deprived the Treasury of billions of dollars in revenue, while rewarding the riskiest drilling in the deepest waters. " Read The New York Times, The Good Driller Award.


UPDATE VII: Quit whining. "The Niger Delta, where the wealth underground is out of all proportion with the poverty on the surface, has endured the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill every year for 50 years by some estimates. The oil pours out nearly every week, and some swamps are long since lifeless. " Read The New York Times, Far From Gulf, a Spill Scourge 5 Decades Old.

The article includes pictures of the ecological damage.

SUV driving Americans never cared about oil spills before. Where did they think the gas came from?


UPDATE VI: RICO's to blame for "an ecological Armageddon that could literally destroy the marine and coastal environment and way of life for generation of Americans." Read the Pensacola News Journal, RICO suit: BP manipulated Bush team.

To read the court documents, click here.

Sounds like the complaint is largely about the political process -- the American public voted for deregulation and they got what they voted for:

The biggest oil spill ever. The biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. The deadliest mine disaster in 25 years. One recall after another of toys from China, of vehicles from Toyota, of hamburgers from roach-infested processing plants. The whole Vioxx fiasco. And let's not forget the biggest climate threat since the Ice Age.

And with deregulation, there is no longer a need to export our industrial catastrophes, such as Union Carbide's Bhopal disaster.

Yet the faux populists of the Tea Party train their anger on the government while giving corporations a pass. And Obama, accused of being a socialist, has actually been a no-fault capitalist, cleaning up corporate messes without winning much in the way of new laws to prevent a recurrence.

Too many corporations have survived their misdeeds with no more than an angry hearing or two: GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Bank of America, Massey Energy. The legislative dressing-down obviously isn't sufficient deterrent. Neither is firing the CEO, because he's invariably replaced by another just like him.

Thus, the court should dismiss the complaint and remind the public, we've got the best government business interest can buy.


UPDATE V: What is the true cost of gas? Read the Washington Post, Think gas is too pricey? Think again.

Also "[a] quenchless thirst for whale oil, then petroleum, pushed man ever farther and deeper. And with great hubris, great risk." Read The New York Times, The Ahab Parallax: ‘Moby Dick’ and the Spill.


UPDATE IV: "While the gulf tragedy is the big oil story of the moment, Ecuador is still hurting from destructive drilling going back decades.” Read The New York Times, Disaster in the Amazon.

And did you know, "[t]he oil deposit now leaking slowly into the sea would have provided about five days' worth of oil to Americans." Read The New York Times, For Five Days of Oil.

Was it worth it?


UPDATE III: ""Deregulation" is wonderful until we discover what happens when regulations aren't issued or enforced. Everyone is a capitalist until a private company blunders. Then everyone starts talking like a socialist, presuming that the government can put things right because they see it as being just as big and powerful as its Tea Party critics claim it is. " Read the Washington Post, Gulf oil spill offers a lesson in capitalism vs. socialism.

Note: regulation is not socialism.

How ya likin that laissez-faire capalism now! Not everybody does. Read the Washington Post, Time for industry to end its war on regulation.


UPDATE II: "An environmental 9/11 is unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. Will President Obama have the courage to ask the country to get behind a new strategy on energy?" Read The New York Times, Obama and the Oil Spill.

Or will we continue to reap 'the benefits' of our oil addiction, including environmental catastrophes and terrorism.


UPDATE: There is an old proverb, author unknown: "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it." Read the Washington Post, Oil well's blowout preventer had leaks, dead battery, design flaws.

Don't ya just love that Republi-con -- less government, less regulation, and more freedom -- ideology now. The banksters, mining companies, and oil companies sure do!

"[T]he Minerals Management Service became subservient to the oil industry — although what actually happened is almost too lurid to believe. According to reports by Interior’s inspector general, abuses at the agency went beyond undue influence: there was “a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity” — cocaine, sexual relationships with industry representatives, and more. Protecting the environment was presumably the last thing on these government employees’ minds." Read The New York Times, Sex & Drugs & the Spill.

After decades of antigovernment ideology, what did you expect?

Did The Spies Flunk Charm School?

UPDATE II: These two article go a long way to explaining and understanding the mindset and stupidity of nationalist in any country. Read The New York Times, ‘Illegals’ Spy Ring Famed in Lore of Russian Spying and the Washington Post, Up to their old spy tricks again.

The 'illegals' clearly enjoyed being placed in the U.S., "content to enjoy American life" and be paid to provide information readily available in the media, including the internet. If anything, they were " more like white-collar fraudsters who convinced their Russian handlers that U.S. secrets were just around the corner."


