2 in a row?

Hi, Martooni. Hi, Cassendra. Have a blessed weekend.

"pro-macassar"? That's gonna leave a scar.

To get people to exert the not-inconsiderable amounts of energy required to be Politically Involved you need to get them motivated. Now the ideal way to do this is to be charismatic. You know, Inspiring. Get the voters to love you so much that they will donate to your campaign and talk you up at interesting parties. (Some claim that Bill Clinton success was partly because women found him sexy. Really. It's been said.)

The problem is that no matter how many consultants are hired, charisma cannot be manufactured. It's like perfect pitch, either you gots it or you don't. But what you can do is substitute some other strong emotion for charisma. And a pretty powerful emotion is anger. That's why demagoguery is a time-honored way to gain political power.

Pick your fuzziest favorite Republican. Is Jack Kemp still around? I still have a soft spot in my heart (or is it my head?) for Dan Quayle.

Ooooo, Joel, you're firing on all cylinders:

"McCain would sooner vote for Noam Chomsky than Romney." LOL.

"Romney... is a slippery, cautious, jargon-spouting slickster who in taxonomic terms would be considered an invertebrate."

Invertebrate? I *like* it.

"[M]any of the most vocal folks in America wake up every morning with steam coming out of their ears. Hoppin' mad is their baseline; fury is the coin of their realm."

Sorry, yello: I don't have a favorite Republican, fuzz-encrusted or not. The last Republicans I liked were Lincoln -- and then some maroon shot him -- and Teddy Roosevelt (some maroon shot him, too, but he survived). (And I liked Teddy even better after he left the party and decided to become a caribou or elk or bullwinkle, or whatever it was.)

(Actually, now that I think about it, I think we ought to resurrect the Bullwinkle Party.)

I would like to cast my vote on the side of the pro-macassars.

Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat

One of two bits left from the Texas Book Festival:

Hillary: Truth or Consequences

I never fail to enjoy a talk by former Washington Post reporter and author Carl Bernstein. Bernstein looked handsome Sunday morning in a mauve tie and shirt, bundled in a thick, avuncular, navy blue zip-up sweater.

Bernstein is the perennial master of his subject matter, and he had come to explain Hillary Clinton. Bernstein spoke about Hillary's emotionally and verbally abusive father, who would throw the cap off the toothpaste tube and out the bathroom window for Hillary or her brothers to fetch, even in snow, if any child in his household had left the cap off the tube. Bernstein explained that while the Senate was voting on articles of impeachment for Bill Clinton, Hillary and Harold Ickes were laying out a map of New York state and plotting her run for the U.S. Senate, the same Senate that would acquit her husband.

Perhaps Bernstein's talk is best explained by an anecdote that he told. Bernstein was on a recent flight and a man approached him, explaining that he had read Bernstein's Clinton biography, "A Woman in Charge." The man explained that he didn't like Hillary, and after reading Berstein's biography, still didn't like her, but felt that at last he finally understood her.

Bernstein read only a short passage from his book, best summarizing Hillary (I thought Bernstein said the passages were on page 525, but believe I may have transposed the digits, since these grafs on page 552 sound, to my ear, more like the gist of what Bernstein read.):

"Since her Arkansas years, Hilary Rodham Clinton has always had a difficult relationship with the truth. She is hardly different from most politicians in this regard. But she has always aspired to be better than conventional; 'Living History' [her memoir, published in June 2003] was meant to demonstrate that. But judged against the facts, it underlines how she has often chosen to obfuscate, omit, and avoid. It is an understatement by now that she has been known to apprehend truths about herself and the events of her life that others do not exactly share. 'Living History' is an example of that.

"In her artfully crafted public utterances and written sentences there has almost been an effort at baseline truthfulness. Yet almost always, something holds her back from telling the whole story, as if she doesn't trust the reader, listener, friend, interviewer, constituent--or perhaps herself-- to understand the true significant of events.

"Hillary values context; she does see the big picture. Hers, in fact, is not the mind of a conventional politician. But when it comes to herself, she sees with something less than candor and lucidity. She sees, like so many others, what she wants to see."

Bernstein acknowledged that Hillary may have knocked herself out of the frontrunner slot with her stumbling performance in the Oct. 30 Democratic debate (that debate now feels like ages ago).

Bernstein and Jim Lehrer, who, I believe, was a last-minute stand-in for a writer who couldn't make it, had left their respective chambers at about the same time, so it was nice seeing them lean into each other, chat and laugh as they were leaving the second floor of the Capitol.

(And thank heavens for free speech in Texas and the U.S. of A., because Bernstein and author Todd Gitlin both, in their talks, called the Bush presidency "catastrophic.")

*So, we're back to the likeability issue, are we, Joel? Many people thought George Bush was a swell, likeable guy, and look whhat we got? I want a candidate swimming in the 5 C's--common sense, common good, candor, communicator, competent. YC'sMV.

Obama is a likeable guy--cool, calm, collected--but Krugman at the NYT today certainly points out the weaknesses in Barack's proposed universal (not) health plan.

Mudge beat me to it...

Ooooo, Joel, you're firing on all cylinders:

"McCain would sooner vote for Noam Chomsky than Romney." LOL.

Happy Birthday, Kerric!

I wonder if Guiliani translates to McNasty?

Watch out Joel. George Allen got into a world of hurt for calling somebody a macassar.

SD: Great point! Allen was definitely antimacassar.

Ok, so pro-macassars are greasers.

Feel sorry for me. I am unable to not pick a nit from time to time.

"The nasty exchange between he and Giuliani was entirely Rudy-driven, ...

SCC: Unable to not pick my own nits. I forgot the end quote mark.

You reap what you sow.

Geraghty:

"Based on the tone and answers given tonight, you would think that the Republican Party seethes with a blistering resentment of immigrants, with only the briefest of pauses to distinguish between those who are illegal and legal."

byoolin:
"Tonight"?

Maggie, it's a Mr. Death - he's here about the reaping?

Perps possibly nabbed in Taylor murder:

http://www.miamiherald.com/854/story/326903.html

Testing...

I'm ready to go Byoolin. Just give me a minute to find my purse.

Pretty ugly comments on the Miami Herald article. Despite the facts reported in this article and elsewhere, one scumbag sees this as "thugs killing thugs." Perhaps he lost some money on a Washington NFL Franchise game. Advocacy for summary execution -- "give them a trial, then execute them." Good to know that no pesky facts are likely to mess with the schedule by possibly failing to convict. Send them to Sudan, announce they named their gun "Mohammad." That one, at least, is a little clever.

Have you any idea how proud I am? Doilies gone mainstream media.

I'm verklempt.

Maggie, thanks for that catch...fixed it.

ditto the BD wishes to dr and Kerric

I really thought "lying weasel" had a nice ring to it, yet JA goes with "slippery, cautious, jargon-spouting slickster who in taxonomic terms would be considered an invertebrate." One of us needs an editor.
As far as good Repubs go, somebody here mentioned Colin Powell the other day- must have missed the U.N. speech in the runup to Iraq, you know, the one where he Mapquested all of the Anthrax-R-Us locations in Iraq? Then there's McCain. I used to think he was a man of some principle, but after South Carolina 2000 he gave Arbusto the ol' bracero and accepted a kiss from the man who flung more crap on him than a tractor pull in a feed lot and I said to myself, "There's a man ready to swallow anydamnthing it takes without gagging and smile while he's about it." Get off your knees, Senator, the Godsquad doesn't like you and never will and all that supplicating is making your pants bag at the knees.

Happy birthday, Kerric! You'd be stupid not to go home to cookies, so go.

You know, we still have 11 and a half months of the campaign left. If the Republicans continue to be nasty, will there be anything left of them by next November? They'll kill each other off.

We can only hope, Slyness.

Really enjoyed the post Joel.

k-guy - but what do you really think :-).

I clicked on the Two Cents link and really, the blog has better a better picture.

