I trust the sun is finding our traveling contingent well this morn....flip off the White House for me today if you get a chance...
I'm off to BALOO training this morning at scout camp. "BAsic Leadership Outdoor Orientation". Yeah, I know it seems silly for a 20-year veteran, but Council says I have to have the piece of paper in order to lead an outing...
In any case, let's see what's going on around here today.
We in America have a love/hate relationship with our third parties. While it's great to have extra voices in the debate, when push comes to shove, nobody votes for them because it's seen as a "wasted vote". But what if we actually voted on principle, instead of our lifelong habits? I was raised a Democrat by a liberal college administrator here in the Northeast, so I have a genetic predisposition to vote for the "Big D". Somewhere south of me is a preacher's son who has always voted "R" since he turned 18. But do we just do this by rote, or can we break the cycle and truly make a difference?
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15 comments(Latest Comment: 04/27/2008 02:17:31 by TriSec)
Since I am heading out of town early this morning, I am going to be lazy with today's blog post. I read this article in the Sunday Parade magazine and thought it was well worth a read for everyone else that may not have seen it. I have someone close to me who's husband is dying from pancreatic cancer, so I am posting this in her honor...
==================================================== My Last Lecture
At many colleges, professors are asked to give a “last lecture.” In this talk, they ruminate on what matters most to them. As they speak, audiences mull the same question: What wisdom would you impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?
Last year, I agreed to give a last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University, where I’m a professor in the computer science department. A few weeks later, I learned that I had only months to live—I was dying of pancreatic cancer.
I knew I could cancel. I have three young children, I’m married to Jai, the woman of my dreams, and there were so many things to be done. But by speaking, I knew I could put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children, Dylan, Logan and Chloe. Here’s what I want to share.
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2 comments(Latest Comment: 04/25/2008 12:23:18 by Will in Chicago)
I was reminded of this story last night, perusing the internets.
The Scorpion and the Frog A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too."
The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown, but has just enough time to gasp "Why?"
“Do you mind if I eat that piece of cheese you have left over?” “Of course not, its in our refrigerator, you don’t have to ask.”
This weekly conversation between Velveeta and I highlights my weird idea of a blog. The famine wars are coming in less then twelve weeks, there will be an explosion of fighting and dying and scrambling to kill over food like we have never seen. How do I know this? Certainly not from ABC, CBS, NBS, or CNN, etc. I came across a small A.P. article by David Stringer entitled “World Food Program warns of ‘silent tsunami’ of Hunger”,
I grew up poor. I grew up living in five different homes with five women I considered my mother. Food was an issue. In my house if I didn’t have a school provided hot lunch, it meant that I would sometimes have nothing. Food was a thing – Saturdays were for eggs, Friday night plain pizza, and Sunday chicken after church – the rest of the week I was on my own. I had to ask permission before going into the kitchen and taking a banana. I was not to complain I was hungry because there really wasn’t anything to be done. I was all skin & bones with long pigtails and “cat’s eyes” shaped glasses- lucky thing I went into ballet!
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22 comments(Latest Comment: 04/24/2008 01:26:02 by livingonli)
In light of some other bloggers recent comments I felt the need to throw in my own.
Progressive Radio seems to be in another state of flux as a result of the whole Randi Rhodes situation. Here in the New York area, we have always had at least one alternative voice to counter the spin and disinformation of the M$M. For many years, the main choice was Pacifica Radio’s WBAI which always had an eclectic mix of programs to tune in. But, in recent years, the station has been a victim of factions and in-fighting with staff turnover that has turned the station into an un-listenable mess of amateur programming and hacks who are on the air because they are friends with current Program Director Bernard White. Except for Democracy Now! and a handful of smaller shows, I can’t listen to it anymore.
Fortunately, on March 31, 1994, Air America came on the air.
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193 comments(Latest Comment: 04/24/2008 03:34:45 by livingonli)
We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from the warron terra, courtesy of Antiwar.com:
American Deaths Since war began (3/19/03): 4041 Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 3902 Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3580 Since Handover (6/29/04): 3182 Since Election (1/31/05): 2604
Other Coalition Troops: 309 US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 494
We find today's cost of war passing through $ 513, 326, 850, 000.00
On the eve of the Pennsylvania Democratic primary that will make or break her campaign for the presidency, Hillary Clinton is embarking on a cable campaign swing.
The New York senator will appear tonight on two national television programs.
She will do three segments on CNN's Larry King Show.
The CNN promo reads: "Larry King Monday Night! Hillary Clinton! Hours before what may be the final showdown with Barack Obama -- Hillary Clinton talks to Larry King! Could their conversation change your vote? Find out only on Larry King Live!"
Clinton will also appear on MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."
Here's the MSNBC promo: "On the eve of the primary election we've all been waiting for, tonight at 8pm ET Keith will host an interview with Senator Clinton on her lead the Democratic Pennsylvania Primary (First Read is calling it Hillary's Race to Lose)...and what happens after all the votes are counted in the Keystone state. Obama over the weekend said "This is not going to be a blow-out race. We're looking for a win, and we think it's going to be close." It's going to be an amazing next 48 hours...we hope you tune in."
Guess which interview will have more teeth to it?
Here's a hint: More than a month ago, Olbermann directed a special comment toward Clinton, saying, "You are campaigning as if Barack Obama were the Democrat and you were the Republican."
55 comments(Latest Comment: 04/22/2008 03:36:17 by shelaghc)
Good Morning. Do you have your flag pin on? Is your phone set to speed dial Hillary at 3 am? Are you ready for today?
It's the last day of campaigning for the Pennsylvania Primary. I am so glad that it is nearly over. The fight for the Keystone state is nearly over. This morning we wake up to find that Obama is flush with cash on hand, while Clinton is, well, she is in debt. From the AP: Continue reading...
177 comments(Latest Comment: 04/22/2008 00:08:59 by Raine)
I love the internets. Not just for the reason that you might think, that Velveeta is still so sick that she can't come up with anything to write about. Though you would be correct on that point, I also love the fact that there is so much news that'd normally be missed without the internet.
Last month, it was revealed that the New York Times and Manhattan publishing world were deceived by Love and Consequences, a faked memoir by a white girl who claimed to live the life you only hear about in Dr. Dre songs. The damage control was so good, the book never saw daylight, and we never knew how big of an embarrassment this cartoonishly racist gangster fantasy should have been. But last week a copy arrived at my doorstep.
Supposedly written by gangsta moll Margaret B. Jones, Love and Consequences turned out to be the work of middle-class liar Margaret Seltzer. She had invented the tale behind a laptop at Starbucks, tricking not only her publisher, but also her fans at the Times, which graced the memoir with repeated coverage.
After it was revealed her work was a forgery, the damage control was swift and successful. On March 5, with the book just out the door, the New York Times revealed the hoax, if not just how bad it was. Her agent, Faye Bender, told the paper, reassuringly, that "there was no reason to doubt her, ever." And that set the tone for the coverage. Love & Consequences, wrote the L.A. Times, must have seemed "edgy, sexy, cinematic."
Except it's not. As a true story, this book would have been less about "love" and more about crude racial stereotypes. As a hoax, it reads as easily the laziest forgery ever to receive a six-figure advance and a rave review in the Times.