UPDATE: Here is the criminal complaint about the Russian spy ring:
Sealed Complaint: U.S. Investigates Alleged Russian Spy Ring

"On June 28, 2010, the Justice Department announced charges against 11 people accused of living for years in the United States as part of a deep-cover program by S.V.R. — the successor agency to the Soviet-era K.G.B. The criminal complaints, filed in federal court, read like a thriller."

Actually, it sounds like a sequel to Nelson DeMille's The Charm School.

China Laughs All the Way to the Bank

UPDATE II: 'While America fights China does business.' Read the Washington Post, China's quiet power grab.


UPDATE: Americans died for Chinese businesses. Read the Washington Post, Risk-tolerant China investing heavily in Iraq as U.S. companies hold back.

While most Republi-cons are obsessed by guys in caves who pose no danger to the country in the long term, China laughs as it creates a world economy that serves China's interests. Read the Washington Post, China's $2.4 trillion grip on the global economy.

Better sign your kids/grandkids up for Chinese lessons.

Who Wins a Religious War?

"Once you decide that some group is your implacable enemy, your mind gets a little warped." It's called cognitive distortion. Read The New York Times, The Myth of Modern Jihad.

BTW, only OBL and his kind win a religious war.

Class Today (Vice Thursday) at NoBullU on WEBY

UPDATE: As discussed, "[t]he oil deposit now leaking slowly into the sea would have provided about five days' worth of oil to Americans." Read The New York Times, For Five Days of Oil.

There will be another test next week.

P.S.: These links confirm the conclusion of the article: about the Macondo Prospect and oil consumption in America.

It's a host swap!

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: VP Bite Me visits the Gulf coast; Escambia County wants BP to give them the money (around $3.1 million for May 'expenditures'); save those tar balls, close the beaches; update -- FL 2010; damned if you do, damned if you don't -- Santa Rosa School District update and


Nation and international: did the spies flunk charm school?; more Supreme Court judicial activism; not McCrystal clear; faking it!; stupid people shouldn't be president; health care lawsuit update; and oil spill fallout to date: lost compensation, should you after lying to the IRS?, that unholy ecological alliance, is it a shakedown?, Jones Act BS, understanding the true cost of gas, tell me -- the oil deposit now leaking would have provided how many days' worth of oil to Americans?, Obama's energy pipe dreams, is it time for N2N, RICO's to blame for "an ecological Armageddon that could literally destroy the marine and coastal environment and way of life for generation of Americans", show me the money, local delirious with opportunistic greed, is it fair?, and Escambia County want lunch and dinner with their tar balls, as well as $9.1 million, does the oil keep flowing cause we are just not angry enough or is it God's wrath for destroying his planet?, how to plug that oil well, shocking realization that bottom-line influences corporate policy, political grandstanding, and Republi-CON 'less government' hypocrisy.

(Any chance of a serious discussion regarding risk and "the difficulty of predicting disaster in complex technological systems" (read The York Times, Drilling for Certainty)? Tune-in and find out.)

And a cure for gonorrhea lectim

But I'll discuss anything. Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events!

Hope For Daydreamers

"Researchers have been analyzing daydreaming, and they’ve found those stray thoughts to be remarkably common — and often quite useful." Read The New York Times, Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind.

Daydreaming has also be a popular theme of literature.

The Third Depression?

There was the Long Depression, then the Great Depression, and the 2008 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics argues that we are now in the early stages of a third depression because of a failure of policy. Read The New York Times, The Third Depression.

Our Afghanistan Strategy is Not McCrystal Clear

UPDATE III: "What exactly was McChrystal fired for? A closer read of Rolling Stone's article shows bad judgment. But insubordination?" Read The New York Times, Media Decoder: McChrystal’s Quality Time With Rolling Stone: Impertinent? Check. Insubordinate? Maybe Not.


UPDATE II: For an interesting take on the changing role of the media, especially as it relates to the McCrystal story in Rolling Stone, read The New York Times, The Culture of Exposure, which concludes that "the exposure ethos, with its relentless emphasis on destroying privacy and exposing impurities, has chased good people from public life, undermined public faith in institutions and elevated the trivial over the important. "

As my Mama always said, watch who you kvetch with.


UPDATE: "Although McChrystal is a fine soldier who rendered especially distinguished service in Iraq, there is no reason to ascribe to him either egomania or insubordination. He did, however, emphatically disqualify himself from further military service and particularly from service in Afghanistan. There the military's purely military tasks are secondary to the political and social tasks for which the military is ill-suited, and for which McChrystal is garishly so. " Read the Washington Post, McChrystal had to go.