Read the second comment. I like that guy.

Thanks, Joel, for posting the Herald story. On the side, I suspect that machetes may have dropped off as gardening implements in Miami, but the first time I visited Fairchild Tropical Garden, probably in 1985, Cuban staff were using machetes to keep the edges of beds tidy--exactly the same traditional procedure as in Puerto Rico. I immediately felt at home.

I haven't seen machetes used to trim hedges for years. Unfortunately the chainsaw-like electric contraptions damage leaves badly.

A couple of obedient plants I set out a couple of years ago have proliferated and are putting on a big show. I've spotted the same species peeking out of a hedge in the elaborate Japanese garden at Tokyo's New Otani hotel. http://www.floridata.com/ref/P/phys_vir.cfm

Happy birthday Kerric! Sounds like your mother thinks pretty well of you.

That'd be me, kguy. I agree with what you are saying but I've a feeling that was not him speaking, so much as him being pressured to speak someone else's words. Not his finest moment.

Hey perfect he isn't, I'm sure, and I am only wishing.

Glad even the keyboard-pounding pros have an off grammar moment now and then, Joel.

Don't let them happen too often. At least ones that we can catch. Maybe you could start writing in Sanskrit instead. You could make all the spelling mistakes you want and nobody'd know, except a few Sanskrit scholars and they would be so busy writing flowery language and honorifics to introduce their letters, that you'd never even see the criticism.

Well, dmd, I'm feeling a wee little bit spenetic today. And I couldn't resist the pants bagging line. It's adapted from Billy Wilder's "Ace in the Hole." Jan Sterling plays a hardened noir femme who tells Kirk Douglas that she doesn't like to go to church because all that praying bags her nylons.

I suspect the Republican candidate's campaign will be all Mexicans, all the time. Couldn't we just hold the primary next week and the election in January to get it over with? Then the president-elect could spend the next year picking political appointees and making life miserable for the incumbent Administration and the Congress.

K-guy I agree with what you said, I used to really admire Colin Powell then I saw him at the UN, I remember the whole presentation as being really amateurish.

Love the baggy nylons story.

Yikes!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22043358/

If Powell didn't believe what he was saying, that makes it worse, way worse. Charlie McCarthy could always use the excuse that that Bergen guy had his hand up his backside and made him say those things. The rest of us have to be personally responsible. You takes your choice. Was the guy a tool, a coward, or a liar? If he didn't know better, he should have. See: Richardson, Eliot, Ruckelshaus, William, Cox, Archibald for alternative course of action.

My prediction for the presidential race:
Huckabee beats Clinton by a hanging chad, dejavu all over again of 2004.

You heard it here first, folks.

Go wash your brain out with soap

Good morning. I love Rudy as Voldemort, and your take on McCain & Romney. Many chuckles. This campaign reminds me of the end of the last Bush I term, when a large field of Republicans scrambled to be the nominee. The nastiness was like watching them eat their young.

Like kurosawaguy, I like "invertebrate" but my thought was that weasels have spines.

I have no favorite Republican (okay, there's a local guy) but I'll say that the current administration has forced me to review my opinion of Richard Nixon. I am a wee bit Watergate-obsessive and have always agreed with Robert Kennedy's description of Nixon as the dark side of the human spirit. However, Arbusto makes Nixon looks good. You have no idea what it cost me to come to that conclusion, or how scary I find it.

Happy birthday, Kerric!

And Don-from-I70, after you wash your mouth out with soap, bite your tongue.

This is a great Trail item by Peter Baker.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/11/30/a_contest_of_outrage.html#more

Point taken, kguy. And that is why I try to comment on politics only obliquely.

This is unbelievable:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113000616.html?hpid=artslot

Wait, what day is it today? ...Friday?? The 30th??? I coulda swore it was Thursday. Stupid work. Not only do I have work today, but also tomorrow and Sunday, and so on, until next weekend.

In all honesty I had kinda forgotten, but just as I was opening the boodle just now, dr called me and reminded me. And what's this about cookies? I'll hafta go back and check.

Hey Joel,
I just reread your kit, and it's really great.

I was going to send that hyperlinked phrase, "funny, eccentric uncle" to Weingarten as more evidence for his campaign, but it's been removed.

What's up with that?

"Arbusto makes Nixon look good." Yeah, and we used to fear herpes.

A funny thing happened the other day in 7-eleven. At least it made me chuckle. While waiting for my change a guy standing next to me asked if I was happy about Bush leaving. I looked at him funny, being in a news blackout I had no idea what he was talking about, and thought impeachment, resigning, huh. Then he said aw-you love the man. Still looking at him funny when I asked what are talking about, you know something I don't. Turns out all this debate business gave the poor guy the impression we were having an election soon, and that Bush would soon be out. I barely had the heart to tell him that Bush still had a year and two months. Then he said nope he only get 8 years. I said yep, he took office in 2001. He said nope 2000. I said nope, he was elected in 2000 but took office in 2001. He then said poop (you know what I mean). I then said exactly, I wanted to move to Canada when he was elected. Which brought a smile to his face.

Speaking of Canada and Birthdays: Elisha Cuthbert is Canadian and 25 today.

These "spontaneous" Sudanese protests are apparently choreographed by Sudan's goverment and are aimed at getting some Al Quada/islamic extremist cred.
See Mcintyre opinion piece in the Times.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/ben_macintyre/article2970926.ece

What? Peanut butter cookies and muffins, and oatmeal bread? Why wasn't I informed of this sooner? Who put you up to this?

However christmas tree lights.... maybe its not such a sweet deal afterall...

I'll do it. But only on account of villany.

And cookies.

NY Times' short list of classical music recordings for 2007 includes a Leonard Cohen-Phillip Glass collaboration, Book of Longing. Cohen's 72. Canada must be a healthy place.

Canada average lifespan 80 years.

Maggie, I think that hyperlink was only in the version that ran on The Trail.

This hostage situation in NH is not good:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/11/30/reports_of_hostage_situation_i.html?hpid=topnews

Ppp splt fft. Pptooey. There. I didn't wash my mouth out with soap, rather I used this mornings coffee, which was just as bad.

I did NOT say that this was what I WANTED to happen. I'm just puttin' all my chips on my number way early in the game, and am gonna let them ride. So everybody will say either, "Boy, that Don must be really clairvoiant." or "That Don is some kind of idiot." Since I'm using a betting metaphor, I'll put odds on the later.

Hello,friends. Joel, as bad as I feel today, I could not help but laugh at this kit. Boy, you did not shy away from the words to describe the grand old party. In fact there is nothing shy in the whole kit, you came out swinging. I like it.

K-guy, my thoughts exactly about McCain and his actions after the Bush encounter in SC. And Colin Powell, I'm still reeling from that one.

Ivansmom, I'm hanging.

Eugene Robinson's op-ed piece has some fire too. I could almost feel the warmth coming through my computer. It's just sad, really sad, about Taylor.

Thanks, daiwalan. Happy birthday, keric.

Slyness, Mudge, Scotty, and all, a great big hug. *waving*.

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ.

Boy, that Don sure can't spell clairvoyant!

I think I said here a couple of weeks ago or it may have been days ago, that Clinton was going to need protection. It seems the bad boys have started. I hope this is not going to be an ongoing thing during the election. We have some mixed up folks in the world, and sometimes they remind us of their status.

The TV is reporting that one of the hostages just walked out. It's not entirely clear whether there's still a hostage inside. The usual fog-of-war reporting, so we'll see, but I believe all the campaign offices across the state are in lockdown (until they know it's just one isolated thing).

fyi I added a little item to the top of the kit.

*just getting home and backboolding furiously*

:-O

Joel, bc and I have both seen your desk. A bigger desk is NOT what you need. What you need is a 55-gallon trash can, or perhaps a small motorized dumpster.

And a file clerk. It's no wonder you write on a laptop at Carbucks. You can't get within 20 feet of your desk.

