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July 31, 2008
Oh, Good GRIEF!!!
'Montauk Monster' Has Hamptons in a TizzyWhat's brownish-purple, goes to the beach and stinks of rotting flesh?
New York's celebrity-obsessed Hamptons summer season got even sillier this week when a strange-looking, very dead creature washed up on a beach in Montauk at the far eastern end of New York's Long Island.
After sleeping it off, Bingley was fine the next morning...
...and escorting a "none-the-wiser" NJ Sue to market.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:43 PM | Comments (11)
They Fled?
How completely barbaric and disgusting
A passenger traveling on a bus across Canada's vast Western plains stabbed, gutted and decapitated a man seated next to him in an unexplained attack, a witness told media Thursday.The victim had been sleeping before he was repeatedly stabbed in the chest by a man with a large knife, witness Garnet Caton told public broadcaster CBC.
The other 35 passengers and driver were jolted by "blood-curdling screams" and fled. "He must have stabbed him 50 times or 60 times," said Caton.
When Caton and two others returned to check on the victim, he said they saw the attacker "cutting the guy's head off and gutting him."
What the hell?
Can't get involved, eh?
"There was a blood-curdling scream. I was just reading my book, and all of a sudden I heard it," said Garnet Caton, who was sitting in front of the two men."It was like something between a dog howling and a baby crying, I guess you could say. I don't think it will leave me for a while."
What won't leave you? The fact that 35 of you ran away from one guy with a knife?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:15 PM | Comments (7)
It's a Mystery to Me
Fortunately, these guys are on it.
Discovering How Greeks Computed in 100 B.C.After a closer examination of a surviving marvel of ancient Greek technology known as the Antikythera Mechanism, scientists have found that the device not only predicted solar eclipses but also organized the calendar in the four-year cycles of the Olympiad, forerunner of the modern Olympic Games.
The new findings, reported Wednesday in the journal Nature, also suggested that the mechanism’s concept originated in the colonies of Corinth, possibly Syracuse, on Sicily. The scientists said this implied a likely connection with Archimedes.
BeYOND cool!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:40 PM | Comments (2)
Actually...
...To Sarah, Barack Obama is like the organic chicken at lunch. Sleek, elegant, beautifully prepared. Too cool....I would have said "turkey". And a plastic one at that.
Okay, FAKE.
I meant F.A.K.E.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:21 PM
No Passing The Buck Here
It's good to see the top guys going down over this
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Navy fired the captain and executive officer of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington on Wednesday because of a massive fire that damaged the ship in May, Navy officials said.Capt. David C. Dykhoff and his executive officer, Capt. David M. Dober, were relieved of duty while the ship is in port in San Diego, California, for repairs.
The two were fired because of practices on their ship that Navy investigators believe led to the fire, Navy officials said.
They're the ones who set the tone for the ship and should be held accountable. Following as it does on the heels of the Air Force shake-up, this will hopefully this will put the fear of God into more Brass. We can't afford these huge mistakes.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:41 AM | Comments (1)
Shock: Chinese To Censor Internet During Olympics
The IOC stands tall yet again
BEIJING: The Chinese government confirmed Wednesday what journalists arriving at the lavishly outfitted media center here had suspected: Contrary to previous assurances by Olympic and government officials, the Internet would be censored during the upcoming games....On Wednesday - two weeks after its most recent proclamation of an uncensored Internet during the Summer Games - the International Olympic Committee quietly agreed to some of the limitations, according to Kevan Gosper, chairman of the IOC press commission, Reuters reported.
"Roll over and play dead" is their new motto.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:32 AM | Comments (4)
July 30, 2008
I Thought the Mexicans Were Handling Everything on Their End
...just fine?
Salmonella outbreak tied to irrigation water
CDC says it has found 'smoking gun' that led to 1,300 people falling illThe salmonella strain linked to a nationwide outbreak has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm, federal health officials said Wednesday.
Madre de dios, numbnuts! What's the FIRST, inviolate rule for visiting Mexico?