Gen. McCrystal's impertinent comments renew attention on that other war. For more read:

Washington Post, A flawed strategy and a failed war in Afghanistan;

The New York Times, Karzai Is Said to Doubt West Can Defeat Taliban;

Washington Post, U.S. indirectly paying Afghan warlords as part of security contract;

Washington Post, The wound McChrystal opened;

The New York Times, General Faces Unease Among His Own Troops, Too; and

The New York Times, What’s Second Prize?.

McCrystal is the one who wanted the 'surge' in Afganistan, so Obama should have left him in charge. Now if things look as bleak next year, Republi-cons will blame failure on the change of commanders.

Stupid People Shouldn't Be President

You've got too little brains and too much money if you are famous and pay $540 for a private late might massage in your hotel room. Read the Washington Post, National Enquirer says it decided not to pay for Gore sex story interview.

Now you know why I call' em Naive-ocrats.

Jones Act BS

So many lies, so little truth. Read The Maritime Executive, The Facts about the Jones Act and the Gulf Oil Spill and Deep-Sea News, The Jones Act and the Oil Spill…Not What You Think.

A Cure for Gonorrhea Lectim

From a friend:

This is very important!! We need to stop the spread of this disease Gonorrhea Lectim. The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior involving putting your cranium up your rectum.

Many victims contracted it in 2008...but now most people, after having been infected for the past 1-2 years, are starting to realize how destructive this sickness is. It's sad because Gonorrhea Lectim is easily cured with Votemout. You take the first dose in 2010 and the second dose in 2012 and simply don't engage in such behavior again.

Please pass this important message onto all those bright folk you really care about.

Which Political Party Favors Big Business?

UPDATE II: From the Washington Post:



"Representative Joe Barton has a crush on the oil industry of a size that’s seldom been equaled outside of 'High School Musical.'" Read The New York Times, Wishing Will Make It So.

Of course, Joe Barton wasn't the only Republi-con who came to the defense of BP. Read the Washington Post, A GOP chorus of Joe Bartons on the BP oil spill.


UPDATE: Has Obama "radicalized parts of the conservative movement, giving life to conspiracy theories long buried and strains of thinking similar to those espoused by the John Birch Society and other right-wing groups in the 1950s and '60s" in the short run? And if so, will extremism be his salvation. in the long run? Read the Washington Post, How Obama changed the right.

Ask Joe Barton, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Read the Washington Post, Apparently blood isn't thicker than oil and The New York Times, Republican Backpedals From Apology to BP.

His apology to BP said it all.

Hence forth it will be know as The Apology that Saved Obama:

Class Today (Vice Thursday) at NoBullU on WEBY

It's a host swap!

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: PHS graduation fiasco, was it God's retribution; Rick's Rants (let high school students fix the leak (he is delirious); Escambia County wants BP to give them the money (around $3.1 million for May 'expenditures'); save those tar balls, close the beaches; update -- FL 2010; update -- damned if you do, damned if you don't; and


Nation and international: faking it!; health care lawsuit update; and oil spill fallout to date: that unholy ecological alliance, is it a shakedown?, understanding the true cost of gas, tell me -- the oil deposit now leaking would have provided how many days' worth of oil to Americans?, Obama's energy pipe dreams, is it time for N2N, RICO's to blame for "an ecological Armageddon that could literally destroy the marine and coastal environment and way of life for generation of Americans", show me the money, local delirious with opportunistic greed, is it fair?, and Escambia County want lunch and dinner with their tar balls, as well as $9.1 million, does the oil keep flowing cause we are just not angry enough or is it God's wrath for destroying his planet?, how to plug that oil well, shocking realization that bottom-line influences corporate policy, political grandstanding, and Republi-CON 'less government' hypocrisy.

(Any chance of a serious discussion regarding risk and "the difficulty of predicting disaster in complex technological systems" (read The York Times, Drilling for Certainty)? Tune-in and find out.)

But I'll discuss anything. Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events!

State Republi-Con Fiscal Conservative Hypocrisy

UPDATE III: For a little Florida Republi-Con fiscal conservative bankruptcy, read the Washington Post, US Senate candidate Rubio faces Fla. foreclosure.


UPDATE II: Soon it may be those wild and criminal Republi-cons. (Is criminal Republi-cons a tautology?) Read The Hill, Federal authorities launch criminal probe into Florida GOP. and the Washington Post, Feds launch probes of Florida GOP, Rubio's credit card use.