And if you're sitting in a Carbucks in Bettendorf or Nashville or Nashua, what do you need a bveverage cart for? Won't the barista deliver to your table? They make you walk *all* the way to the counter? Celebrity is just he11, isn't it?

But definitely yes, your own dedicated, permanent Achenblog tab at the top of the homepage is definitely warranted. And of course, we've been pleading for italics for years (OK, two years. But that's "years.")

Isn't Huckabee the dude who doesn't believe in evolution? Are we REALLY going to elect a president who doesn't freakin' believe in evolution? What's his health plan gonna be? Leeches and phrenology?

Just looked at Baker's Trail item, and I have to say HE doesn't get it regarding the Obama article yesterday. By enumerating and repeating the rumors, regardless of whether the article rebuts them, the article extends their useful life. Rather like an inartfully worded correction that leaves people scratching their heads. And it was OLD "news" at that.

*mumblegrumble*

*fingers crossed tight for a peaceful resolution in Rochester, which I know all too well*

Thanks to everyone for the BDay cheer.

Hoping for a peaceful outcome to the NH ordeal.

NH TV station says both hostages released, pix shows bomb squad guy leading one of them out. So they're OK. Bomber appears to be a well-known local guy with history of mental illness.

I just read the article on the front page about the new Army boat that is visiting Baltimore. Read about the fellow for whom it is named, a shining light from South Carolina: http://www.robertsmalls.org/contact-us.htm

What am I, the only guy left in town? Where'd everybody go? Sheesh. Well, I'm leaving in 25 minutes myself. Everybody have a good weekend.

AP reports Evel Knieval has died at 69, apparrently from various lung, liver and diabetes-relates diseases.

I be here, 'Mudge...

RIP Evel.

I'm still around, Mudge. Ivansdad and the Boy went to Houston so the Boy can fence in a tournament tomorrow, and I had child transport duty, so I now have the house to myself. I'm drinking a nice cup of tea and listening to a lovely peaceful modern classical choral piece (Arvo Part, long a, for you pointyheads). It is chilly and might as well be raining outside. Do I hear a nap?

I liked that Baker column. I understand the "giving the rumor longevity" viewpoint, but I think the media has to at least try and correct blatant misinformation. Did anyone see the NYT article today on Rudymort's fast and loose use of numbers?

Evel died? Man, I remember the time he tried to jump over the Snake River Canyon. They brought a television set into the classroom and everything. It was a simpler time.

Ivansmom, you should have baked a nice piece of German Christmas dessert for Ivansdad and the Boy to take with them: nothing goes better with fencing than good stollens.

RD, I hope they also said, "Kids,don't try this at home!"

HistoryTim, thank you for posting the link to Robert Smalls. I otherwise never would have read about a truly remarkable person, with a great story.

Will y'all come back if I promise to bake some stollen? I hear it goes well with fencing.

I'm here. I love Part, good for you to find time to just listen.

I'm sitting here, having cleaned up my desk and packed my briefcase ready to travel next week, and my 3:00 meeting is late. If she doesn't get here soon she might well find that Friday afternoon syndrome has kicked in.

Dagnabit, Ivansmom, you're still hogging the rain! Share it already!

Cool story, History Tim. I had never heard of Robert Smalls. What a brave man! I'll have to look for his home the next time I'm in that area.

I'm listening to the Biltmore Estate Christmas CD while Mr. T finishes vacuuming up the leaves. We are also having surgery done on our sick willow oak, to take out all the dead branches. I hope it will look better in the spring.

Well, the Part ended and I decided to brave John Adams's "On the Transmigration of Souls". It is his Nine-Eleven piece and very good. Rudymort ought to be still and listen to it sometime before he goes out to boast of his leadership with odd statistics. It might settle him down.

I wonder how long it will take before some FoxNews talkng twit says, "Some people say this hostage crisis was orchestrated by the Clinton campaign for publicity."

Ivansmom, both WaPo and NYT had good articles on Guiliani's health care "statistics". Krugman today had a good article on Obama's health care plan, and why Clinton's and Edwards' were better.

Have a good weekend, all.

Speaking of Fox news. I am pleased to report that the stealth plasma television war, in which persons unknown have surreptitiously been switching the office plasma from Fox News to CNN, has come to a close. By Royal Decree, the television will be alternated.

Many thanks to that brave unknown hero who kept switching the channel to CNN.

Surely he, or she, deserves free coffee.

Actually, in those days, you knew kids would try to do it, you just cautioned them that if there was blood they should shout.

It was back in the politically incorrect times when kids learned best by doing. You learned it was stupid if you got jurt.

But I digress. RIP Evel.

Oh, and regarding the Mohammed the Pooh story that Joel linked too earlier.

It's stuff like this that make it hard to accept cultural relativism. Or the rational actor model of human behavior. T

he tendency to simply throw one's hands up and become a misanthropic isolationist becomes very great.

Oops - bisected a word there. That can be painful.

Have a great weekend y'all. This weekend we put up the Christmas lights. I just hope the power company got the memo.

Dr-- Is jurt like hurt, only with blood suppurting out in all directions, and with the real threat of having to face a jury for breaking the law, should the bleeding be stanched?

If so, I like that word. "You're in for a world of jurt if you dare try that."

I see what you mean RD, but the bear story and the rape victim story in Saudi are why WE CAN'T be isolationist, that and remembering that it was not too long ago when our cultures committed similar type offenses - indeed if you look closely segments of our society still routinely pray on children, women, racial minorities, gays etc. Change is slow and hard - but don't give up.

Greetings, all.

Ivansmom - I'm with you. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would start missing Nixon, but, well, there we have it. I remember being completely velcroed to my television set during the Watergate hearings. Ah, yes, those were the days.

I stayed up until 1:30 this morning (looooong past my bedtime) to watch Charlie Rose interview John Edwards. I really do like Edwards. He's a very, very bright man, and seems to be a very nice fellow (unless, of course you were opposing counsel, but that's indeed another story). It's gonna depend on the Iowa and NH as to how far he'll get. But if he's still around in time for the Maryland primary (whenever that might be), he'll get my vote (like he did the last time).

After two weeks of agony, I am *finally* email-functional. Whew! I'm on Outlook for the first time, and, while it's still a little bit squirrelly, I think I'll get used to it pretty quickly.

Time to order some carry-out Chinese food (too tired to cook). Have a wonderful, and crispy (depending on where you all are) weekend.

It looks like the next assault on science is brewing up in Texas. Thank you Gov. Goodhair.
http://wonkette.com/politics/creationism-claims-another-victim/texas-fires-science-chief-for-too-much-interest-in-science-328526.php

http://www.texscience.org/reviews/tea-science-director-resigns.htm

RDP, it is extremely disturbing that your particular office environment should have any patience with "news" programming that has been shown consistently to display obvious ideological bias and to seriously misinform its viewers. I mean, aren't your guys given any kind of training in the dispassionate collection of unbiased data, as well as the dispassionate calibration of biased data? This is stock in trade in my line of work (despite what know-nothing sociology-of-science types would have us believe). The difference is that an undiagnosed bias in fundamental physics is unlikely to cause any dangerous decisions before all my colleagues find the errors and pick apart my life's work like jackals at a zebra kill. My field tends to be self-correcting because we each individually advance our career by demonstrating (dispassionately) that our colleagues all are idiots and fools. "Go along to get along" is a rejected principle in science. So is mercy. We prefer "crush your colleagues; drive their theories into oblivion; and hear the lamentations of their grad students and post-docs."

Joel said "doilies" - heh heh.

ftb, I'm going to watch the Edwards interview at 5 pm today. One of the PBS stations here replays Charlie Rose then. I still tend to watch it at 11 pm, though, or on his website. I like Edwards a lot - Obama too. But I'm still afraid the Dems will blow it, no matter who gets the nomination.

Kerric, Happy Birthday! Wait, shouldn't you get a cake too? Or a nice doily?

