First?

I also saw much ado about nothing in the NY Times article. The reporters and editors seem to be saying, "Well, his aides were worried, so that's good enough for us."

*shrug*

Hi Moose, we best be careful sliding up and down Route 1 on Friday.

This reminds me of the scandal involving Dan Quayle, several other congressmen and a lobbyist accused of using sexual favors. No suspicion ever fell on Potatoe Dan because if it was a golf trip there was no doubt he was doing anything other than golfing.

Scotty, perhaps one of them had February 21 in the over/under pool.

I agree, JA, yours would have been the better take.

Been working in my jammies myself. There's a lot to be said for being a bunny slipper //insert job title here//.

Yeah, yello, and I'll bet that even then he had trouble ...

I'd say something else, but it'd just be rude.

Or he could have just said, "It wasn't me."

Who did that routine? Was it Richard Pryor? It's evoked on a regular basis around my house. We don't need to deny anything in specific terms, just say the magic words.
Did you eat the last cookie?
"It wasn't me."
Who left the rake out?
"It wasn't me."
Stop staring at that woman.
"It wasn't me."

Even when it doesn't fit, it fits.

It wouldn't be a bad idea for the candidates to have a humorist on staff--but if anybody asks, deny it. "It wasn't me."

Steve Martin had a routine like that, too, didn't he, except his phrase was, "I don't recall." That works, too.

The problem with the humorous comeback, as we see all the time here on the Boodle, is that so few people recognize humor.

Maybe the politicians should follow the straight talking lead exemplified by the Naked Cowboy:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/20/AR2008022002980.html?hpid=sec-artsliving

But kbertocci, "I don't recall" is used so often, and we see where it got the likes of Fredo.

http://www.catholicleague.org/chatterbox.php

McCain Embraced Hagee Before Huckabee

On December 21, 2007 we posted a statement on Mike Huckabee's scheduled appearance at [San Antonio] Rev. John Hagee's church on December 23. We have subsequently learned that presidential hopeful John McCain reached out to Hagee last fall. Hagee introduced McCain on September 20, 2007 during his "No Surrender Tour" at an event in South Carolina.

The Catholic League has long considered Rev. Hagee to be a bigot, and the reason we are citing the McCain appearance now is because we want to treat the Arizona senator the same way we treated the former governor of Arkansas.

http://www.irregulartimes.com/hageemccain.html

Lately, John McCain's rise back into the good graces of the Republican Party is predicted to help him to bump Rudolph Giuliani and even Mitt Romney out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

But who is John McCain, really? For some insight into that, consider John McCain's political association with right wing televangelist John Hagee.

John Hagee is one of those televangelists who said that Hurricane was a righteous heavenly punishment against New Orleans sent by God himself - and John McCain is there with him.

Hagee: "All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that."

[more]

Major front page alert.

Huckabee's earlier campaign stop in San Antonio--written by Greg Jefferson who covered the recent Clinton and Obama campaign stops--at John Hagee's church:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/stories/MYSA122407.06A.Huckabee.24923fd.html

Web Posted: 12/24/2007 01:23 AM CST

Greg Jefferson
Express-News

Republican Mike Huckabee steered clear of presidential politics during two services Sunday at Cornerstone Church, but the ordained Southern Baptist minister appeared to establish his religious bona fides with thousands of evangelicals -- the group largely fueling his recent rise in the polls. ...

After the first service, Mark Kopecky said he'd already been leaning toward Huckabee over his rivals. His appearance at the church, which can hold 5,000, did nothing to hurt his standing with the Cornerstone usher.

"He didn't come here to get votes -- he came here to give the word of God," he said. "I respect that."

Kopecky had no qualms about a minister running for president, saying, "I don't believe in a separation of church and state -- that's not what our founding fathers intended."

Bill Barnello, a civilian Defense Department employee, also came away with a good impression of Huckabee. "I think he has what we need right now: a direction."

Huckabee spoke at the invitation of Cornerstone Pastor John Hagee, a televangelist and one of the leaders of the newly resurging Christian Zionist movement, whose members believe the Bible mandates support for Israel and the Jewish people. Hagee is the founder of Christians United for Israel, a 2-year-old umbrella organization aiming to draw in pro-Israel Christians for educational and political activities. ...

After the services, Huckabee moved on to a private fundraiser at the home of San Antonio physician and businessman James Leininger, a major GOP contributor and staunch supporter of school vouchers.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen protesters -- most waving signs for Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a rival for the GOP presidential nomination -- greeted churchgoers as they exited Cornerstone's sprawling parking lot after the second service. Two held up a hand-painted sign reading "Google Huckabee's ethics," a reference to a spate of ethics complaints against Huckabee when he served as governor. He fended off most of the complaints, but was reportedly sanctioned five times.

Is the bunker in order, Mudge? We had a visit from a werewolf last night during the eclipse party, we better check. I'll clean the bathrooms. (Why, oh why, do I volunteer for this task?)

I read both of Loomis's posts and seem to have missed the apology.

Breaking news on CNN:

"AP: Protesters break into U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, set fire to facade."

Eeeep! :-O

Yes, I think John McCain calling Chelsea Clinton ugly was a pretty low blow politically and rhetorically.

And how much does infertility treatment cost, especially in San Francisco where the Clintons were headed for a workup? And what was Bill Clinton making as governor of Arkansas? And when in time exactly was Hillary Clinton trading in cattle futures? Refco and Red Bones and the Syrian Rezko.

More details...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/21/kosovo.independence/index.html

Joel, does it ever freak you out to be linked just above Bob "Douchebag" Novak?

TMI information: for those who've never had a laporoscopy, that's how it works--two cuts, a woman's abdomen filled with gas, she unconscious on a table that is then titled with feet first heading into the air while doctors probe her innards.

Don't tell me it's too much information when we get to hear about a diseased leg possibly being amputated.

nellie-your 1:09 made me smile. Both true, and funny.

Good news in our fair city. The school board voted to transfer ownership of the school building to our little non-profit when they close the school at the end of the year. We will have some legal bills and some other costs but we feared they'd put it on the open market and we'd be forced to kick in some serious money for the purchase. Of course, the real work begins now. But, I think I'll sit and enjoy the moment for a little while this afternoon.

Not even really related to the McCain kerfluffle, but it did make me think-I hope we will reach a day some time soon when people with pasts, the kind that show they've done a lot of learning because they either made a lot of mistakes or a few really big ones, can get elected to high office. Besides McCain, I'd like to know if any of our candidates has ever broken a bone or suffered some other more than trivial injury. What kind of courage can you have if you've never risked physical safety in pursuit of an adventure? Show me a scar!! (and not from your operation like LBJ)

I'm bringing my best Bissell carpet sweeper to pick up all of the hair from the bunker rug. And my special high compression three bean dip.

THREE types of beans? Compression indeed.

Well, frosti, there's the scar from when I was 3 and dove into the bathtub and needed stitches. Does that count? :-)

High compression, high expulsion, low friend-density.

Jeez, we washed and ironed the lace curtains last week, I hope they're still okay.

Mudge, did you check the beverage supply?

dbG-I think any scar acquired where a body of water, even a bathtub, is involved should qualify you for a statewide office. You were pretty young though so I'm thinking Lt. Governor or Sec'y of State.

Thank goodness we've got those new fish-shaped doilies to put out as coasters.

Thanks, frosti! I accept.

Enjoy your moment. It sounds like one that's been waiting.

dbG-I think any scar acquired in a stunt involving water should at least qualify you for statewide office. You were pretty young though so you might not have learned that much from it. I'm think Lt. Governor or Sec'y of State would be about right.

Sorry for the double post-got one of those "you must enter a name and comment" messages.

Thanks, dbG.