The report says:

"Rubio billed the party for more than $100,000 during the two years he served as House speaker, according to credit card statements obtained by the St. Petersburg Times and Miami Herald. The charges included repairs to the family minivan, grocery bills, plane tickets for his wife and purchases from retailers ranging from a wine store near his home to Apple's online store. Rubio also charged the party for dozens of meals during the annual lawmaking session in Tallahassee, even though he received taxpayer subsidies for his meals.

Rubio said the billings all related to party business — the minivan, for example, was damaged by a valet at a political function — and that he repaid the party for about $16,000 in personal expenses."

Crist's decision to run as an Independent might be a wise move.


UPDATE: Those wild and crazy Florida Republi-cons.

The "St. Petersburg Times and Miami Herald, offer the latest behind-the-scenes look at extravagant and freewheeling spending by the party touting fiscal restraint."

On one trip to England, the party spent $40,000 at a London hotel, and nearly $20,000 in plane tickets for indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom and family.

Over 2½ years, a 25-year-old junior Sansom staffer, who was given a party American Express card, spent nearly $1.3 million. Thousands were spent "on jewelry, sporting goods and in one case $15,000 for what's listed as a monthlong stay at a posh Miami Beach hotel." The Florida Republi-cons spent "$650,000 in lodging, $60,000 in airfare — mostly commercial airlines — and $66,000 for charter planes."

Read the Northwest Florida Daily News, Sansom staffer rang up $1.3 million on credit card.

First Ray Sansom, a NW Florida Republi-con who was this term's Florida House Speaker until he was forced out and who finally resigned office on the eve of an ethics hearing. (He still faces criminal charges in connection with his budget dealings).

Now a "top Republican selected Tuesday as the future speaker of the Florida House can't get his own financial house in order." Read the St. Petersburg Times, His finances are a mess, but he's set to lead state House.

And most of our local elected officials oppose consolidating government, which would save money but, of course, result in fewer elected offices.

Let's not forget our very own local Republi-con fiscal conservative hypocrite.

Now you know why they are Republi-Cons!

Sub Today at NoBullU on WEBY

UPDATE: As Mike discussed, Brent Burns is mad as HELL about the Gulf Oil Disaster. Watch his song which expresses his contempt for BP and their greed.

Usually on Thursdays you can listen to me, the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- no political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

But I can't make it today. I'll be back next week to deprogram you. Until then, have a laugh.

As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap, Foreign Policy Edition

"The reasons why the United States finds itself supporting a 12-year-old gunmen in Somalia help explain recent missteps in the war on terrorism." Read The New York Times, Lessons from Somalia’s Young Soldiers, which says, among other things:

"[T]wo morals of this sad story are particularly noteworthy.

1) Military intervention can take an essentially local Islamist movement and turn it into a threat to the United States by driving it into alliance with America’s enemies. It was after the American-Ethiopian intervention that al-Shabaab crystallized and cultivated strong ties with Al Qaeda.

2) Once we’ve thus internationalized tensions that had been largely local — once we’ve strengthened bonds between locals and Al Qaeda, and strengthened the America-versus-Islam narrative deployed by jihadist recruiters — American Muslims who for whatever reason are already unstable become vulnerable to that recruiting pitch. Only this month, two Americans were arrested as they headed to Somalia to join the international war against crusaders. (The journalist Adam Serwer has been almost alone in noting the link between the cultivation of these jihadists and the 2006 Ethiopian-American intervention.)

Does any of this sound eerily familiar? It should. Here’s why:

1) In Iraq, the jihadist group that created so much carnage — “Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia” — didn’t even exist in that form until we invaded. Before the war it wasn’t affiliated with Al Qaeda (much less called Al Qaeda) and was more anti-Jordanian government than anti-American.

2) In Afghanistan, our troop presence in rural villages is driving local leaders who resist occupation into the arms of Taliban Central, based in Pakistan. Meanwhile, our intervention in both Afghanistan and (via drone strikes) Pakistan seems to be strengthening Taliban Central’s bond to Al Qaeda. (Opinions differ over how close Al Qaeda’s relationship to the Taliban was before the Afghanistan war, but in any event our becoming their common enemy has brought a convergence of their strategic goals.)

And with both Iraq and Afghanistan, as with Somalia, our involvement in conflict helps nurture terrorists here at home. The Fort Hood shooter was outraged by both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the Times Square bomber was upset by the Iraq war and the Pakistani drone attacks that are spillover from the Afghanistan war.