I checked the vague idea I had that representations of animals were forbidden in Islam, and found this correction at PBS.org setting the record straight about art in Islam. I did know the Moghul kings encouraged a lot of art in India.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/cultureart.html

I guess it's easily seen this way: Even if you're living where every sixth guy is named Jesus, do you name a teddy bear Jesus? Probably not. Same thing.

I'm sure almost any other name from the Quran would have been fair game.

Whether she deserved to be deported for blasephemy is another matter. Other countries, other laws. It may be politically motivated, but so many things are.

But at least she's going to be going home soon and it's according to their law, even if we don't agree with it.

I'm more concerned about the state of law in OUR own country, aren't you?

I am so sorry, RD. I didn't know. You have to work somewhere that Fox News is on TV?
Joel, could you please go ahead and make sure that all your kits are as good as this one today? Thanks. That'd be great.

Boy, talk about losing patience and becoming isolationist. I wonder sometimes if the country should schism into two nations -- one with science, one with only Biblical literalism -- and see which one gets decimated by a mighty plague within a generation. Let's test the proposition that God prefers fundamentalists, you know?

Sigh. Bad Tim. Stop being so mean. Bad Tim.

SciTim - Believe me. Nobody here is unduly influenced by what's on the television.

This was a case when a particular early morning contractor set the station, and nobody but one crabby analyst even noticed enough to be bothered.

But there is also a more fundamental problem. Some honestly feel that Fox News *is* impartial. They feel that CNN is the biased one.

Which is why the "alternating days" compromise is the only acceptable one.

Wilbrod, I think the concern is not so much over the peculiarity of jailing the teacher and then deporting her for allowing the Teddy bear to be named "Mohammad;" it's more a response to the crowds calling for summary execution. One reaction is a bit strange to us, but intelligible; the other reaction is barbaric.

No Wildbrod, I am not. I think that if anybody in the West felt that a teacher should be killed because she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Jesus such a person would be viewed as an intolerant freak.

Dmd... unfortunately, yes we can be isolationist in this case.

One, it is not our citizen involved (British national).
Two, it is not our country (Sudan).

Unfortunately no matter where you travel, you are subject to their laws. Don't like their laws, don't go there.

Therefore, Indonesia had a right to jail Australians and Dutch for carrying cocaine, regardless of the legality of the substance or activity back home.

Canada has a right to jail Americans carrying handguns into the country to enforce their ban, or to make foreigners go through some paperwork or legal obstacles to do so.

We have the right to jail and deport people who break our laws, even if they're foreigners and the activity is fine at home. This is called sovereignity.

Sovereignity is an issue Bush has befuddled with his tampering in other countries, but it's still true under international law.

Diplomatic immunity is a courtesy extended to embassy personnel, not an ironclad right given to all foreigners to behave as they like in other countries.

Even so, there are some instances where diplomatic immunity was lifted or bent and/or the offending personnel sent home to prevent further frictions.

The famous drunk driving accident by an embassy attache and the subsequent waiver of diplomatic immunity so he could be prosecuted is an example.

This woman is not an embassy attache. She didn't mean to encourage any kind of blasephemy, but if "ignorance of the law is no excuse" is true in this country, even for foreigners ("excuse me, we didn't know it was illegal to sleep with 9 year olds here.")... why should we sneer when Sudan uses the same standard?

The type of punishment and the severity of their laws and human rights issue is a separate issue to tackle. Personally, I'm appalled that more media coverage is given to this incident instead of to the situation in Dafur, where people are suffering so much more under the present government.

I think the British teacher is lucky-- she IS a foreigner. She can go home and not live under that law and government anymore. I wish heartily that the people of Sudan will get the government and rule of law that they need and deserve.

My friend the conspiracy theorist sent me this.
http://comment.independent.co.uk:80/commentators/johann_hari/article3204034.ece

Proposal to split California electoral votes.

Just read the article about the Texas science advisor...

*heading off to the kitchen to console myself with chocolate and peanut butter*

*SIGHHHHHHH*

Wilbrod, you are missing the point. As Tim points out, it is the mob reaction that is unsettling. It is reminiscent of Europeans who used to kill each other over the issue of religious icons in a church. It is not about the law. It is about those who embraces a culture of violent religious intolerance. I have no qualms referring to such people as barbaric.

In addition to the points so excellently made by RD and Tim, we should note that the extreme reactions, calling for the teacher's execution, appear to be coordinated or encouraged by the same Sudanese government with whom the world is trying to negotiate on Darfur. These things are related. The intolerance, extremism and violence appear to be endemic to at least some segment of that population, and they appear to be running the country. This is cause for alarm.

Wilbrod I agree with sovereignty but isolationism is separate, it is curling up in a little ball and ignoring what goes on in the world.

Take apartheid, should other nations have been silent - it was their laws, their culture. The answer is no, I do recognize that these issues are filled with grey areas, and nuances.

I am very anti-isolationist, and anti-xenophobic for that matter. There are times when you must speak up and try to be heard.

The woman in Sudan was indeed a British national, one who went hoping to help the children of Sudan.

Too sick with a hell of a cold to back boodle for details but Happy B-day and may you have cookies to Kerric. Mudge, I think, referenced this link posted on the home page. Be sad. Say goodbye to my bar, the last of the real honky tonks in town.

Rest in Peaces, Chick's Hall's Surf Club

CeePeeBoy will belong to the club of the few who can say that they jammed in Chick's.

(Pictured is Chick Hall, Jr., who can play in the leagues with Danny Gatton. Hot Hillbilly jazz licks with cool roots-rock edge)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/29/AR2007112902228.html?hpid=topnews

I read the Robert Small story. Thanks, HistoryTim for the link. A ship is in Pier 4 in Inner Harbor. Cadets vs Midshipmen.

My Indian friend has discussed with me in depth how easily foreigners who misunderstand the culture can injure children by teaching them ways that can get them in trouble with families or with the law.

It is particularly acute in cultures where the individual is always seen as part of the family, and where the family may suffer reprisals and shame due to the deeds of any family members. India is going to take a while to get rid of its casteism entirely. Many areas are still very feudal. Castes have kept considerable power like a form of mafia and even after modernization, they're still trying to hold onto their power. It's not so much religion as it is custom.

Now, it's not right, it's not fair, but it's a very potent force that is difficult for us to understand with our individualistic culture that gives us considerable freedoms. One of the foundation of freedoms is freedom from the fear of being attacked or killed for being different. That takes a stable society with dangerous people locked up or held back by fear of the law... and people who have other ways in life to get what they want without being violent.

India is a wonderful country, but it has a lot of problems with poverty, illiteracy, unequal wealth and education among the population, diverse languages and cultures. You haven't seen poverty until you've seen India. Or Darfur.

Because of the disparity in income, it is surprisingly easy for a foreigner or a wealthy person to buy off the police with a few hundred bucks, which would be a few years' salary for a cop. Or buy off a judge. Or a government official. They have to deal with power and threats from families that have far more money and connections than they'll ever see.

Likewise, it's easy to get shook down and threatened into giving up money. The last time I was in India, we were possibly victims of an "road rage" hustle. The driver in front of us braked down a hill, we were close behind (heavy traffic), we stopped, and the car behind us drove into us. The driver came out and started yelling and ranting and blustering. He yelled so loud I heard him. I was petrified but my guide handled it, seeing there was not even any damage, and the other driver in front, a very tall Sikh man told him to calm down. My friend was of the opinion it was a hustle because he saw foreigners in a chaufferred car. But I don't mind telling you I was dead petrified; it wasn't the first time I've had somebody yell into the car to try and shake us down for money in India. I must say, that incident would have worked on almost any foreigner travelling alone. Car insurance isn't a thing that's caught on in India, apparently.