Python day at The Great Beyond:
http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2008/02/giant_pythons_to_put_the_squee.html

Nature magazine's news blog took up US Geological Survey maps showing where pythons might thrive. Even Washington, perhaps.

he sounds like Bill Clinton I did not have sex with that women, funny how things always come out, the purist Republican party, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Well Frosti I have a scar on my leg from the time I scaled the wire fence at the Golf club, what does a scar for trespassing entitle me to :-).

Completely agree with you post. You can learn a lot by having to correct your mistakes.

And here I thought Pythons were already in abundance between K Street and Capitol Hill. :-O

responding from last kit:
Thanks dbG. It's a nice sandbox. the bunker too, with the dolies and all. I'll stay and play and lurk and learn like I have for years...
Also, RD--I enjoy your posts and I'm sorry for your loss. glad you're back. take care.

"what does a scar for trespassing entitle me to :-)."

Head of the FBI?

Yes, the bunker's in pretty good shape, considering. The good news is, there's a couple of Chinese menus lying on the coffee table, in case we want to order out. And there's half a dozen sqwizzle sticks from Trader Vic's--don't have any idea how they got there. Oh well.

Frosti-

I have a scar from open-heart surgery as a child. How's that?

Hi CP! Maybe I can slide down Route 1 to see you tomorrow.

what i gathered from this is if he was a dem it would be okay. joel should ask obama if one of the changes will be if my daughter can be an intern in the white house and not have to worry about the dem president hitting on her.

Hi anon at 2:16 PM... we're glad to have you here! But you really need a name. Hard to keep the players straight without one.

The Splinter. A car made almost entirely of wood. Top speed of 240 MPH.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/motors/article826626.ece

I think I'd better bring some other dip to the bunker. I have to go easy on the bean dip. I had bean salad for lunch.

Scars, hmmm. I have a doozy on my right knee from taking a slide in some slate gravel as a 7th-grader. Also have one on my left cheek where a friend accidentally hit me with a toy hoe, when we were 4.

Good afternoon. Poor McCain. Joel is right; spin is dead. Where's the finesse, the joie de vivre, the sheer audacity of it all?

Higgs bosons, nanocolors, giant pythons and beezelbufo; even during the storm of politics the sciency nature of the Boodle shines through.

And congratulations on the building, frostbitten!

Precisely the reason for bringing the Beano along. Use Beano and there'll beano gas.

I am devastated. You guys were talking knitting AND embroidery.

Did I miss all the good stuff or you leaving curling for later?

gary... what was it about the impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton that made you think it was OK for dems to have affairs?

If I remember correctly, several of the Republicans bringing those proceedings forth admitted to having extramarital affairs--youthful indiscretions, they said, even though they were in their 40s when it happened.

No, no, dr, we were waiting for you to discuss curling.

Would someone please fax me another copy of the typing manual? I seem to be having trouble. Again.

Boy! You should see my knees -- two 8-inch long scars right down the middle!

DR, speaking of curling, I'm bringing my curling iron to the bunker (which I think we should nickname 'Archie') and a can of Odoreater.

Since you asked, dr, here are the results of the 1989 World Curling championships. This was the first year tahat the Men's and Women's World Championships were held at the same venue.

http://www.catman.ca/worldcurling.html

I give up. I cannot type. I attribute this to the after effects of the eclipse.

Actually, jack, it's okay, we can understand what you're saying, even with the odd typo here and there. Don't worry about it.

Here you go dr, the press release for "Rockstar Curling", just released.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-21-2008/0004760322&EDATE=

I was actually looking to see if I could post the commercial for volunteers for the Vancouver Olympics - thought it was quite amusing.

Most of us aren't even bothering to follow what McCain says.

It's all Hundred Years War, maybe ten thousand ...

I mean seriously, the guy has gone loony tunes on us.

This was the first story about him that didn't put me to sleep in a few minutes.

And what's with voter turnout? In every state since this campaign has started, the total vote for all the combined GOP candidates has been LESS then EITHER Obama or Clinton - and Obama sometimes get two or three times as many votes as McCain in a RED STATE.

Nobody's foolish enough to vote for this loser, McCain. He's too old, he's too nutso, and he'll just spend us into third world status like his mentor Bush is.

oh, and curling is fun. you should try it.

What McCain should have said is "I tell falsehoods or little white ones as convincingly as the rest of them."

From the Washington Post fact checkers after the Republican South Carolina debate, Jan. 10:

10.15 p.m.
John McCain and Pork, Part 2

John McCain underscored his opposition to pork-barrel projects by claiming that he never "received or asked" for a pork barrel project for his state of Arizona during his time in the Senate. That is not quite true. My colleague, John Solomon, recently came across an old letter written by McCain in 1992 in which he pressed the Republican administration of President H.W. Bush to secure a $5 million earmark for a wastewater project in Arizona after Congress had rejected the request in its own spending bill. Spurned by his colleagues, McCain took his case to the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"I would like to request that EPA either re-program $5 million out of existing funds or earmark the amount from an appropriate account," McCain wrote in his Oct. 9, 1992 letter to then-EPA Administrator William K. Reilly, calling the earmark "crucial to protecting the public health and the environment."

--Michael Dobbs

9.35 p.m.
McCain and Pork

Senator McCain said that he would control "out of control spending" to help the economy, using his "veto pen" to get rid of "pork-barrel" projects. But the dirty little secret of Washington that the portion of the budget that Congress controls, known as "discretionary spending," is just a small part of the pie. Out of the $3 trillion budget in 2008, only a little more than a third was discretionary spending. The rest of the budget was "mandatory spending" --Social Security, Medicare, welfare, and so forth. The cost of those programs is set by law and are difficult to change.

On top of that, more than half of the discretionary spending is for national defense., which is largely untouchable. So there is only a small part of the budget that can be changed by Congress, and a tiny part of that are "pork barrel" projects. In a $14 trillion economy, eliminating that spending won't make much of difference.

--Glenn Kessler

Hang in there, Jack. We got your back.

Anyone in the DC environs heading toward the bunker: be advised that we may get stuck there for quite a while. The forecast is getting worse by the minute. One to two inches of snow is predicted overnight--which isn't bad at all. But that will be followed by freezing rain during the day, up to something like 1/4-inch of build-up. That's enough to bring down a whole slew of power lines, so everybody plan/purchase and pack accordingly. I suspect a lot of us won't be coming in to work tomorrow. If you get stuck in the bunker, you might be there a while. This is one of those ice storms that comes up from the south, and those are always much worse than anything the Canuckis send us with their sedate Alberta Clippers.

The playing cards are in the drawer in the coffee table. The board games are all in the credenza. The Monopoly game is missing the B & O line railroad, if anybody's seen it. As always, no gambling, please.

J'ai une crampe de cerveau et des pieds stinky.

Oh, and don't let bc try to talk anybody into playing a "quick game of Strip Pictionary." He cheats. 'Nuff said.

Why 'mudge, that's the nicest thing you've said about Alberta weather in days!

Mudge, the important question is: how much beer and chardonney is in the fridge? Enough to get us through?

The bathrooms are okay. Not stellar, but okay. I didn't have time to do stellar.

McNut is just another old Corrupt Politician. He proved he cares nothing about our Constitution or Rule of Law by joining the Old Socialist, Drunk and Killer from Mass. in trying to reward 12 to 30 Million of Mexico,s criminals and undesirable rejects with Citizenship!

Note to those in the DC area, last weekend I pre-salted and it help a lot (used 3 bags of salt in one day). Fortunately for us, the three hours of freezing rain was followed by 7 hours of rain and warming temps. Stay safe. Kitty litter is also a good way to keep areas from getting slippery.