Terrorists like these create exactly what Al Qaeda wants: American suspicion of American Muslims and even attacks on American mosques. Needless to say, this kind of domestic atmosphere can create more homegrown terrorists, which can further intensify the atmosphere, which can create more homegrown terrorists and so on. This is Osama bin Laden’s dream, and our foreign policy seems almost designed to make it a reality."

Some Thoughts Worth Pondering

More from a friend:

Even when opportunity knocks, you still have to get off your ass and open the door.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

There is great need for a sarcasm font.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories.

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a dickhead from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

Questions that Haunt Me

From a Friend:

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway...

Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

If you have sex with a prostitute against her will, is it considered rape or shoplifting?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And my FAVORITE.........

The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons are suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Sub Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Usually on Thursdays you can listen to me, the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- no political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

But I can't make it today. I'll be back next week to deprogram you. Until then, have a laugh:

Rich Men Beware

UPDATE: "A Texas pipeline tycoon who died two months ago may become the first American billionaire allowed to pass his fortune to his children and grandchildren tax-free." Read The New York Times, Legacy for One Billionaire: Death, but No Taxes.

The estate tax was repealed for 2010, but returns next year. In other words, you are worth more dead this year than alive next year, thanks to those waskly Wepubli-cons.

Of course, we are all going to die in the next 2.5 billion years, give or take a few million.

Cats Versus Dog

How to Give a Cat a Pill

1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby.



Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat’s mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth.

Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.


2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa.



Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.


3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.




4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand.



Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.


5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe.





Call spouse in from the garden.


6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws.



Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.


7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail.



Get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.


8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit.



Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw


9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans and drink one beer to take taste away. Apply band-aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.




10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed.



Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.


11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink.



Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw tee-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.


12. Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from the top of the tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat.



Take last pill from foil wrap.


13. Using heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed, tie the little *&#%^'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour two pints of water down throat to wash pill down.




14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room. Sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.




15. Arrange for RSPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.




How To Give A Dog A Pill

1. Wrap it in bacon.




2. Toss it in the air.

Countdown to Dismissal, Are You Ready to Protest

UPDATE VIII: More proof that the Supreme Court usually doesn't involve itself in political disputes. Read the Washington Post, High court turns down No Child Left Behind case and Court won't hear Clinton pay lawsuit.

These case reinforce my belief the health care lawsuits will be dismissed.


UPDATE VII: The speculation continues. Read The Atlantic, What Would Happen if the Supreme Court Struck Down Health Care Reform?


UPDATE VI: For a preview of the government's motion to dismiss the Florida, et al., lawsuit, watch the action in the lawsuit filed in Virginia by that state. Read the Washington Post, Obama administration asks judge to dismiss Virginia suit against health-care law.

To read the motion and some of the other court documents, click here.


UPDATE V: A new copy of the docket has been downloaded, as well as a copy of the amended complaint.

To see these and some of the other court documents, click here.


UPDATE IV: More states and organizations join the health care lawsuit. Read The New York Times, Business Group Joins Suit on Health Law.


UPDATE III: Lest ye had forgotten, there's still the health care lawsuit. Read The New York Times, Florida Suit Poses a Challenge to Health Care Law.


UPDATE II: Here is a copy of the court docket as of April 15, 2010:
Court Docket, Health Care Lawsuit

As you can see, the celebrity seekers are out hoping to become famous, Taitz the 'Birther' amoung them. A few sanctions would put a stop to that effort.

To see some of the other court documents, click here.


UPDATE: The first ruling is in, motion DENIED. Read the Pensacola News Journal, 'Birther' denied standing in health-care case.

The Judge should sanction her for frivolous arguments.

As noted before, the lawsuit challenging the federal health care bill passed last month is being heard in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division. The judge said today that the first arguments before him in the case — on the government's motion to dismiss — will begin at 9 a.m. Sept. 14. Read the Pensacola News Journal, Judge sets health care reform lawsuit timeline.

According to the article, the initial scheduling order will require:

Plaintiffs to file an amended complaint (since six other states have joined the lawsuit and several changes to the bill took place during the Senate reconciliation process) on or before May 14,

Government to file an answer to the complaint and to file its motion to dismiss the case on or before June 16, and

Plaintiffs to file a response to the dismissal motion and to file their motion for summary judgment on or before until Aug. 6.

This schedule should allow a ruling on the motion to dismiss before the November elections.