DON'T drink the agua mierda.
Florida's tomato farmers thank you.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:24 PM | Comments (5)
Wow, Nance, Old Girl!
I didn't know that!
...Americans know that thanks to the two oilmen in the White House, consumers are now paying $4 a gallon for gas.
I'll bet everyone else was thinking it was draconian environmental restrictions instead.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:27 PM | Comments (6)
Fire. His. Ass.
And charge him with assault. I support the cops, but not thugs like this guy. Sure, the Critical Mass people can be complete jerks, but you have to be smoking something pretty illicit to watch this
and not see it as a completely unprovoked assault. I don't care what the other cyclists may have said to the cop as they rode by; I don't care what the guy on the bike said; they're just words.
Of course, the Police Union defends him
...union head Patrick Lynch staunchly defended the officer's actions and laid the blame directly on the cyclist."This officer observed the reckless actions of a specific individual weaving in and out of traffic and creating a hazardous condition for the public and took action," said Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.
Uh-huh. Spin like a cyclist.
Sources said Pogan spotted Long weaving through traffic and riding with just one hand on the handlebars. Pogan yelled at Long to stop and when the cyclist tried to veer around the cop, he leaped into action, Lynch said."Instead of slowing down or stopping as any reasonable person would when an officer approached, this rider dropped his shoulder in an attempt to avoid arrest by plowing into the officer's chest, which resulted in the officer pushing him away," he said.
That's a hell of a laugh; I can only hope that he hadn't seen the tape when he said that bit of fantasy.
Oh, and if you read what this Criminal Complaint he filed, he claims the cyclist knocked him down and injured him! The video clearly shows that to be a lie; what are the penalties for filing a false complaint?
The cyclist got arrested and spent 26 hours in jail; how much do you think the City will end up paying him?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:07 AM | Comments (13)
Amazing Discovery!
This just in: Ice Melts In Summer!
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- A chunk of ice spreading across 18 square kilometers (seven square miles) has broken off a Canadian ice shelf in the Arctic, scientists said Tuesday.... Mueller said the sheet broke away last week from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf off the north coast of Ellesmere Island in Canada's far north. He said a crack in the shelf was first spotted in 2002 and a survey this spring found a network of fissures.
The sheet is the biggest piece shed by one of Canada's six ice shelves since the Ayles shelf broke loose in 2005 from the coast of Ellesmere, about 500 miles from the North Pole.
Formed by accumulating snow and freezing meltwater, ice shelves are large platforms of thick, ancient sea ice that float on the ocean's surface. Ellesmere Island was once entirely ringed by a single enormous ice shelf that broke up in the early 1900s.
You know, the early 1900s, when people were driving all those, er, and flying in all those, um...
I blame Bush, Samuel Prescott Bush.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:10 AM | Comments (14)
July 29, 2008
Oh, For Chrissakes!
House poised to apologize for slavery, Jim Crow... The resolution will not be the first time lawmakers have apologized to an ethnic group for past injustices.
In April, the Senate passed a resolution sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, that apologized to Native Americans for "the many instances of violence, maltreatment and neglect."
In 1993, the Senate also passed a resolution apologizing for the "illegal overthrow" of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893.
In 1988, Congress passed and President Reagan signed a law apologizing to the 120,000 Japanese-Americans who were held in detention camps during World War II. The 60,000 detainees who were alive at the time each received $20,000 from the government.
Cue the music...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:10 PM | Comments (5)
No One Will Thank Me For This, But I'm a Victim
And will blame the NYT for the brain implant. It's their fault.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:37 PM | Comments (3)
Are They Saying That Poor and Minority Residents
...aren't SMART ENOUGH to decide what to eat?
L.A. wants to clamp yearlong ban on fast food
City Council to vote Tuesday on plan for impoverished southern part of cityIn the impoverished neighborhood of South Los Angeles, fast food is the easiest cuisine to find — and that's a problem for elected officials who see it as an unhealthy source of calories and cholesterol.