I just made 6 qts. of mac & cheese for guests tomorrow (Friday in Lent, not that I would have known). I'll fax some over.

Ten six-packs of Corona, a dozen limes. They were all out of chardonnay, so I got pinot grigio and a couple of those whomping big bottles of liebfraumilch. And a pretty good selection of cheeses and crackers. Sorry; the Triscuits were all gone. But I got some of those chicken-tasting things.

Also pepperoni and summer sausage.

Waving in between errands and entropy class. Slyness, I waved my wand at the ladies' and gensts' rooms of resting. Check.

Fielding frantic email from students because we have a medium-large project due Friday. ONE PARENT EMAIL! Thub.Thub.ReThub. (helicopter blades whirring above.)

I owe the boss an on-kit comment:

flying monkeys!!!!!

Eek. I was never so scarred in my childish life ever than by the Wicked Witch of the West's monkey henchmen.....henchmonkies? Like monkywrench?

"Chicken in a Biskit?" are those still being made?

Simian minions

I have just recently discovered Oil Oil and Black Pepper Triscuits, faxing several boxes to the bunker.

dbG - mac & cheese is not OK during Lent? I know I should know this, thought Good Friday was the only day with restrictions (discovered that a few years ago).

Sounds like everything's ready to go. I'll be there in a little while to turn on the lights and get the platters out.

bc, you got the music?

Yup, that's it, Nellie, thanks. Chicken in a Biskit. Highly addictive.

CP, instead of "henchmonkies," we prefer you to refer to them as "ethically challenged primates." (They may be evil, but they *are* quite sensitive.)

Nellie's right, trespassing scars just scream FBI. Open heart surgery normally wouldn't count, but as a very young child-compelling stuff so perhaps senior advisor material. Scars from slate gravel, now that's something to fuel a campaign (I'm not touching the hoe, we've seen where that goes and the bunker bathrooms are not up to stellar standards).

It just occured to me, I haven't dislocated, broken, or scarred anything since '97. I hope that means I have good judgement, and not that I'm just old and boring.

Thanks for the congrats on the building folks. Over the next few months I hope I don't drone on and on about grants and upgrading a 55 year old building and all that stuff (though I'm sure I will, can't help myself).

dmd, should be fine.

Maybe the Philadelphia Diocese is more strict or my friends have it wrong, but they're still meatless on Fridays. We've been going out to dinner on Fridays, but since I'm on Irish time I can cook.

dmd, I'd meant that they had to inform me it was Lent and they weren't eating meat. I already knew it was Friday.

Ha! SofC, that's great.

SonofCarl gets many many points, perhaps as many as 150.

Am I the only one to believe that those Flying Monkeys weren't inherently Evil, but that the Wicked Witch of the West had cast a Controlling Spell on them?

omni, trust Mr. T to find out where in NC this guy is; Of all places, Durham. You know, where Dook is.

http://www.joeharmondesign.com/pod.html

And what exactly is jacques trying to tell us? That he has a headache and stinky feet??? Cause I dont't get it. So random.

omni, I always use that explanation myself, but nobody buys it. Inherently evil just sticks.

Slyness, after bc posts some umbrage at being called a strip pictionary cheater I half expect him to tell us he knows the guy.

I wouldn't be surprised, omni, bc does run in those circles.

Is there something wrong in being a strip pictionary cheater? Who knew?

I had it partly right. It wasn't a controlling curse, but a golden hat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_monkeys

So they weren't inherently evil, just merry pranksters.

omni, my French (as everyone knows) is kinda rusty, but I think Jack said he has a brain cramp and his pee stinks.

I'm sure Tim Leary and Ken Kesey saw plenty of flying monkeys...

:-)

Mudge mine is just as bad cause I intially thought he said his pig stunk. And I'm like well duh.

Achenblog:
"In my day, the spinners knew how to staunch the political bleeding, how to put a tourniquet on a scandal."

Perhaps Sen. McCain is being honest, and, thus, there is no need for spinners. Did that ever cross your mind?

What!! No Elk Cove Pinot Gris in the bunker? What is this world coming too? I'd fax some over, but the wine store said they wouldn't get another shipment for a couple of months. Oh, and what Joel said in the kit.

Thanks Scotty, I knew I could count on someone to make that connection. And even though I was expecting it I still laughed. I am so easily amused.

frosti - I have yet to hear you drone on and on...I don't believe we'll think that.

yello - Happy belated birthday. It sounds like you enjoyed yourself.

dmd -YUM Olive Oil and Black Pepper triscuits! If they're in the bunker, I'm on my way. Of course, I'd prefer chardonnay but a nice glass of pinot grigio will do in a pinch.

I didn't see the press conference. I'm with Scotty, it sounds like a whole lot of hot air. Well, perhaps disgruntled ex-employee hot air.

All of my really right wing friends are a-twitter about Michelle Obama and how she isn't proud of America. Sigh. Those crazy chain e-mails are zinging around Hampton Roads like some kind of out of control particle. Do particles zing?

Missed the eclipse, too much cloud cover, glad to read about it here, though.

omni, I think the French word for pig is "pourquois" (pork-wah), isn't it?

I never saw a flying monkey
I never hope to see one
But...

The problem with total denial is that even the most trivial exception can be viewed as an admission of guilt.

The classic example being the following:

So have you ever kissed another woman?

No.

What about your sister?

Well, yes, in a sisterly way. But I...

So you admit you were lying just now! So what else have you been lying about?

Well there used to be this restaurant in Georgetown called 'au pied de cochon' I believe. Asked my French GF what it meant and she said 'pig foot' So I always get it mixed up. Didn't help that I was totally confused about calling a resaurant 'pig foot'. I'm pretty sure something was lost in translation as her English wasn't great.

Back qwhen I was a kid, when dinosaurs roamed gthe earth, we had flying monkeys. They were called orangudactyls.

Kim-Do particles zing?! You have brought the boodle to JA's Natie G article and to your very own stomping grounds. Perhaps some of those right wing nut jobs could use a trip in the TJ National Accelerator Lab over in Newport News. (BTW, someone who knows something will have to tell you if they zing).
http://www.jlab.org/

...or maybe it was ornipanzee. I forget. It was a long time ago.

Probably ought to mention the 800-pound hummingrilla.

RD, along those same lines, I have a big problem with McCain's wife saying, "I ... know that he would never do anything to ... disappoint the people of America"

Listen, you can't say that about anybody, anywhere. You can say, "I love him no matter what and I'll stand by him," and you can say, "I believe he hasn't done (this specific thing he's being accused of)" But what he's capable of doing, what he might do in the future--he's a human being, and people make bad choices sometimes. And I, as a "person of America," have already been disappointed by McCain's behavior on numerous occasions.

Can we say...

Karma?

feet! As Zappa said: "...with a garlic aroma that could level Tacoma..."

Jimmy Buffett -

"My head hurts, my feet stink,
and I don't love Jesus.
It's that kind of mornin,
Really was that kind of night.
Tryin to tell myself that my condition is improvin...
And if I dont die by Thursday, I'll be roarin' Friday night!"

Some scientists pushed atoms around and spelled IBM with them. Now they know exactly how much force it takes to push an atom. Less than that for a smithereen.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/science/22atom.html

Typical right wing hack who blames all bad news on a liberal bias. The American people have learned to read the Times for the real story and let the delusional watch Fox. Go back to Fox Joel that is where you belong.

Yup, "Achenbach the right wing hack" rolls sweetly off the tongue!

I am, of course, using his occasionally sanctioned "achin' back" pronunciation.

"In my day, the spinners knew how to staunch the political bleeding, how to put a tourniquet on a scandal."

STANCH, not staunch.