"At least 20 attorneys appeared at Wednesday hearing either in person or by teleconference." We locals will be callin the lawsuit our local economic stimulus.

I expect several delays, but I've posted a countdown timer for the next important date.

What could possibly go wrong?

Just trust them. Read Salon, This Modern World:



Does this remind you of any recent event?

On the Dangers of Flying to Close to the Sun

To understand the "high price for keeping [America's] manhood intact," read The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris.

The author "calls Ronald Reagan a dove in hawk's feathers, and his final conclusion is that Obama will need to... decouple American optimism from the project of American global mastery."

Contempt of Court or Contempt For God: Now The Teachers Sue

UPDATE IX: Pace High's Class of 2010 has been the center of the prayer disputes, with several members of the class now suing the school district. Well Saturday, "stormy weather forced [the graduation] ceremony indoors, but [the] gym wasn't big enough for everyone," causing a near riot by parents left out. Read the Pensacola News Journal, Parents upset over Pace graduation chaos.

Was it God's retribution?


UPDATE VIII: "In attempts to vacate the [original] agreement, Christian Educators and attorneys from the Christian law group Liberty Counsel argued that the consent decree is dubious because the students have graduated from Pace High School." The Court denied the motion. Read the Pensacola News Journal, Prayer challenge shot down by federal judge.


UPDATE VII: More proof that the latest Liberty Counsel lawsuit is frivolous. Last year, "seeking to avoid additional “protracted litigation” over prayer in Santa Rosa County schools, the American Civil Liberties Union made an offer to the pro-school prayer Liberty Counsel.

The ACLU offered to allow the Liberty Counsel to help reshape a federal consent decree under which the school district is operating." Read the Santa Rosa Press Gazette, ACLU made earlier overture to Liberty Counsel.

And read the letter.

Liberty Counsel refused. And money that could be better spent on education will now be wasted as the Liberty Counsel grandstands.


UPDATE VI: Let's form a group of Friend of the Santa Rosa School Board, intervene in the lawsuit, and move for sanctions!

First step, create a webpage to organize the friends.


UPDATE V: After a quick review of the 90+ page complaint, it appears to be based on exaggeration or fabrication.

Compare each factual allegation to Exhibit C, the SRCSD's Technical Assistance Paper: Frequently Asked Question regarding The First Amendment in Santa Rosa County Schools. That document seems to be a reasonable well thought out effort to remedy the problems that were the basis of the original lawsuit.

If that be the case, the Court should sanction Liberty Counsel, and the appropriate individual plaintiffs.


UPDATE IV: The teachers sue, part II. Read the Pensacola, News Journal, Group sues School Board over prayer decree. Here is the complaint:

Liberty Counsel v. SRCSD, Complaint

I haven't read the it, but if Liberty Counsel is re-arguing the issues that were the basis of the earlier motion to intervene, which was denied, the Court should sanction Liberty Counsel.


UPDATE III: First there was the lawsuit, now will there be two graduations. Read Rick's Blog, Buzz: Pace High will have two graduations:

There is a group in Pace that is quietly organizing a separate high school graduation for the Class of 2010 from Pace High School. It is labeled “The First Amendment Graduation” – which I assume means students and families will be allowed to pray at the service. It’s not known whether the students will also march at the official high school graduation.

UPDATE II: The judge says the teachers can't sue. Read the Pensacola, News Journal, Judge: Group can't fight prayer case, which said that "Liberty Counsel founder and attorney Mathew Staver said Christian Educators plans to sue the Santa Rosa County School District to challenge the constitutionality of the agreement with the ACLU . . . [saying] "the judge has just created nuclear war."

One commentor noted that the "easy way would have been for the Liberty Counsel to sit down and attempt to negotiate a revision when it was offered, not grandstanding and threatening more lawsuits. It's all about the money."

He better watch it. The judge said his arguments had no merit. If he sues the School Board on that issue he could be sanctioned.


UPDATE: The legal arguments continue in the court hearing(s) on the Liberty Counsel's Motion to Intervene. Read the Northwest Florida Daily News, Christian group to sue district over school prayer. The article includes a link to the most recent court documents. Warning -- do not operate machinery while reading the court documents!

In our last episode, a teacher threatened to sue.

On Wednesday, the Liberty Council filed a motion on behalf of Christian Educators Association International to intervene and set aside the consent decree and order. Read the Northwest Florida Daily News, School/religion ruling challenged. Here are the most recent court documents:

The Motion to Intervene by Christian Educators Association International:




The Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Intervene:




Exhibit to Memorandum of Law, Federal Guidelines for Religious Expression in Public Schools:



Read these previous posts:

Wrongdoing Not Judicial Tyranny
Happy Ending for ACLU Lawsuit?
Is the Rally for the Constitution, or Religion
Contempt of Court or Contempt For God?