The City Council was poised to vote Tuesday on a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in a swath of the city where a proliferation of such eateries goes hand-in-hand with obesity.
I believe it's a consumer freedom issue. Since I'm pretty sure most restaurants can't accept food stamps, it's a purchase of choice. Now the nanny nazis get to tell those folks where they may spend their few dollars?
If a discrimination lawsuit ever smelled as good as Popeye's spicy, it would be this one.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:42 AM | Comments (11)
Horror In Antigua
Murdered on their honeymoon
The husband of a British doctor shot dead in their honeymoon hotel room is in a critical condition in a coma with a bullet lodged in his brain, police have said.Benjamin Mullany, a 31-year-old physiotherapist, is in the intensive care unit of the island's only hospital with injuries including a fractured skull, damage to the spinal cord, brain haemorrhaging and a broken leg, according to sources.
His wife, Catherine, also 31, died instantly after she was shot in the side of the head after an intruder broke into their cottage at the Cocos Hotel in the early hours of Sunday morning.
...Just hours before she was shot dead Mrs Mullany had reportedly sent a text to a friend calling Antigua "beautiful and lush like the Garden of Eden."
The friend said that the hospital doctor had told her she had "never been happier" at her wedding on July 12. She added: "I can't talk much, I'm so choked up. Cath had only just texted me to say she was having the best time of her life, and joked about how grown-up she felt being married. I can't believe she's gone."
My god, just awful. Those poor dears.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:26 AM
July 28, 2008
Just Don't Offer Up a Dollar For One
...in the men's room.
Oops! Wrong Larry shown on campaign gear
Republican Sen. Larry Craig shown on button alongside Obama
Some Democratic campaign buttons made for distribution in Idaho show an unlikely pair: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican Sen. Larry Craig.But don't expect the staunch Republican to throw his support behind Obama or for the presidential candidate to ask Craig to change his mind and run for Senate again. Apparently the button manufacturer picked a picture of the wrong Idaho Larry.
Waving Washingtons can get you in trouble. And just what kind of "change" are they advocating?
Or maybe they're just "hoping"...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:01 PM | Comments (6)
Kitchen Gadgets: Surplus Cash/More Money Than Sense
/Bingley Edition.
Electric Vacuum Marinator
For $199.95 + shipping.
I shit you not.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:53 PM | Comments (3)
BASTARDS!!!!
Pet thefts rise as economy hits dog-gone low
Some dognappers are stealing pets for quick profit
...Black market pets There’s a black market for dogs, Peterson says. People sell them on the roadside out of vans, at flea markets, or through online classifieds. Craig’s List tries to combat this by banning the sale of pets except for a small adoption fee, but that doesn’t stop some petnappers. A Spanaway, Wash., family recently was reunited earlier this month with their stolen Great Dane after someone posted it for sale on Craig's list for $150 this month.Kerwick, the policeman who works with canines, says that while some dogs are targeted for stealing, most dog thefts are crimes of opportunity. “The average guy doesn’t wake up in the morning and think about stealing a dog for a family member or himself, but the dog is there, there’s no one watching, and they take him,” he says.
Not mine, you don't. Not worth even trying.
I'd hurt you. BAD.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:30 PM | Comments (5)
So Where Does That Leave the Folks in Appalachia?
'Cause it's, like, GLOBAL, dude.
What it Does
The Global Poverty Act:
• Declares it official U.S. policy to promote the reduction of global
poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme
global poverty in half by 2015.• Requires the President to develop and implement a comprehensive
strategy to carry out that policy.• Includes guidelines for what the strategy should include - from aid,
trade, and debt relief, to working with the international community,
businesses and NGOs, to ensuring environmental sustainability.• Requires that the President’s strategy include specific and
measurable goals, efforts to be undertaken, benchmarks, and
timetables.• Requires the President to report back to Congress on progress
made in the implementation of the global poverty strategy.
Considering the smiling faces who introduced it on the propaganda site, I think I'll just say "no".
Well, wait a minute. Maybe I'm being hasty. WTF is it, anyway?