But I meant staunch the bleeding. I didn't mean stanch the bleeding. See what I'm saying. I meant staunch.

No one understands me.

mehitabel - I bit my tongue when I saw that myself. We're slowly learnin' him!

Omni, "To the pig's foot" would be the literal translation.

Maybe an attempt at backtranslating "Go the whole hog", or evoking pigskin and football?

As far as I'm concerned, French restaurants NEVER have names that would remind you of food or make much sense.

Oh Frosti! I have scars from wild dogs and endless scars on my legs. But my true scarring is a tragedy indeed.
As a child, I was badly mauled in a desert valley by a tree driven mad by thirst. As a consequence my face is so scarred that I wear a mask to conceal my misfortune, spend time in boats and basements and occasionally terrorize opera singers.
It's little wonder that I never allow myself to be photographed in public and refer to myself as a gnome. The ignome-nity of what could have been a most excellent silhouette, marred.

(Muttering to myself:

I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.")

Frosti, make me not a minister, nor yet a secretary of state, but a full-out despot. Now I'll go and jiggle my medicine balls in my hand, and muse upon my plotting.

Joel, McCain provoked this Shakespearean cootie, which I wish he had quoted:

"There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures."

Only maybe it should be written slightly differently. Bottom line: a REAL speechwriter can't be beat for dressing up the truth.

Likewise, I would expect this chorus from the newsmedia:

Knock,
knock! Who's there, in the other devil's
name? Faith, here's an equivocator, that could
swear in both the scales against either scale;
who committed treason enough for God's sake,
yet could not equivocate to heaven: O, come
in, equivocator.

Yeah, it's too late to fight the staunch/stanch battle. The descriptionists have long since defeated the prescriptioninsts on that one.

Henchmonkeys. Simian Minions. Ethically Challenged Primates.

Chickin in a Biskit. (Yum)

This is why I love the Boodle.

Joel, I knew you meant Staunch. You and all those Fox News buddies. Hee hee. That had to brighten your day. Nothing like a truly risible accusation to make you feel better about yourself.

Ummm... "descriptionists" & "prescriptionists"

Oh, oh! The flying monkeys: The Department of Hominoid Security.

JA >No one understands me.

I feel your pain. I tried to export the Boodle brand of humour over to On Parenting and pretty much single handedly killed that blog.

The stanch/staunch imbroglio reminds me of a scene in News Radio when Dave accuses his girlfriend Lisa of calling out her former boyfriend's name during lovemaking.

Lisa tells him something like, "But I didn't say 'Stuart.' I said 'stalwart.' You are a stalwart lover!"

Ugh. Expecting some nasty weather tonight. I'm still at work, so I sent my husband up to the Safeway to get lots of milk and bread before the hoarders get to it.

A staunch (adjective) tourniquet to stanch (verb) the bleeding.

What is this word "stanch?" We don't have it in Canuko-Anglo-speak.

Why, yoki, it's the past pluperfect subjunctive of stink. Take it from me. I'm a science major.

Ah, like the bog of eternal. Got it.

When in doubt, consult OED:

staunch
/stawnch, staanch/ (US also stanch)

• verb stop or restrict (a flow of blood from a wound); stop from bleeding.

-- ORIGIN Old French estanchier; related to STAUNCH1.

So Joel was right, I'm standing up for him.

And just to muddy the already muddles waters, I can't get past stanchions when you talk staunch/stanch for absolutely no reasons relating to recent past kits.

stanchion as in

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanchion

Joel, we feel you pain. We may not understand you, but we do understand your fly away hair.

And curling news, the Scotties Tournament is seriously interesting. As of this morning, there were many teams vying for the final weekend rounds. Alberta (yeah) is going to be in there but the rest of the placements after round robin play are up in the air.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/curling/mccusker/2008/02/so_many_possibilities.html

I promise to never bloviate inaccurate geography again.

Scars, eh? Two head scars, one from childhood toboggan accident which gave me anmesia for a day, faint scars on legs from gasoline fire at age 13, one head scar from accident occurring while me playing a modified Howard Beall role on public access TV, (head trauma: televised!) And two bullet scars, entrance and exit. I think at some point I passed the amount required to be "colorful" and achieved the amount required to be "an idiot."

-- "Americans are sick and tired of this kind of gutter politics," --

Does this mean McCain will tell Rove to
stay away in the fall - especially when
there is so much fertile and untapped
smear material to unleash on Obama?

I doubt it. He hasn't told the far-right
to stick it on anything in this campaign.

I used to believe the above to be a
big problem for Obama, should he be
nominated. The way the primaries are
playing out, am now less and less
concerned about it.

Clinton ancillaries have tried 3 times
to roll out the drug use. It bounced off
him. When they've attacked on ducking
debates or plagarism, he's answered right
back as Bill did in '92 (Gennifer, pot,
draft dodger). Rememeber it was the lack
of initial response by Dukakis and Kerry,
that allowed those smears to stick
(Willie Horton, Swift Boar Liars for Truth).

The other thing is the new millions coming
into the Dem tent for the first time. Obama
has been hypocritical that he's running
clean not traditional, but he is right
that the new voters are a game-changer.

It appears to me to be growing too large,
to be succeptible to 527 smears, precinct
rigging aka Ken Blackwell in OH '04, or
even probably a new terror tragedy.

McCain is so flawed as a old-guard
candidate (Re: Iraq 100 years...), that
I'm not sure even a national emergency
will save him.

For those pains in the neck that you can't get rid of, hulk up!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080221/hl_nm/weight_training_chronic_neck_pain_dc

No more 98-pound weaklings...

We are expecting nasty weather in West by God, I am debating whether to head home tonight and get a 3 day weekend, or stay at work an get overtime.

So far the 3 day weekend is winning out.

I have never seen any flying monkeys,at least not while I was sober.

Mudge, I turn my back for a couple of hours, and I'm being accused of cheating at Strip Pictionary. Oh, and I see omni called it... er, is it cheating if *I'm* the one who ends up wearing nothing but a liberal coating of olive oil (and I do look pretty good that way if I say so myownd@mnself)?

Slyness, I'll be glad to start the music for the shindig... and who wants a glass of chardonnay? Bought a case of Yellow Tail (on the Bunker's budget, we can't afford much else), have a few bottle chillin'...

Joel the Right Wing hack... LOL.

I'm glad McCain didn't wag a finger and say, "I did *not* have sex with that lobbyist."

bc

Bc, or worse, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." -- Sigmund Freud.

Me! Me! I want some!

So, here's what happened to me the day after John Lennon died:

I see them from the freeway into Houston that morning, heading for the cheap motel my company paid for. Five different patterns, different colors, their envelopes quavering and rippling as they rapidly fill up. I guess they rented the small suburban outskirts field, or had permission to be there. There are five balloons there, in the established little neighborhood, right off the main road two blocks away, all five propane burners roaring full throtle; basso profundo, unsyncopated, like an amplified five-piece sousaphone band tuning up, and I drive my truck up and get out and see the five big promises and on impulse shout
to the nearest balloon crew, "Hey! I'll pay for the gas if you'll give me a ride!" One guy, hanging onto the outside of the twisting and rocking well-crafted wicker basket dependent from the balloon, shouts to me, "We're full! Ask the others!"

And I do, but the next guy shouts, "Gas is nothing."

"I've got fifty dollars," I yell, and he says "A hundred! But you're too late!" The wind is tearing at the balloons, and the last crew are struggling the most. "Get out of here!" He tumbles over to the inside of the gondola, the rope handlers angrily urge me to get back, and the balloons lift off in quick sequence from the field, headed quickly south in the wind, and the handlers race to their trucks, start their engines, and drive frantically away from the field, casting me dirty looks through their windshields, leaving me alone in the empty lot, as the roar of the burners fades away and the balloons disappear low in the crisp morning. They are playing all the John Lennon tunes on the radio, now, and right now they're playing "So This is Christmas".