Class on Thursday (Vice Friday) at NoBullU on WEBY

UPDATE: Read all about the baseball perfect game at Wikipedia.

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast Thursday from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: PANIC!, PANIC!, the sheen and some tar balls are a coming!; and

Nation and international: faking it!; School of One; what would you cut in the federal budget (I suggested my long ago proposal to cut all federal pay and benefits by 10% for the first $100k and 50% above that) (early responses to another Republi-con request for ideas have been pretty far out); a Korean 'symphony of death;' health care lawsuit update; and oil spill fallout to date: watch out, Cantore says oil not coming, serious reporting or media fear-mongering, does the oil keep flowing cause we are just not angry enough or is it God's wrath for destroying his planet?, time to send in the military and nuke the leak?, shocking realization that bottom-line influences corporate policy, political grandstanding, and Republi-CON 'less government' hypocrisy.

(Any chance of a serious discussion regarding risk and "the difficulty of predicting disaster in complex technological systems" (read The York Times, Drilling for Certainty)? Tune-in and find out.)

But I'll discuss anything. Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events!

Political Kleptomania

"The truth about lies is that they’re sometimes aspirational truths." Read The New York Times, Lies as Wishes.

A Day to Remember

This Memorial Day:

Class on Thursday (Vice Friday) at NoBullU on WEBY

UPDATE: As a follow up to the discussion regarding risk and "the difficulty of predicting disaster in complex technological systems," read The York Times, Drilling for Certainty.

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast Thursday from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: another curve ball for Pace High's baseball team, but they hit it out of the stadium; the local bad boy Commissioner and the pretty dead blonde, his impeachment charges and now his indictment for murder; and

Nation and international: Republi-CON Memorial Day CONtroversy; fact-free Palin, is her brand tarnished?; Senator 'Sexy Bitch'; the CONspriacy game; faking it!; School of One; what would you cut in the federal budget (I suggested my long ago proposal to cut all federal pay and benefits by 10% for the first $100k and 50% above that) (early responses to another Republi-con request for ideas have been pretty far out); a Korean 'symphony of death;' health care lawsuit update; Republi-CON 'adultery' hilarity; monetize out-of-wedlock teen pregnancy; and oil spill fallout to date: watch out, Cantore says oil not coming, serious reporting or media fear-mongering, shocking realization that bottom-line influences corporate policy, political grandstanding, and Republi-CON 'less government' hypocrisy.

But I'll discuss anything. Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events!

4 Worms in Church

A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon.

Four worms were placed into four separate jars.

The first worm was put into a container of alcohol.

The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.

The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup.

The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister reported the following results:

The first worm in alcohol - Dead

The second worm in cigarette smoke - Dead

Third worm in chocolate syrup - Dead

Fourth worm in good clean soil - Alive.

So the Minister asked the congregation - “What did you learn from this demonstration?”

Maxine was sitting in the back, quickly raised her hand and said, “As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!”

That pretty much ended the service!

Two Great Qualities in Life

Patience and wisdom:



May you be blessed with both.

Republi-CON Memorial Day CONtroversy

"In 1983, President Reagan was at a summit meeting, and the deputy secretary of defense -- not even the veep! -- placed the wreath. Nine years later, President George H.W. Bush passed off the wreath to Vice President Dan Quayle (who had used family connections to get a slot in the National Guard during the days of the Vietnam War draft). And in 2007, Vice President Dick Cheney took on the wreath mission, while President George W. Bush was in Texas, perhaps clearing brush." Read Politics Daily, The Right Wing's Memorial Day Attack on Obama.

The Memorial Day CONtroversy is just part of the Republi-con's never-ending campaign of fear, anger, and hatred.

Fact-Free Palin

UPDATE II: "Between surreal appearances from Wasilla as the caged pundit of Fox News and quick, splashy landings in the lower 48 states, Palin has shown she still has the attention span of a hummingbird on a nectar jag. She does not do basic homework. Never has. The result is a string of endorsements for people whose lives are living contradictions of their stated philosophies. . .

But in deciding to get rich quick, the demi-governor has ditched whatever grounding she may have had in what Bush aides dismissed as the “reality-based community,” and lost her way in the Last Frontier State. Her brand is toast there, as well."

Read The New York Times, The Palin Brand.