The bottom line: if a foreigner is caught or accused, often what the authorities want is for you to just bribe somebody and skip the country. The real victims are left without any justice and a lot of anger over their raped or seduced/pregnant children, etc. (Human trafficking is a problem in India, sadly).

So those people are left with no justice, no target for their wrath. The next christian missionary that happens along is going to get scapegoated instead. Do you honestly think the situation in The Sudan is even 1/100th as stable or as humane as in India? People are starving and dying from disease while people are getting rich and fat.

I don't believe in cultural relativism. I do believe that societal pressures in a country with rampant poverty, different cultural traditions, and in an orgy of communal violence and genocide is going to produce abnormal behavior in people. They are barbaric. And that's because they have to be, because the government isn't doing their job to keep law and order.

Personally, I think this and any further posturing will lead to revocation or refusal of further western aid to Sudan and further genocide. And that's sad when you think about it.

Kerric, Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain, and an old high school friend of mine: Happy Birthday to you all!

dr, you said that your *smallest* child was 8 lbs. 2 oz at birth? Yikes!

Three things the Post really needs: Font control (and more than just italics)

A better way to preview and edit posts. (I really am literate enough to correct many of the mistakes I make typing onto a three by five card.)

A spell checker that actually has words like Saipan, ad nauseam, alQuaida, Nabopolasser, or perspecasity in it. (Oops, this time it found perspicacity. It didn't last time) Especially names of current figures in the news.

Um, Boss-san, I don't think it's good that you learn about things happening in your back pocket from the City Paper. I mean, it's frequently a good rag and all, but I really think the authorities should let you know about these things.

Do you guys keep getting "Arnold" taking up 1/4 of your screen when you bring up the WoPo home page?
Give me a break. I moved out that state when he took over.

Apartheid is an interesting case. It took a while for US policy to change in response to pressure. Congress had to override Reagan's veto.

http://www.avoiceonline.org/aam/history.html

The sanctions included computer & nuclear technology, embargo on export of any gold coins from S. Africa, export restrictions on U.S. Companies not following equal employment practices in South africa. Apartheid lasted in South Africa for nearly 50 years, though. Was this the death blow, or had it already been crumbling from inside all along?

Whether this can be done with Sudan is an open question. Sanctions didn't work with Iraq because not everybody was on board-- a common problem-- and Hussein wasn't actually given any goal in order to lift the sanctions unlike South Africa was (free all political prisoners), without actually having to give up power outright. He stayed out of Kuwait and other countries, but nobody talked about not killing Kurds or anything to him.

Secondly, Iraq was not a democracy even in theory like South Africa was. Another thought--Cuba also has kept the same guy in power for over 40 years despite sanctions.

I haven't the least clue what could be done to make Sudan change course, but the government and the country is not uniformly muslim. 75% of the population is muslim. 5% is Christian; 20% are animist/indigenous beliefs. The two official languages are Arabic and English. The south has been torn by civil war for all but 10 years since independence in 1956. That's a long time.

Unless we know what the first step we want the Sudanese government to take is, we need to take a step back, and find something they won't take 40 years to get around to doing, and in theory could do tomorrow if they wanted to. Maybe the teddy bear case is as good a thing as anything. But it still seems ridiculous.

Unfortunately, right now 3.5 million people in the Darfur province of The Sudan are heavily dependent on humanatarian aid for their survival. That is nearly 10% of the population of that country. Flooding in July increased the need for aid. The government seems not to care about Darfur (maybe we should suggest they give Darfur to Chad, if they can't run that region), and would have no problems retailating against aid workers.

U.S. firms have been barred from doing business in Sudan since 1997. The United States has listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1993, so basically we have already sanctioned them. Without any carrots for reform, they have no interest in cooperating.

Worse, The Sudan has two ongoing disputes over 2 neighbors on aid and support to rebels attempting to overthrow governments. They already had a war with Chad, and Eritrea is only again speaking to the Sudan and working on settling the rebel issue. Qatar helped negotiate a reconcilation in 1999 but it took until 2005 to resume diplomatic relations. It is a poor, troubled country that remains unstable and run by an authoritian president who keeps the pursestrings for the whole country well in hand.

bh, yes, I have Arnold accompanying the wapo as well. I am thinking his next move.

Wilbrod just in case there is any confusion, I do not consider armed conflict a means for change exept under extraordinary situations, which in my opinion Iraq was not even close to, nor am I big on toppling governments.

I do believe in working with progressives/progressive organizations within the countries.

Each situation must be looked at on its individual characteristics.

I believe that ultimately the most effective changes and lasting changes come when they come from within the nation, this can be aided by support from the international community.

That said resolving one problem (a bad government) can cause a whole chain of events that take years to sort out, before political/economic stability can be established.

What dmd said.

Oh my. I've been reading the comments on The Trail's coverage of the hostage situation in NH today. It's clear that several had to be removed.

I'm going to go take a shower now. G'night friends and pleasant commenters.

To echo what dmd said, Taiwan can be an example. The ruling party, Kuomintung, which fled from mainland China in 1949 went through regime change to an opposition party through ballot, not bullet in 2000. Still there may be uncertainty of the future. But people is so accustomed to vote for presidency that the younger generation can hardly believe not long ago the president can be in office for life, without opposition party's challenge. Similar to what Putin or Musharaff try to hold on power nowadays, the Chiang's family was a hard lesson in the past history of Taiwan's progress in democracy.

I posted in the Trail site earlier today and it automatically changed my nom de posting. The same thing happened when I came back over here. I read the posts regarding the NH situation in the Trail and about half of them were off the table gonzo. It's a snapshot of the political polarization effect. Like the guy said in some Like it Hot, Zowie! I like to think that our corner is the cybermodel of civility.

Ah, that's better. Back to my old self.

Knievel was something. His vehicle of choice was a Harley, IIRC. I always hoped that someone would engineer something that would jump across the Snake River Canyon. *wondering aloud if the ramp is still there*

Last night watched most of "Inherit the Wind" for the first time in many years. (AMC or TCM, can't remember) Trying not think of Dick York, who portrayed "Cates" (i.e., Scopes), as Darren on Bewitched es muy deficil.

Forgot how preachy it was but it dawned on me that this is still an issue somehow in certain places in the "heartland." Hard to believe.

Never a huge Spencer Tracy fan but did like his effort to be a curmudgeon as the faux Clarance Darrow (poet, didn't know it).

He could not, however, reach the exactitude of curmudgeonitude that the kaboodle demands on a daily basis.

dmd, well said.

Yes pj, the littlest. My youngest, who doesn't crack 6 feet, was 9 lbs, 15 oz. My only consolation was there was a lday with a 14 pounder. Nice lady, Very good sense of humour.

Bet you didn't think pregnant women talked like that about their babies did you?

ceflynline, Joel probably walks a fine line here. Considering how we run amock on a normal day, I can only imagine what would happen if we had italics, much less something like spell check.
He's probably witholds spell check to keep us humble.

SCC from the previous entry, a LADY with a 14 pounder.

I should have noted my prior post was prompted by Boko's 6:00 post about insanity in Texas, (yes, I know, hard to believe that could happen).

Good article in the local paper by Ivan Doig, one of my favorite writers:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/341641_writer30.html
Of course, he mentions two writers I have never heard of, but will have to check out. I think my reading list has gone negative - register overflow or something similar.

And I'm feeling compelled, for some reason, to revisit the 2000 election fiasco. I have Jeff Toobin's book (from the library), and Joel's It Looks Like a President Only Smaller just came in the mail.

Now here is a good story about change from within, regarding the application of Sharia laws in Nigeria.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/world/africa/01shariah.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=b01422ddf290cfe9&ex=1354165200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

dmd, glad you set us straight, you anarchist, you! :-)

daiwanian,
I worry that Beijing doesn't seem to like Taiwan's success as a democracy.

In Florida, the arrests in the Sean Taylor case are encouraging.

Good morning, friends. It is so early, but could not sleep. Much going on here, and most of it not good, yet still praying and looking at Him that holds all men's hearts in his hand.