Another one for SonofCarl!

I want a glass of Chardonnay, that is.

BTW - I'm hoping Ivansdad and Ivan are feeling better! It sounds like a nasty bug got a grip on them.

As far as scars go, I only have one. When I was 16 I had a boyfriend that had a motorcycle which, of course, I was strictly forbidden to ride. And, of course, I went for a ride and burned the inside of my leg on the muffler (at least I guess it was the muffler) My, that hurt! Then, I spent about a week hiding it from my mother which meant that it wasn't properly cared for and became infected. When I finally 'fessed up it was a big green round wound with little red dots in it. It was so painful and the scar so ugly and the antibiotics went on for so long that it really was a lesson learned....sometimes moms really do know what's best.

Your 6:09 made me laugh and that is a great story, Jumper.

Oh Kim, don't you hate when that happens?

Yes, Yoki, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

I just want to tell you all that it has been sunny here all day, and we reached a high of 10 (50F) and it was simply splendid and gave everyone a lease of energy. Lots of people downtown were smiling. Most excellent.

"I think at some point I passed the amount required to be "colorful" and achieved the amount required to be "an idiot.""

Jumper... then it really sounds like you're qualified for public office. Cabinet level at least.

bc, just so long as you aren't playing Pip Strictionary, its ok with me.

Seriously an SCC for anything I have posted the last couple of days. I'm doing a lot of reading and by 10 in the morning, nothing is in focus. I'll try to improve, but as you know by now, it probably won't make much difference. Soon.

When I worked at McDonald's I fell on a wet floor and gouged a pretty big hole in my neck. To this day I have a scar. I swear it looks just like the golden arches.

Scar roll call?

Two pencil pricks of lead, still in my after all these years. One in my right patella, so clear after forty years that the doc will lean forward to check it as a melanoma. The other pencil prick of lead is in my left inner wrist. See, there was this boy in sixth grade who liked me, according to Jenny T. and Pamela G. Any hooo, in stead of slugging me in the arm to show affection, he stabbed me with his number two pencil.

The left -ankle-ligament-and-bone-repair doesn't show a scar but the pin and screw are still there. They set off security alarms all the time. And no, I cannot get the surgery records as it was 1973 and good old Dr. Walhen is very dead.

---
I was at NASA Ames/Moffet Field pipetting dimer and trimer peptide samples when my professor and boss came in the lab and sat at the desk, crestfallen. He said, "John is dead." I said, "John F (of the lab staff)?" and he started weeping, "Lennon."

I was set up! I was conducting an investigation of my own!

Wait: Weaver answers questions by the press last december concerning this whole thing. ON RECORD. He told the McCain campaign that he had spoken to them.

My feeling is that none of this will stick on McCain - BUT HE WILL WALK OUT OF IT WITH A TON OF MORE MONEY - sympathy donations. And as a bonus, the conservatives will be united behind him once and for all because there is nothing like the accusation of a "liberal" press ganging up on a conservative to make 'em rally.

I think the NYT and the Post have been spun by the best spin-doctors in the business.

Oh, in case the eclipse viewing didn't work out last night, and in case those of 2010 and 2011 (one each) don't work out, North America will have two total lunar eclipses each year in 2014 & 2015!

Gonna be a while for another solar eclipse for most of us. The next total solar eclipse in the U.S. is in Aug. 2017. But if you're up for an Arctic expedition, the one in August of this year will be visible in Northern Canada!

Thanks, Kim. Ivansdad is still very much under the weather, and I hope he keeps acting like he's sick until he actually recovers. This is a very bad strain of flu this year, and it was not covered by the shots. The Boy, on the other hand, is much improved and will be in school tomorrow. In fact he's become horribly active and is flitting around the house like a bat.

I have a scar under my chin where I slipped on some ice when I was seven; a round scar above my ankle from where I burned it on a mower when I was about ten; and a round scar on my knee where I slipped in bird poop at college. Grackles wintered at Rice. I never have understood people who keep birds.

Ooops... Forgot to include the link. Here's the NASA eclipse page. Maps, dates & times, all that stuff.

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html

Scars? Bwahahahahahaha. I got more dings and dents in me than one of bc's stock car racers after a demolition derby. And those are just the psychic ones. Now, on the actual dermal surfaces ... you know how many dings a lifetime of honey-dos will get ya? Not to mention some melanoma, a CABG zipper, a couple angiograms (I'm not telling ya where that scar is; suffice it to say it doesn't get a lot of sunlight), two cranial divots (one from a scaffold falling on me when I was about 10, the other from my brother's cap pistol when he coldcocked me with it), and a leg that looks like Jaws thought it was an hors d'ouevre. Other than that I'm pretty much factory-fresh.

Thanks, Kim. Ivansdad is still very much under the weather, and I hope he keeps acting like he's sick until he actually recovers. This is a very bad strain of flu this year, and it was not covered by the shots. The Boy, on the other hand, is much improved and will be in school tomorrow. In fact he's become horribly active and is flitting around the house like a bat.

I have a scar under my chin where I slipped on some ice when I was seven; a round scar above my ankle from where I burned it on a mower when I was about ten; and a round scar on my knee where I slipped in bird poop at college. Grackles wintered at Rice. I never have understood people who keep birds.

Thanks, Kim. Ivansdad is still very much under the weather, and I hope he keeps acting like he's sick until he actually recovers. This is a very bad strain of flu this year, and it was not covered by the shots. The Boy, on the other hand, is much improved and will be in school tomorrow. In fact he's become horribly active and is flitting around the house like a bat.

I have a scar under my chin where I slipped on some ice when I was seven; a round scar above my ankle from where I burned it on a mower when I was about ten; and a round scar on my knee where I slipped in bird poop at college. Grackles wintered at Rice. I never have understood people who keep birds.

Thanks, Kim. Ivansdad is still very much under the weather, and I hope he keeps acting like he's sick until he actually recovers. This is a very bad strain of flu this year, and it was not covered by the shots. The Boy, on the other hand, is much improved and will be in school tomorrow. In fact he's become horribly active and is flitting around the house like a bat.

I have a scar under my chin where I slipped on some ice when I was seven; a round scar above my ankle from where I burned it on a mower when I was about ten; and a round scar on my knee where I slipped in bird poop at college. Grackles wintered at Rice. I never have understood people who keep birds.

Scars? Bwahahahahahaha. I got more dings and dents in me than one of bc's stock car racers after a demolition derby. And those are just the psychic ones. Now, on the actual dermal surfaces ... you know how many dings a lifetime of honey-dos will get ya? Not to mention some melanoma, a CABG zipper, a couple angiograms (I'm not telling ya where that scar is; suffice it to say it doesn't get a lot of sunlight), two cranial divots (one from a scaffold falling on me when I was about 10, the other from my brother's cap pistol when he coldcocked me with it), and a leg that looks like Jaws thought it was an hors d'ouevre. Other than that I'm pretty much factory-fresh.

AAAAAAAAAH! Multiple apologies! Curses on that WaPo system!

Bob, I downloaded my eclipse pictures this afternoon. Let's just say it's a good thing photography isn't my day job.

I've only experienced one solar eclipse, and it was eerie. The sunlight got dim in the middle of the day. I can understand how people who didn't know what was happening would be terrified.

Mudge, for a Chinese factory product you'd look pretty good.

I-mom... Is that three scars and three Boys?

Funny how many of the scars mentioned here were acquired between the ages of 4 and 14.

