About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

Latest Entries

Actions Menu

Blog Roll

Other Links

RBIs, not Home Runs
Author: BobR    Date: 07/23/2010 11:07:20

Since Barack Obama took office in Jan 2009, he has signed several major bills. Depending on where you stand in the political spectrum and your individual expectations, those bills are either monumental achievements, watered down and worthless, or the end of democracy as we know it. There has been a lot of talk about the inability of the Democrats to get anything done. That of course is not the case. Perhaps it's the notion (in the minds of both legislators and political activists) that every bill has to be an all-encompassing game-changer. It seems every bill has to be a home run.

The reality, of course, is that games can be won with RBIs and batters hitting singles and doubles. Batters that consistently hit singles and doubles often do much more to help a team win than the guy who strikes out several times trying to put one over the wall. The home run may be more crowd pleasing and dramatic, but they don't always help in the big picture.
Continue reading...

38 comments (Latest Comment: 07/24/2010 00:59:30 by clintster)

Starve the hate machine.
Author: Raine    Date: 07/22/2010 12:25:53

I am not going to post a very long blog today. I am fairly sure that there is nothing more I could add to this Shirley Sherrod story. I have posted many times on how I feel about race relations in this country, but today I read and interview Media Matters did with Ms. Sherrod and one paragraph in particular took my breath away:
"I think they should but they won't. They intended exactly what they did. They were looking for the result they got yesterday," she said of Fox. "I am just a pawn. I was just here. They are after a bigger thing, they would love to take us back to where we were many years ago. Back to where black people were looking down, not looking white folks in the face, not being able to compete for a job out there and not be a whole person."

Continue reading...

33 comments (Latest Comment: 07/23/2010 00:38:03 by TriSec)

Words Speak Louder than Actions
Author: BobR    Date: 07/21/2010 11:37:02

A lot of big things happened yesterday... important things - things that make a difference. We were given insight once again to the difference between liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, those that try to ensure all have access to the "general welfare" promised by the Constitution, and those that only care about their rich friends. The contrasts couldn't be more stark. And yet...
Continue reading...

23 comments (Latest Comment: 07/21/2010 22:39:18 by Scoopster)

Ask A Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 07/20/2010 10:12:55

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,680th day in Iraq and our 3,177th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4412
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4273
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3951
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3553
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 184

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,190
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 757
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,457
Journalists - Iraq: 338
Academics Killed - Iraq: 437


We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 1, 019, 052, 575, 000 .00



Remember back during the immediate aftermath of the Iraq invasion? Among the many problems created was the looting of the Baghdad museum, and the pillaging of countless archeologic sites throughout the region. After the scandal came to light, there were some half-hearted efforts to protect or recover the artifacts, and the story slowly faded from view.

Continue reading...

63 comments (Latest Comment: 07/21/2010 02:10:10 by Raine)

The Forum is Gone
Author: BobR    Date: 07/20/2010 02:57:22

The FourFreedoms forum that started this whole enterprise nearly 3 years ago is gone. The host, "IPBFree" has gone defunct. There apparently are some legal issues involved, but no details. We have lost everything there, our member records, our threads, and all the links, images, etc.

You might be able to keep tabs with the ongoing saga here and here, but it looks very bleak at this point.

That said, the forum was slowly dying anyway. The last time I checked, there hadn't been a single post there since sometime in June. With this blog and Facebook, there seemed to be more technologically advanced venues for discussion. Still - it's sad to see it go.

The forum was a psychic and spiritual life-saver for TriSec, Raine, and I when we needed a new home, and though its creation created its own series of dramas, in the end we were proud of the results.

RIP FourFreedoms forum.

 
8 comments (Latest Comment: 07/20/2010 15:29:49 by Al from WV)

Monday, Monday.
Author: TriSec    Date: 2010-07-19 12:57:29

...and we're past the hard deck.

Coffee and donuts on the back table!

<--- BUNNY!


 
27 comments (Latest Comment: 07/20/2010 02:42:50 by BobR)

Tea Party Party
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 07/18/2010 14:25:56

Once again, Velveeta has fallen prey to the lure of a tea party without tea.

I was gleefully ecstatic upon hearing that one of our Reps from the great state of Minn. wanted to start a tea party in Congress! It's about time, thought I. That house is filled with anger and vile ire and petty discontent and bickering. A nice cup of Lady Grey with cream is just what they need to calm down and be more pleasant with each other. Studies have shown that drinking tea in a cordial and calming setting can doubly increase one productivity and it can be done in a gentlemanly and ladylike fashion.
Continue reading...

2 comments (Latest Comment: 07/18/2010 22:06:14 by Will in Chicago)

A little Nostalgia
Author: TriSec    Date: 07/17/2010 01:26:57

Good Morning!

[Posting this Friday pm so I don't have to turn on the computer Saturday.]

We're heading up to the North Country for what amounts to a 48-hour vacation. A curious thing happened...about 6 weeks back, Mrs. TriSec got an email concerning a visit to Conway Scenic Railroad by our old friend "Thomas the Tank Engine".

Well, young Javi saw it, and decided that he wanted to go so he could "feel like a kid again." (He's 9.) I suppose I can't blame him; Thomas was a favorite around these parts until he hit grade school and it wasn't "cool" anymore. We're still tripping over the dozens of die-cast Thomas toys that we never got rid of.
Continue reading...

3 comments (Latest Comment: 07/17/2010 16:05:43 by livingonli)

Friday Weird News Roundup
Author: Raine    Date: 2010-07-16 12:36:39

It's Friday, and - back by popular demand - it's the Friday Weird News Roundup (or the FWNR as it's affectionately known. Go ahead - say it out loud... You know you want to). So once again - here are some strange current event stories from the web that might have flown under your radar.

Our first story involves everyone's favorite psycho (or faker, depending on your point of view). He apparently is repeating the nazi meme that it was the Jews who killed Jesus:
Continue reading...

27 comments (Latest Comment: 07/16/2010 20:41:39 by Mondobubba)

Lie With Dogs, You'll Get Fleas.
Author: Raine    Date: 07/15/2010 12:34:47

This week at it's 101st convention, the NAACP voted to condemn racist elements that exist within the Tea Party. While the entire resolution will not be released until after it has been approved by members, President Ben Jealous stated the following at the convention:
"We will no longer allow you to hide like cowards and hide behind signs that say 'Lynch Our President' or anyone else."
"Expel the bigots and racists in your ranks or take the responsibility for them and their actions. We will no longer allow you to hide like cowards."
It's natural to assume that the conservative blogosphere was incensed. Righteous indignation has been a time honored tool of theirs. I have long contended that people are generally judged by the company they keep, and the Tea Party has proved to be no exception to the rule. They have been tainted by the racist elements that exist with the party.
Continue reading...

54 comments (Latest Comment: 07/16/2010 02:44:17 by Mondobubba)

<<  505  506  507  508  509  510  >>
Order by most recent comment   Complete Blog Entry List

Rev 3.7; Copyright © 2007-2017 by BobberBlogs…