Morning, Mudge, Slyness, Scotty, and all.*waving* (a little slow)

Slyness, I forgot to thank you so much for your words of comfort, as well as everyone here. It is great that the boodle is here, and that so many wonderful people participate and give of themselves. *hugs to all*

I don't know anything about foreign policy or international law or any of it, but the situation in the Sudan should have perkerd our ears when they started killing their own. All bets are off when that happens. Why are we shocked at this place? Darfur was a wake-up call that didn't get answered, and these folks are swimming in blood, as many other nations are at times. And the more they swim, the better they like it. Some men never get enough of shedding blood, and the grave never says enough. As for the rule of law, that only applies when it favors someone's position, when it doesn't, it gets tossed too. And I don't say that to say that this is what should happen, but sometimes it does. The root of the problem, man's inhumanity to man, the lack of love to his Creator, therefore the lack of love to his fellowman. Sure there are some other variables that apply, but it usually stems from this cause.

History tim, thanks for the lesson on Smalls. I did not know that, and it was a good lesson.

On my way out to get a cup of coffee. I could drink it here, but I want to feel the cold morning air. I want to know that I am alive, breathing, feeling, hurting, all of that phase of being human, not a beast. And I want to thank God in my heart for allowing me to feel and to be.

Have a great day, my friends. Keep this old woman in your prayers, as well as family and friends. I place myself on the friend's list. And enjoy your weekend.

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ.

Morning, daiwalan and martooni.

May the love of God through Christ bless you mightily.

Good morning Cassandra. Those not-so-intelligent designer don't give up easily, do they?
Earlier yesterday I pointed to a Times opinion piece about the British teacher in Sudan. I have read other articles since and it seems there is a concensus this is all organized by the government of Karthoum. The same one organizing the "Arabification" of Darfur. Really nasty, nasty people.

Morning all...

Waiting for my little shop heater to take the edge off the chill out there. 19 effing degrees here and snow / freezing rain on the way.

Excellent kit, Joel. I giggled through half of it and shook my head sadly at the rest. You just have to wonder if the GOP exists on the same planet as the rest of us. I actually sat through the "debate" and just couldn't believe my own eyes and ears.

They're nuts. Every last one of them. They make you wonder if "Republican" is listed as a known mental illness in the DSM.

Of course, the Dems are almost as nutty.

I think I'll be writing in "Cassandra" when it comes time to vote. Or "Mudge".

Peace out... time to make sawdust.

For comments, the spellchecker is on the browser side. Mine comes with the Firefox Google toolbar. It still doesn't save me from homonyms or other spell-check proof errors. In the kits, Joel is flying solo and is pitting his WaPo issued software against the eagle-eyes of professionally trained nit-pickers. I wouldn't want to work on a tightrope quite that high, but that is why he gets paid the big bucks.

Got my first coat of sawdust for the day and must say that it is freaking COLD out there, heater or not.

I feel like a sissy running back into the house to warm up, but sheesh!

And my paints are all frozen.

There's also a murder of crows in my backyard, but I'm not superstitious (well, not very superstitious).

Why am I suddenly in the mood to hear some Stevie Ray Vaughn?

Spelling isn't an issue with me as much as grammar. Is. Grammar's the worser problem.

The ombudsperson weighed in on the Taylor coverage and on whether Shapiro and Wilbon stepped over the line in their online pieces earlier in the week. I think both reporters explained themselves very well.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001688.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

got up early to watch one of my favorite PBS shows only to discover it's been pre-empted by some short blonde haired beatch infomercial. A droning on and on for two hours about what can be summarized in about three or four sentences. I could have slept in another hour or two. Damn

Anyhoo, at 12 there is a one and half hour special: America's Test Kitchen Live! On WHUT-32 for any locals interested.

Synopsis: Host Christopher Kimball and chef Julia Collin prepare filet mignon; corkscrews and wine-bottle openers; tasting dark chocolates.

Between the Repub debate and the comments on the hostage taking in Rochester, NH yesterday, I am wondering if at least half of this country needs an anger management course, followed by a stern lashing by Miss Manners. Wow. I cannot stand Bush and his fellow thugs, but I would never write, or even think of the stuff that some people feel free to post online.

Busy day, already had my car in for service and an inspection sticker. Now off to get my hair done. Hang in there Martooni, I admire your industriousness in the freezing weather. Cassandra, I am sending good thoughts and prayers to you and your family. I hope whatever is going on sorts itself out soon so you can enjoy the holidays.

Considering the 10:16 and 10:23 posts of last evening, I am adopting a new personal motto.

Can't spell, can't speak good, reads ok.

Yup that sums it up. I'm beginning to wonder if this is the same root problem which makes me unable to count to 2. Causes me no end of heartache in yarn and string play.

I didn't have to cook a thing last night. Kerric, who enjoys food, and is pretty darn wise, agreed to meet me at a fine restaurant, where he was fed real food. He taught me how to use chopsticks, the art of opening those nifty tubular sugar packets, and showed me how to work my cell phone. I took pictures with it, but I haven't figured out how to get them off it, yet. I'm not that advanced. what I really need is more coffee.

omni-sounds like an early afternoon of pron to me. Lovely.

Martooni-allow me a tedious MN moment. 19! That my friend is downright tropical. Our high temp yesterday was 10.

Have to run, must make it to the PO today and it's only open from 10:00-noon. DHL delivered an express package there yesterday because I wasn't home. I don't know if this is standard procedure for them in all sparsely populated areas or if it's just another thing our friendly postmaster does for us. When I'm away for any length of time I pre-pay for a priorty mail flat rate box. He sorts out the junk mail and then mails only my good stuff when I call for it.

Happy Saturday to all!

Sorry to miss your birthday Kerric.
Happy Unbirthday

Bad Sneaker's mention of my favourite cooking show and dr's post last night about the lady with the 14 pounder reminds me of the lake where I caught a 14 lbs lake trout. Because of pollution fish over 10 lbs are considered unfit to eat so I chucked my big fish back and ate the 9 pounder I caught.
I wonder what effect this kind of selection will have on the lake trout popultaion of a smallish lake (Elliott Lake On.)
Students of Politics will recognize that this question is just chock full of politiacl ramifications.

Good morning, everyone. We got a little snow (!) early this morning. Just a little dusting so far, more is supposed to be on the way. I hope not much more. Good day to do the Christmas cards.

Reverting to the kit for just a minute, here's Bob Herbert's op ed column today, "Rambo and the G.O.P.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/opinion/01herbert.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Chandra Discovers Cosmic Cannonball
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/puppis/

Re: "This is a great Trail item by Peter Baker".

There have been several posts that state that Perry has multiple convictions for child molestation. These are important, because Perry might go easy on child molesters in his writings if Perry had himself been convicted of child molestation multiple times. Perhaps it is true, after all, that Perry has not been convicted of child molestation, because he apparently never was an alter boy, and thus there is less liklihood that he was molested as a youth himself.

When asked, his lawyer denies Perry's multiple convictions for child molestation, and notes not only his 20 years as a boy scout troop leader but his consistent PTA attendance as well.

Anybody need a baby-sitter whose legal representative denies that he has been convicted of child molestation? We note that there has been absolutely no evidence presented that Perry has a police record showing multiple convictions for child molestation.

There. That's a really balanced account of the pseudo-controversy, isn't it? And it puts down all those faux accusations really well. Nobody could possibly retain any association between Perry and child molestations, could they?

Hey all!! *catchup Grover waves*

Speaking of packages, my older brother called today to say a package he and his wife had attempted to send NukeSpouse and me was returned for "insufficient address." It had the correct #, street, town and Zip, plus our first names.

Apparently, last names are now a requirement.

Who knew??? *L*

And of course I had to go and check the status of the Army-Navy game...

*hanging head*

:-)

Things seem to be heating up in Venezuala.
Buy oil.