During one summer road trip when my daughter was about 5, she had so many nicks and cuts on her legs that we kept singing "Oh... I come from Alabama with six band-aids on my knee!"

˙ʎuunɟ sʞool ǝlpooq ǝɥʇ ˙˙ʎǝɥ

TBG - when CPboy was about four and in prime bruised-legs days, he woke up crying from a too-much-fun-and-sun long nap:

"Mommy, mommy, help me, I am starting to rot!"

Joel, TBG is playing in the big tree again, hanging upside down.....!!!!!

Aw, you always let TBG have *all* the fun!

TBG is upside down! Call for help, somebody, before she falls out of the bunker!

Long time no see, you guys. Nice to read the boodle again. It always gives me hope for humanity.

Scars? 1 big, honking, ugly one on my right palm that no one ever notices, the result of an accident before age one, when my mom set me on the countertop, turned her head for a split second, and turned back to find me placing my hand on the burner of the stove. 1 on the right eyebrow, from sliding as if it were home plate into the door of my pre-school classroom which had a funky sharp metal piece sticking out, and 1 on right elbow from walking the dog while riding a bicycle (very bad idea). I don't think any of these qualify me for public office, particularly since I cannot lie without turning beet red (which seems to me an automatic strike out).

As for the stanch/staunch dilemma, it makes me think of one of my favorite words; "formicate," meaning "to swarm like ants," and best used in situations such as "principal, oh my god, the third graders are formicating all over the playground!"

Formicate, again, which by some twist of fate may actually have something to do with the original subject of the kit.

I want to enter the scar competition, too. I fell from a tree and 10 stitches under my arm. There's one scar on my knee that I sustained from a tapping knife. I was supposed to tap the rubber tree rather than my knee. And I've got scars on my elbows and knees from falling off a bicycle while going down hill. Then, I've got scars on my hands I've no idea how they got there.

¡unɟ sı sıɥʇ ˙ʞo ɯ,ı ˙˙˙ʎɹɹoʍ ʇ,uop

Are lurkers allowed into this bunker?
We could make strawberry or banana DNA daiquiris...

My one real scar is pretty minor. I was about ten and in New England when I borrowed a bicycle and rode down a hill. Being from Florida, I had no experience braking and stopped the bike by running into the gravel in the shoulder and flying over the handlebars. My chin is turned into hamburger.

The scar isn't big, but the timing was awesome. After a trip to the emergency room, my aunt's wedding was the next day. So in all the wedding pictures I have a huge bandaged on my chin.

rainforest, you have such good stories. Rubber trees!!!!!! Henry Ford tried his hand at growing rubber trees in Brazil, in a place called Fordlandia or something bold and ego-building. Failed miserably. Circa 1942 I think.

DNA girl! Make me one with strawberries. Leave it on the credenza festooned with fish doilies. Mine looks like Nemo. Thanks.

Off to listen to CPboy recite how Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Thymine zipper themselves and unzipper themselves. He is learning at 15 what I learned in college.

Anyone who can name at least one of Loomis' relatives (trust me, this one's easy!) is allowed in the bunker, as long as they promise to play nice.

DNA girl... I'll have a Helix... make it a double.

Eww, I just googled DNA daiquiris and there's a site that mentions them in the context of formication.

Apologies in case anyone thought that's what I meant instead of DNA extraction experiments with strawberries and bananas.

A song for CPboy to the tune of "row, row, row your boat"
(author unknown)

We love DNA
made of nucleotides,
Sugar, phosphate and a base
bonded down one side.

Adenine and thymine
make a lovely pair,
Cytosine without guanine
would feel very bare.

O-O-Oh, de-oxy-ribo-nucleic acid
RNA is ribo-nucleic acid.

Hey, DNA girl! Great song, and thanks for the daiquiri!

Hey CJ! You know, you could still be in public office, as long as you just lie all the time. That way, nobody can tell when your face turns red.

TBG, one more glass of wine with dinner and I would not have noticed the upside down posts. I see you came rightside up quickly enough at the prospect of a daiquiri. Good priorities. Very cool topsy turviness.

That is so cool, DNA Girl. Love the song!

Make mine a strawberry and I'll be a happy camper.

Scars, mostly from cuts and burns when cooking (I burned my elbow the other day while cooking, who does that?!). Those are on the hands and wrists, mostly.

Scar on right forearm from when I used the shrink wrap machine in the shipping and receiving department of a print shop one summer. The big industrial ones have a very hot stylus to burn a hole in the wrap to let the air out. No matter how many times I used the machine that summer, I managed to bump the same place against the hot point each time. The scar is pretty deep.

Appendix removal scar in lower right quandrant of abdomen.

Knife-cut scar on right hand from horrid late-night attack in a lab during University days.

Small scar/cyst combo on left ankle because I'm a klutz with the razor whilst shaving legs.

Small scar on right temple from skidding on the gravel playing soccer in 3rd grade.

That's about it for me.

I like this DNA girl. Come back often.

You're on Bob S. I'll get cracking on my Loomismatics skills and then come knocking at the bunker door.

Ha ha, TBG! You reminded me of that old joke about Watson and Crick going to a bar (with long faces) when their first DNA model turned out to be wrong, and some guy said to the bartender, "I'll have a double, Felix"...

I have too many scars to enumerate. One impressive one is a ladder-like one on my ankle where they inserted screws, chutes and ladders when they repaired my broken ankle. Later after the screws started to pop out, making me look like Frankenstein's Monster, they were removed.

The laparscopic scars when I had the same surgery that LL mentioned earlier are not now visible. I remember every moment of that because I was NOT UNCONSCIOUS!

Maggie - you were awake for that!!! Wow

"I'll bring the guitar,you bring the wine and you can try my Guacamole baby,one more time"

Maggie, I do hope the part being worked on was numbed for the occasion.

DNA girl, I'll have a strawberry daiquiri. I'll be at the bunker as soon as I find Harry Potter and get some magic dust from him.

Just wanted to say good night, boodle.

It certainly has been busy today. And of course, not all of it good.

I am off to bed, a little tired. Sleep well, and sweet dreams.

Nice kit, JA. I watched the news conference, and you are correct. Both of them looked very uncomfortable.

Ivansmom, a lot of folks here have the flu too. Hope your spouse starts feeling better, and take care.

I have too many scars to mention as well.

If I were ever fingerprinted, each of my prints would look like roadmaps of Washington, DC.

But I think My Classic Scar (where's Dennis Gage when you need him?) is the one right across my cornea. I was playing with a piece of red elastic (probably from a present -- don't kids play with the wrapping and boxes as much as the gift itself?), pretending it was a slingshot.
For some reason, I took aim and let go of the wrong end. TtthhhhWHAP!

Don't remember how long I had to wear the patch, but it was awhile. Too bad there wasn't such a thing as "Talk Like a Pirate Day" back then.

bc

rainforest... will you bring some little paper umbrellas for our drinks? They taste so much better with the decoration.

Yes, there was a 'local' involved, but it didn't work. Evidently anything postfixed 'cain' doesn't work on me. Exquisite!...pain.

From the American Heritage Dictionary, Vol. 4:

"Staunch is more common than stanch as the spelling of the adjective. Stanch is more common than staunch as the spelling of the verb."

SCC: Could that postfix be 'cane?' or 'kane?' Not only am I not a doctor, I don't play one on TV.

Oh dear! I fear that that's TMI.

A thousand humble apologies!

TBG, how'd you do that? Cut and paste? Too many late hours?

I only have one bad scar, from a cut on my knee when I fell over my dog at full run. Both of us were running, down a gravel road, and for some reason, she decided to cut right in front of me. Oh, and the incision from the C-section, but you probably don't want to know about that. A thousand apologies. Except that I imagined it ran the other way - very weird to be awake but not awake during that.