UPDATE: "A question for fellow reporters and editors: At what point do Sarah Palin's attacks and smears become so vile and absurd that they no longer merit attention?" Read the Washington Post, Is there a Sarah Palin vileness/absurdity threshold?, which comments on Sarah Palin's strange, unprofessional and paranoid grudge.

Is Palin's learning curve is flat? Read the Washington Post, Sarah Palin's fact-free commentary on Paul and BP. From the article:

First, there was Palin on Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul, whose candidacy she had championed. Anchor Chris Wallace asked straightforward questions: Was Paul right or wrong in his view that the 1964 Civil Rights Act went too far in banning discrimination in private establishments? What did Palin make of the controversy? He got typically Palinesque answers, rambling and aggrieved:

"I think there is certainly a double standard at play here. When Rand Paul had anticipated that he'd be able to engage in a discussion, he being a libertarian-leaning constitutional conservative, being able to engage in a discussion with a TV character, a media personality, who perhaps had an agenda in asking the question and then interpreting his answer the way that she did, he wanted to talk about, evidently, some hypotheticals as it applies to impacts on the Civil Rights Act, as it impacts our Constitution. So he was given the opportunity finally to clarify, and unequivocally he has stated that he supports the Civil Rights Act."

Then there was Palin's best-defense-is-an-untrue-offense response to questions about the oil spill in the Gulf. The cheerleader for "drill, baby, drill" suggested that President Obama was in the pocket of Big Oil:

"The oil companies who have so supported President Obama in his campaign and are supportive of him now -- I don't know why the question isn't asked by the mainstream media and by others if there's any connection with the contributions made to President Obama and his administration and the support by the oil companies to the administration. If there's any connection there to President Obama taking so doggone long to get in there, to dive in there, and grasp the complexity and the potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico."

Facts are stubborn things. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the McCain campaign -- that would be the McCain-Palin campaign -- received $2.4 million from oil and gas interests to Obama's $900,000. BP employees did give more to the Obama campaign ($71,051) than to McCain's ($36,649), but this was a pittance in the context of Obama's fundraising.

Why does Republi-con created reality surprise anyone?

Senator 'Sexy Bitch'

"Today, let’s play Political Kingmaker.

Pretend you’re the Republican leadership in a smallish state with an open United States Senate seat. The opposition is running a popular, longtime officeholder whose sense of inevitability was shaken by recent revelations that he had referred to himself as a Vietnam War veteran when he isn’t one.

Your own options are:

A) A well regarded former congressman who is a decorated Vietnam War veteran.

B) A political novice who made her fortune building up an entertainment business that specialized in blood, seminaked women and scripted subplots featuring rape, adultery and familial violence. In which the candidate, her husband and children played themselves. Also, the family yacht is named Sexy Bitch.

Well, obviously, you go for the yacht owner."

Read The New York Times, Who Wants to Elect a Millionaire?

The CONspriacy Game

Xenophobic patriotism, conspiracy theories (even discussion of the secret ownership of the Federal Reserve), and a narrative of victimhood by hard-line pundits and loud political parties with ties to fundementalist religion. No, not the Republi-cons and the U.S., Islam and Pakistan. Read The New York, U.S. Is a Top Villain in Pakistan’s Conspiracy Talk.

The CONspiracy game's the same no matter the country or religion.

The Great Law of Change

Edmund Burke once said: "We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature." But "America has never settled whether its governing form of reason is one of radical abstraction or humility and gradualism." Read The New York Times, Two Theories of Change.

"Today, if you look around American politics you see self-described conservative radicals who seek to sweep away 100 years of history and return government to its preindustrial role. You see self-confident Democratic technocrats who have tremendous faith in the power of government officials to use reason to control and reorganize complex systems. You see polemicists of the left and right practicing a highly abstract and ideological Jacobin style of politics.

The children of the British Enlightenment are in retreat. Yet there is the stubborn fact of human nature. The Scots were right, and the French were wrong. And out of that truth grows a style of change, a style that emphasizes modesty, gradualism and balance."

The editorial is about a "superb dissertation by Yuval Levin at the University of Chicago called The Great Law of Change." (If anyone has a link, let me know by leaving a comment.)

Faking It!

"If the human psyche were a big map, nestled somewhere between the sea of cheating and the valley of lying, you'd come to the kingdom of faking it" Listen to Freakonomics Radio, Faking It.

Also, read the book, Faking It.

And if you want to know, read Freakonomics, Who’s More Likely to Fake It in the Bedroom?