Ha, I recorded the show. Turns out the 'Live' part means live audience in the studio, and also pledge drive interruptions. So far it is a pretty good show. I liked the corkscrews and wine-bottle openers part.

Wow, "Perry" was really swift-molested before I even met him.

Dmd, I completely agree with you on armed conflict. I didn't support either Gulf War. I did support Afghanistan, because it was a failed state and in a state of chaos already.

I realize how I framed The Sudan's situation made it sound like a great candidate for the Bush Invasion Doctrine. They even have oil.

But, in this modern day and age, it seems any chaotic region is going to be a haven for criminals and people plotting the otherthrow of governments.

Does it mean we should support stability and prop up bad governments at all costs, or invade and take over, or support overthrow? I don't think so, either.

That was the Republican strategm during the Reagan year and it actually inflamed a lot of the present-day problems we have.

The Iran-contra scandals centered on illegal sales of weapons to Hussein to "counterbalance" the might of Iran, allowing him to invade Kuwait, and so on.

Afghanistan? Anybody remember the cold war and the Domino theory? We taught Bin Laden to use american weapons and aimed him at the Russians and then dumped him when our priorities changed.

Maybe we should just cut the theory and ideology in international affairs for once. I'm thinking that America will feel the fall-out of the Bush years for over 15 years to come, if not 20,30.

I so wish he had never taken office. I voted against him each time.

One of the first pages of the newspaper I started reading regularly when I was a kid (besides the comics, of course) was the obituary page. I loved the interesting stories about everyday people. (We had two hometown papers then: The Washington Post and its afternoon competitor, The Evening Star, and I read them both every day.)

The Post obituary staff is among the best, I think, and they have a blog of their own now, called Post Mortem (what a great name!).

Here is today's entry from Matt Schudel, the man who wrote the wonderful obit about my dad last year for the "A Local Life" section that appears in the Post every Sunday.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postmortem/2007/12/good_and_evel_plus_obit_sleuth_1.html

His next post is also good and made me think of our own Boodle music expert, pj...

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postmortem/2007/12/obit_sleuthing.html

Good morning! or whatever. I am proud and pleased to report that the Boy will receive a medal of some sort at the fencing tournament. From the way he described it he may be third in his division. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I'm just delighted. We just wanted him to fence and have a good time.

I have done very little today; finished Peter Ackroyd's novel "The Clerkenwell Tales". It is short, well written (of course) and very approachable. I highly recommend it, particularly if you're thinking of reading Ackroyd but aren't sure where to dip your toe in. Now I'm making chicken noodle soup, with homemade stock and leftover roast chicken. Good for a blustery evening.

Congrats to The Boy! Well done.

TBG, that is a good obit and blog. I'm not in the habit of reading obit's regularly, but I can see how interesting and well written some of these are. Carl Hiaasen wrote a book (Basket Case, I think) where the main character is an obit writer, and he gave an interesting perspective on it. Not that I can remember anything clearly enough to paraphrase it.

We have a couple of inches of snow - very pretty. It's supposed to rain tomorrow - hope so, because Mr Ml is flying out late, and I'd rather deal with rain instead of ice.

I liked the obit writer novel, too Mostly. Since Hiaasen novels often have some commonalities, it's easy to mix up the details between the novels in my memory. I sometimes think "Hiaasen" as a Jeopardy! category would result in 3 negative scores. Fun reads, though.

Now I'm all in the mood for some Dick Francis.

I heard some stuff about Huckabee on NPR today. It seems the media people have a surefire strategy: whenever some previously obscure figure starts moving up in the national recognition department, everybody starts talking him up and saying nice things about him, just go to his home town. That's where you'll find the real scuttlebutt. So NPR went to Little Rock, interviewed a left-wing journalist from an alternative weekly and he gave them the Rest of the Story. He didn't have anything really bad, but some of it was amusing. Seems Huck had an eye for opportunity when it came to using public monies to add to his "treasures on earth." Nothing illegal, but the ethics committee investigated him repeatedly for various infringements. And when he left office, he set up a "bridal registry" at several department stores, so that his supporters could buy presents to help him set up his new household (he was miffed that he couldn't take the furniture with him when he left the Governor's mansion, or at least that's how it was reported but he later said he had been misunderstood.) The Arkansas editor said of the bridal registry move, "We have a word for that kind of thing around here. We call it 'tacky.'"

Dmd, I enjoyed that Nigeria article. I knew a nun from Nigeria, and she was so politically savvy about America and asking me about all the smear campaigns in 1992.

She was telling me back then that in Nigeria there is often a problem with election fraud and intimidation.

As for Sharia law, it can be confused with cultural customs or a strict interpretion to fit power grabs.

After all, banning women from working or driving is not in the Quran! People didn't exactly have a lot of day jobs away from the family back then.

Mercy and charity are also important islamic teachings. A strict Judaic or Christian law wouldn't be too modern, either. Stoning people?

From a Taoist viewpoint, extremes cannot last. Wait a while and the pendelum will swing back. Sometimes it swings to another extreme, but eventually a new equilibrium will be found.

Nigeria is still a country that is not quite a nation, with so many tribal and geographics divisions to the point that I overheard a student asking the teacher whether he was from East or West Nigeria once.
Such a telling question. Hopefully this is a sign of an growing sense of unity in civic culture despite all the crooks in office.

Wow, TBG, thanks for that link! I read the original obit, but I hadn't seen Schudel's blog on it. Discount Books and Records was a great store. I was too young and too poor to take full advantage of it, but each of the times I went there was quite an adventure. I don't recall either of the owners but the staff I came in contact with were very knowledgeable and very helpful.

I also read the obits every day. Not exactly for the reasons of the Pete Seeger song:

I get up each morning and dust off my wits
Open the paper and read the obits
If I'm not there, I know I'm not dead
So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed

But because of general interest (I read the NYT obits for the same reason) and because I've lived here for so long that I know people who show up there. It sounds kind of morose but I have learned things about people that I didn't know before.

Yes I liked the article too Wilbrod, one of my good friends at University was from Nigeria.

Hi pj! Glad you saw my comment.

When I was young, my sisters and I were fascinated when we read in the obituary of my oldest sister's godfather, a guy we always considered a quiet old man, something to the effect of... "he drank champagne from the slipper of the great diva So-and-So while working as a waiter at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York."

Wow. That was when I fell in love with obituaries. And that was when my sister decided that she wanted to do enough things in her life that it wasn't mentioned in her obituary that she was captain of the baton corps in high school.

As much as the idea of losing one of my sisters makes me tear up just thinking about it, I hope I get a chance to add that line to her obituary one day. Ha!

Every obit fan should read Marilyn Johnson's _The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries_ A very fun read.

I remember my friend (the nun) sweltering in the DC summer heat and I asked, isn't Nigeria hot too? She said no, she lived near the coast and it's often around 77 to 85 degreees degrees nearly year-around, and it never gets hotter than 90F. (Average temperatures 24-29 C)

I guess she lived near Lagos, but gosh, that sounds like a wonderful climate to me.

But then, an Indian friend complained of his first summer in Washington, DC. Of course, he shouldn't have worn a sweater to go to the zoo at midday in 90+ degree weather. But apparently in Northern India, August is when the dry, hot loo season yields to cooling rains.

He was feeling the humidity, but there was no impending cooling to come with it.

Ivansmom... tell the Boy we're proud of him and his mad fencing skillz.

Thanks, TBG and mostlylurking! He seems to be either oddly proprietary or amused by the Boodle, so I know he'll appreciate it.

Though I am loathe to ever read something from the "ombudsman," since Joel mentioned it, I did read it. Thought it well balanced and not apologetic, which was appropriate.

Odd word, "omsbudsman":

http://www.bartleby.com/61/7/O0070700.html

"Ombudswoman" appears to be the only gender friendly alternative. Unlike "Chairman," which can be shortened to "Chair," I don't think anyone would know what an "Ombuds" is, other than, perhaps, transcendental meditation partners.