Not to mention all the emotional scars, but I'll spare you...

(DNA girl, you'll fit right in.)

Speaking of caine, cane, or Kaine... if Obama picks our Virginia governor as his running mate, their slogan can be

America Needs a Dose of Obama-Kaine... a Salve for What Ails US!

My theory seems to be standing up well. Most boodlers have some kind of scar to go along with the general competence and good character we know they have, and we should hope to find in public officials. Based on scars alone I do believe Stephane Dion should be looking over his shoulder lest Yoki overtake him.

TBG, you provided the first belly laugh of the day! Thank you for that. If I had watched the debate tonight instead of Lost, would I have had two belly laughs?

DNA girl, did you mean fornication, or formication (the creepy-crawlies?)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formication

I'm really hoping you meant old-fashioned DNA-swapping.

You watched "Lost," too, Maggie? Whadja think? Good episode, methinks. And now we know who it was Kate had to get back to when she met Jack at the airport: her son.

Mudge, the whole Lost stuff, while engaging and entertaining and compelling, is totally beyond my critiquing. I just go with the story, suspending my rational brain. I rely on reading Liz Kelly and TVWOP and the next week's enhanced repeat before I can possibly start to 'think' about it. That said, I 'think' it forwarded the story and it was a good straightforward episode.

I have one of those bicycle scars on the chin. They seem fairly common, but don't seem to function as male facial enhancements the way broken noses once did). A bit of the tip of my nose is missing, thanks to a tiny basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer).

This is my compliment of scars: left shin, swimming pool ladder, 9 yrs. old; right eyelid, cat fell onto my face from atop the garage door, 14 yrs.; left elbow and knee, skateboard speed run down Marshall St., 18 yrs.; left ring finger and pinky, motorcycle accident, 20 yrs.. I'm told that I was a lefty to start, but was converted to a righty. I guess that I lead a lot with my left.

I for one find John and Cindy's (Hensley) past more interesting. Let's pass over for the moment that she was a drug addict who stole the drugs from her own charity.
Let's examine her dad, who went to jail when he worked for Kemper Marley, Arizona's first billionaire. For a real hot read, just wiki Don Bolles, he was the investigative reporter in Phoenix who was murdered (took 11 days to die) by a car bomb.
At the bottom of the page under external links, you'll find "The Death in Arizona of the Kemper Marley Machine".
Pretty fascinating stuff, and I know that some words are misspelled, but it would be hard to make this stuff up.
Spread the word, like Paul Revere did!

Scar inventory-appendectomy (4yo),inside right wrist, burn from oven making a chiffon cake (8yo), both knees sliding on sand over asphalt (11yo), lower lip met skate blade during pick up hockey game (18yo). I also can't straighten my left pinkie finger completely, dislocated in a freak dog walking accident (36 yo).

Dan, you do not have a sense of humour. You have not read between the lines. We all know that politicians do not say what they mean. Maybe McCain is the exception to the rule.

Somewhere in the back of my mind is the memory of a Mr Clinton denying that he had unzipped his zipper.

Before that, an old guy called Bush said: 'read my lips'.

Bush Jr promised, on being elected, that he would never lie to the American people.

This article from The Guardian details Clinton campaign mishaps very well, but I like this sentence best, "And these people are meant to be smart?"
Read it all here-
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/richard_adams/2008/02/lost_in_wisconsin.html

Who's Dan?

I just wrote up a scar inventory, off-line. It runs to 1.5 pages, even in the shorthand description of the incidents. Perhaps I just scar easily. Yet, I have never broken a bone.

The big winner is the scar on my forehead. At age 7, about a month after my birthday, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. When the time came for liftoff, my Dad called me urgently. I ran down the stairs and hit the wood dining-room floor in my socks, little feet motoring around like a cartoon character. Suddenly, I gained purchase and ran smack into the molding of the arch separating the dining room from the living room. I watched Apollo 11 lift off, using a mirror, so my father could lay me flat and press the cut closed on my forehead while he and my mother butterfly-stitched the wound closed. Never did go to the ER for that one. The scar used to be at my hairline, but it is evident that scars can migrate, because now it's an inch or two away from my hair. Odd, that. I met Alan Bean (Apollo 12 mission commander) a few years ago, while he was on book tour, and shared that story. He was very polite and listened to me blather.

'Morning, Boodle. Not a lot to report. Here in Southern Maryland we only have rain; I'm waiting to see how bad things are further north. Good Eugene Robinson column on a thought experiement: what would people be saying if Obama had been 0-10 instead of Hillary. Krauthammer and Gerson have columns I haven't bothered to read. Frankly, I'm very surprised at how low down the totem poll the Post has been playing the Belgrade embassy attack. I'd have led with it, but that's just moi. YMMV.

Scotty, Cassandra, you guys up yet?

I need to go find some food and coffee.

Good morning, all--

Dave Barry wants you to read this; it could save your life, and it will probably make you laugh:

http://www.miamiherald.com/283/story/427603.html

Morning, morning, friends. Yes, Mudge, I'm up and moving, just doing it a little slow. These sausages don't want to move this morning.

I haven't read Eugene Robinson yet, but will. His should be an interesting take on what is so very obvious, but don't want to go down that road yet.

Slyness, Martooni, Scotty, time to get cracking folks, and good morning to all. *waving*

I don't want to start anything this early in the morning, but attacking people's children on this blog is not good. Please don't do that. The children aren't typing any comments, the adults are, and we(adults)can very well speak for ourselves. Throw your best shot, we can take it. Parents can get pretty fiesty about their offsprings.

Today is a rest day, we're going to see if that works out to be the case. It is cold here, sunny, but cold.

Have a great day, folks, and an even better weekend, if possible.

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

kbert

that was really funny and informing. i went the whole weekend without eating and taking that dreaded laxative, but Monday finally showed up. i had to have minor surgery for the removal of a polyp. that in itself did hurt, but afterwards, the pain was almost unbearable. it took me a while to get straight, but so glad i went.

Read Kbert's link, good stuff.

Good morning, Cassandra! Hey Mudge, happy Friday to you.

In a couple of hours, a friend will pick me up and we'll go to the beach for the weekend. (I'll wave when we pass you, Cassandra!) It's therapy: eat, shop, talk, sleep, talk. Oh, and enjoy good wine. There are a dozen or so of us going, from my Sunday School class. We do this periodically, and it's just sooo helpful to maintain sanity.

Now, I expect all of you to behave while I'm gone. I'll be checking up on you when I get back Sunday night.

It's started snowing here. We could get anywhere from 3" to 8" depending on which weatherman you believe. I'm excited about this as I have an urge to build a snowman. Of course, having a new snowblower to take the pain out of shoveling doesn't hurt either.

Only two major and one minor scars. A very faint small line on my lower back from surgery for a herniated disk a long time ago. A very large scar on the outside of my left hip and upper thigh from hip surgery. A tiny faint line on my palm from a spectacular rolling fall while racing another girl when I was seven.

Kber, thanks for the Dave Barry piece. I'm ashamed to admit that I am having my first colononscopy in June. About ten years overdue for it. But at least I have one scheduled. Happy Friday to all.

Mudge

Read Eugene Robinson, and the question asked, isn't it time for Hillary Clinton to admit defeat, and the Party move on with Obama? He reverses the situation with Obama in Clinton's place now, and asked what would the Party do in that situation. I guess everyone wants the situation to appear fair, and every effort made to look that way. Perhaps if Obama was in the same situation as Clinton is in now, the Party would show him the same respect. You think?

Of course, he does mention that one never counts a Clinton out.

Perhaps what has happened with Hillary Clinton is that she has relied on her campaign advisors too much, and not reflected her own ideas to some extent. And if that is the case, should she be President? Just throwing that out there, please don't shoot me. I mean at some point doesn't a President have to stand on his or her own two feet? I think Mrs. Clinton is a smart, bright, savvy, woman, yet because of the magnitude of the office, perhaps she acquiesced to those that had more experience, thinking hers was not enough. If she for just one minute had gone back to the last eight years, and checked out the guy in there now, it would have come to her, hey I can do this, I can really do this, and any intimadation she may have had, would have flown out the window, big time.

Just saying.

slyness, just went outside, and boy is it raining. and cold rain at that. i'll wave back, enjoy the beach.

the reference to sunny was for yesterday, not today. we need all the rain we can get in this place. we're suffering from a major drought.

Um, hey yello (and any others interested) forgot to mention that Kate Nash will be in DC in April. The 9:30 Club April 17th and Towson's Recher Theatre on April 18th.

Tickets go on sale today at 10 AM.

Thanks for posting the Barry column, kber. That's a subject close to my heart. Two weeks after Mr. T had his first colonscopy, his mother called to say that she wasn't feeling well. On a Thursday morning, he took her to the doctor, who sent her straight to the hospital. Friday, they did tests and called in a surgeon. Saturday, he took out most of her stomach and a goodly portion of her colon. Although he got all the cancer at that time, it returned in her liver. She lived 16 months from the first diagnosis.

The sad part of this story is that her mother died of colon cancer, and nobody made ever the connection. She never had a colonscopy. Mr. T was in college when his grandmother died and didn't know that her cancer was in her colon. If she had had a colonscopy in her fifties or even sixties, she would probably be alive and well today.

oh Wilbrod, I didn't need a literal translation. I already knew what it meant. I was just making fun.

Joel, I feel your pain. No one understands me either.

Well except maybe Mudge. But he has hundreds of years experience...

"Rubik's Cube In Center Of Earth? Computer Simulations Support New Model Of Earth's Core"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080208091314.htm

Thanks, Boko. I love a good metaphor to explain a science thingie.

Now, can I get some metaphors or stories or proverbs about entropy from the Borgian-Science-Big-Brain that is the boodle?

Thank you in advance. I will figure out how to cite your masked identities and posts to the boodle as formal APA citations.

Good morning, all.

For those of you looking for that big Grover wave from Scotty today can try to locate a northbound jetliner flying along the Eastern Seaboard from DC to somewhere in New England. I have no doubt he'll have a window seat, and he did say that he'd give everyone a big wave from the plane.

He'll be on vacation for a week with NukeDaughter, skiing and visiting family, so we probably won't see much of him here in the Boodle for that period, though I'm sure he will check in from time to time.

Er, is it me, or was that debate last night a snoozer? I couldn't tell when the debated stopped and the post-debate coverage and analysis started...

bc

Morning all. A comment was made yesterday regarding the mental capacity of my supervisor to which I feel honor bound to reply.

My supervisor is a women rumored to be approaching retirement age, although the precise year of her birth is a closely guarded secret. Her family emigrated from Jamaica, and, when she so chooses, she speaks with the lilting tones of her ancestors.

She has an advanced degree in electrical engineering. She knows more about communication signals than anyone I know. Not only is she technically brilliant, she is also profoundly wise. The latter, I suspect, is partly because she has three grown sons.

For her approach to managing the cadre of over-educated hyperactive iconoclastic perpetual adolescents entrusted to her care can be only described as maternal. Her support for our professional efforts is boundless. As is her tart disapproval when she suspects we are failing to fulfill our potentials. She understands us and keeps us happy. In return we do our best to never disappoint her.

She and I get along especially well because we share an irreverent sense of humor. But make no mistake. She keeps very close tabs on what I do. And her praise has been abundant. Yet I am confident that if her opinion of my work were to slip even a small amount, she would let me know.

Of this I have no doubt.

Not a metaphor, but perhaps memorable
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KIhDVLbMeY
(don't turn your head away at 1:10)

Lyrics:
Moxy Früvous Entropy Lyrics
Lyrics by Jack Micay

Galileo, Netwon, Watt, they were genuises all.
Without them we'd be freezing in the dark at the mall.
James Joule found total energy remains the same
No matter what it's form.
That's why it carries his name.

A chemical, electrical, potential and heat,
Radiant, kinetic, ooh the list is incomplete.
They're always changing back and forth
It's really quite a blur

oh, how could he?

I've forgotten nuclear!

Ride a barrel down the falls
Then cook spaghetti with meatballs.
Really make your friends amazed.
Nuke it with some gamma rays.
Fly to Venus in a rocket.
Put your finger in a socket.
You may suffer from exhaust,
But none of that energy is ever really lost.

Then why can't we make a clean machine that moves perpetually?
Cause there's another law with which all energy must agree.
Whenever it changes form, it loses quality

in other words...

Down/Damn that rising entropy!

It's entropy you see that turns finess into mess
A palace to a pig-stye why it's simply scandalous!
Energy once neat degenerates into waste heat (We must repeat.)
Because of entropy.

Thanks for that link, kbertocci! Hilarious and to my dismay, timely.

Also, Boko, a cool link.

Cassandra - same thing here...rainy and cold. We need the rain, but it sure is dreary. My kids have officially given up on the hope for a snow day.

Mudge - another great Lost episode! I've really enjoyed how many scenes have made all the mouths drop open in our house. At the end of every episode, we all just sit and stare at the tv for a few moments and then the fleshing out begins. I couldn't believe it when Kate called that baby "Aaron"! Ok, sorry, don't mean to boodlehog about Lost.

Oh and I don't want to ruin anyone's day, but does this pic show the real Karl Rove, or what!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics/

Embrace the entropy. All else is folly.

I have a couple of comments about entropy:

- Everything really *is* going to he11.
- Teenagers are the only ones who really understand entropy. They don't clean their rooms because they know that if they put everything away, all that stuff will just end up redistributed evenly across the space of the room in a short period of time (Relatively speaking, of course). And then they do nothing but sit around in it -- after all, with maximum entropy there's minimum energy available for work. Think of it as entropy InAction.

I have been working on a plan to present to my boss that I run my office desk according to the laws of entropy - the more of a mess it is, the less work I should be expected to do. Shockingly, I haven't been able to muster the energy finish it, which I attribute to the Mess That is My Desk.

bc

bc

Last line of my 9:12 should be:

"Like an ant trapped in amber."

bc

How about..

Entropy in action is bringing a bag of Hershey's Kisses in your lunch in elementary school.

'Morning all,
Hum, scars. Well, it should be obvious to most that my head should be covered with scars. You don't reach that state in a single accident. Total number or stitches on my head run in the low 50s. And this is the wounds that I bothered to get sewn together.

Hehem.
Collins English Dictionary:
Stanch or Staunch, vb. 1. To stem the flow of a liquid (esp. blood) 2. To prevent the flow of a liquid esp. blood from (a hole or wound)

Four external scars two internal.

First came from sliding on wet grass then onto a dry spot a flying head first into a clothes line pole resulting in two gashes. Seven and six stitches at the hair line. Well what used to be the hairline. Next up a bike ramp jumping accident where the ramp was up against a curb and the ramp broke. Flew about five feet in the air and landed on my right eyebrow. Thirteen stitches. Next up is a little bit of test pilot partying then climbing over a twelve foot fence. Once on the other side of then fence caught my left middle finger on the little jagged thing at the top a tore a deep gash down the middle inside of the finger. Twenty-one stitches.

Internal are right shin green splint (hairline crack not going all the way through the bone) standing broad jump jumping about 4-5 feet across a stream on a dare. Left food made it, right shin smacked into sharp edge of rock. Second is broken inde