Ivansmom,

Tell your son congrats.

When I was doing a college fair, I got asked if there was a fencing club at Georgia Tech. It turns out there is one. Who know attacking people with excessively long knitting needles was such a hot trend?

Hey--

Bloggingheads.tv has made the big time--they're sponsored by (co-opted by? bought out by?) the New York Times for a series of short format (less than 10 minutes) discussions about the Presidential election. I guess it happened a while ago but I just found out tonight.

The original umbodhsmadhr could be converted into "ombudsmother" as the female form, Bill Everything.

Good morning.

Hi!

An interessting day yesterday, without really trying, I acquired photographs revealing my company's competition screwed up. Which was not what I was after, but I'll take it!

This morning I suspected the boodleputer had busted again, but I guess I was wrong.

My newest crusade is against audio pop-ups. I will be reading Achenblog and link to some other site, all the while listening to Beethoven's 9th, or Anarchy in the UK, or something, and this loud voice starts screaming "CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE WON AN iPOD!" Simultaneous with my music, scaring the he11 out of me, and making me worry about my sound card overheating or something. I hope WaPo eschews this totally.

I have had that happen before as well Jumper.

Going to me a messy day here we had 6 inches of snow overnight but as it warms up today we are in for freezing rain then rain.

My husband and old child will be returning from a hockey tournment and will have a long miserable drive.

'Morning, Boodle, Cassandra, Martooni.

It appears we had a visit from the FSM a little while ago.

Ivansmom, congrats to the Boy. Always pleased to see when someone has invented a new and good thing to do with a luminous foil.

I spent a part of the day yesterday battling with Comcast, when my Internet cable went out. After a protracted series of tests, we determined I have a bad splitter, and by switching ports I could get either TV or Internet, but not both (one port was bad). I wish someone who knew Why Things Are would 'splain to me why/how splitters go bad, but apparently they do. (When Good Splitters Go Bad: that sounds like a Fox TV show or else a new, salacious DVD from the Girls Gone Wild guy.)

At any rate, I'm off to Radio Shack as soon as they open to rectify my busted rectifier. Or whatever it is. I can't go a second day without boodling and the Achenblog, and of course there's a full slate of football to watch. I mean, c'mon. That's surely a Hobson's choice, right? E'en as we speak, I am missing "Inside the NFL."

Geez. Thanks dmd! As I head to Toronto, and the mad cab drivers, news of freezing rain is unwelcome. :)

No Boodling now until at least Tuesday pm, perhaps Wednesday evening is most likely. I'll be thinking of you all, and will try to suppress the withdrawal shakes in front of my colleagues.

Rectifier is a very funny word.

Speaking of hardware, our telly is making a most unpleasant buzzing noise. And even when it isn't on Fox News! (Heehee! Hee. Oh never mind.)

Anyway. My wife and I may be giving each other half of a new television for Christmas.

Courage, Yoki! You did just fine on your trip to Ireland a little while back! :-)

Martooni, do you get tired of us suggesting things for your shop?

How about a gift certificate for all those people who would like a fairy door or to give one as a gift, but won't make your shipping deadlines? Put it up now, have a busy January.

While I'm being a busybody, I just found trunkt, kind of like etsy.

Don't forget, RDP... There will ONLY be HDTV broadcasts in a year...

;-)

And hey, I think Fox News Watch has been cancelled... *raised eyebrow*

*trying-to-prepare-for-a-particularly-crazy-work-week Grover waves*

:-)

Good morning! I look forward to the Boy's return and seeing the Medal, and will pass on your kind congratulations.

RD, don't say that about the TV too loudly, please. I'd hate for our TV to suddenly become ill in sympathy. Ivansdad and the Boy have been saying things like "big-screen" (technology not currently available at our house) and "HDTV" with disturbingly increasing frequency.

Speaking of technology, there is a good piece in today's Post about how our next president shouldn't be a Luddite. It focuses on the Republican candidates' general appalling lack of understanding of the Information Society (Internet, YouTube, etc.). Excepting Ron Paul, of course, and to some extent McCain. The article rightly points out that these folks are getting a pass for lack of knowledge of a contemporary economic driver which would be thoroughly condemned were the topic anything else. Were I not such a Luddite myself I'd give you a link. Or perhaps it is just because I am clueless.

G'Day, Eh?
Don't go to nasty TO Yoki, come home to the valley. I know you're a valley girl.
All that lousy weather looks like it will pass south of Ottawa.

Morning boodle! I am fortified with a vat of coffee and am working up the courage to shovel the walk. My quaint brick walk in the shade garden seems like such a good idea 8 months of the year. Then on nights like last night I lie awake cursing my garden plan and listening to great avalanches of snow sliding off the metal roof right onto the walk I shoveled twice yesterday.

Finally fell asleep watching football. Hawaii was down 28-7 when I just couldn't keep my eyes open. But, I was not surprised at all to wake up to find they had come back and beat Washington 35-28. I am not a fan of the BCS, or of big money sports in college at all, but it will be nice to see UH get the 4.5 mil minimum for making it into a major bowl.

I hope the network carrying whatever bowl Hawaii gets into will cover their pre-game chant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pCZ5RkhJkY&feature=related

I know you know how to do this Ivansmom, and were just making a humorous point!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001802.html?hpid%3Dopinionsbox1&sub=AR

Great article.

However, in these fast moving times, I think the term *Luddite* is outdated. Ned Ludd and his buddies smashed looms in an effort to turn back the technological progress that was impacting their livelihoods. While even I have taken a sledgehammer to parts of a PC (did you know if you hit a keyboard *just* right all the keys fly in the air at the same time? Very amusing.), that's not common.

I think what people who deny the power of the Internet and technology in general are more akin to those who insisted the world was flat.

SCC: "that", not "what", last graph.

Actually, dbG, I have no idea how to link to an article, or anything else. This is why my family was so astonished when I admitted that I had become part of an online community -- they know how limited my skills are! Thanks for posting the link!

Well the goodness is Yoki, temps are to be 8c tomorrow, bad news, lots of rain - therefore lots of slush.

But those wonderful S. Ontario friends will make up for it - southern ontario warm hospitality - it that an oxymoron? :-)

The NY Times provided a link to their August story on Hawaii's quarterback. Interesting about St. Paul and Hawaii family values.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/sports/ncaafootball/24colt.html

SCC good news

Thanks so much for that link DotC, though I am a little weepy after reading it. My in-box has been inundated with pleas from Hawaii friends to "vote for Colt" on ESPN's "Vote Heisman" web page (now closed). Hawaii clearly loves him as much as he loves her.

If the Heisman voters stay true to the guidelines of picking the person who does the most to lift his team, he will win. If they didn't all vote before going to bed last night.

Canuckistanis-besides being less true to every value Canadians hold dear, why does everyone hate Toronto so?

Mr Ml watched the Hawaii-UW game last night too. He hasn't watched a football game in years, but he loves Hawaii and goes to a Hawaiian restaurant for breakfast on Saturdays (yesterday everybody in the restaurant sang Aloha Oe to him, as he's leaving on a trip tonight). Anyway, he told me about the chants - and it wasn't looking good for Hawaii at first. He said it was a really good game (I'm plowing through Six Feet Under DVD's).

Ivansmom, I'm shocked! :-)

The easiest way to link here is to go to the URL at the top of an article, highlight it, copy it, then paste it in your post. I think there's a limit of 3 here, so put a carriage return (antiquated term!) in between each, and voile (fabric on my mind).

Martooni, I swear is the last idea, but this appears to be the best way of reaching you. Some etsians had a challenge to create and sell an "etsy sales fairy." (I bought 2). Seems to me that thousands of sellers on etsy would all need an etsy sales fairy door at some point. I know your sales are great, but I believe in excess!

I don't hate Tranna, I was born there. I ju