Obama’s Global Tax Proposal Up for Senate Vote
AIM Column | By Cliff Kincaid | February 12, 2008It appears the Senate version is being pushed not only by Biden and Obama, a member of the committee, but Lugar, the ranking Republican member.
A nice-sounding bill called the "Global Poverty Act," sponsored by Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama, is up for a Senate vote on Thursday and could result in the imposition of a global tax on the United States. The bill, which has the support of many liberal religious groups, makes levels of U.S. foreign aid spending subservient to the dictates of the United Nations.
Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has not endorsed either Senator Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. But on Thursday, February 14, he is trying to rush Obama's "Global Poverty Act" (S.2433) through his committee. The legislation would commit the U.S. to spending 0.7 percent of gross national product on foreign aid, which amounts to a phenomenal 13-year total of $845 billion over and above what the U.S. already spends.
The bill, which is item number four on the committee's business meeting agenda, passed the House by a voice vote last year because most members didn't realize what was in it. Congressional sponsors have been careful not to calculate the amount of foreign aid spending that it would require. According to the website of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, no hearings have been held on the Obama bill in that body.
(It's: "Added to calendar on Apr 24, 2008: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 718" after "Apr 24, 2008: Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Biden with amendments and an amendment to the title.")
Hmmm. THAT site has an agenda, because it has all anti-liberal ads on it. (And Glenn Beck's take is funnier anyway.) Let's be fair and balanced.
Wiki says "it's LIES!!!! All LIES!!!!"
A number of news outlets have made false reports about this bill and called it Global Poverty Tax.
I KNEW it could only be good for us. And the world. And the children.
*Many thanks to ee-ville genius ebola for the Mary make-over.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:56 PM | Comments (9)
Some Required Reading On These Bailouts
Nationalizing financial losses doesn't solve anything
"I recount all this now because it illustrates the perverse nature of Fannie and Freddie that has made them such a relentless and untouchable political force. Their unique clout derives from a combination of liberal ideology and private profit. . . . The abiding lesson here is what happens when you combine private property with government power. You create political monsters that are protected both by journalists on the left and pseudo capitalists on Wall Street, by liberal Democrats and country club Republicans. Even now, after all the dishonesty and failure, Fannie and Freddie could emerge from this taxpayer rescue more powerful than ever."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:36 AM
Change You Can Believe In
Remember when I was upset about Iran having 3000 centrifuges? No? Well, you're right; I shouldn't have been worried, because Ahmalamadingdong said I shouldn't.
So if 3,000 are fine for World Peace, then, hell, 6,000 should usher in a New Era of Peace and Prosperity
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's president said Saturday his country now possesses 6,000 centrifuges, a significant increase in its nuclear program that is certain to further rankle the United States and others who fear Tehran is intent on developing weapons.The new figure is double the 3,000 uranium-enriching machines Iran had previously said it was operating.
Now, Iran claims these are for 'peaceful purposes,' which nice people in the West assume to mean power plants; no bombs, really.
Except that what the centrifuges are producing can't be used in the nuclear plants that Iran has.
It can, of course, be used in nuclear bombs, but as Iran has said they aren't making them we, as the Europeans have, should discard that possibility and, er, write them a stern letter or something to make them change their ways.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:03 AM
July 27, 2008
Oooowwwwwwwwww! My Hippy
...huts!!!!
..."His hip has been sore from basketball for a few weeks, so he's going to see an orthopedic doctor," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
And here I thought poor John McCain was the infirm, crippled, old gnarly geriatric bastard. My bad.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:20 PM | Comments (2)
I Agree With Him
It reeked.
...ANDREW TYNDALL, The Tyndall Report: Well, the thing I think that really emphasizes Tom's point about it being treated as a head-of-state trip rather than a candidate trip was the extraordinary decision by the broadcast networks to send their anchors along to interview him on the way. It's entirely unprecedented that a premier candidate should be treated with this type of coverage. That really is reserved for heads of state. And even though I think the tone of the interviewing was actually really quite hard-edged by all three anchors, the fact that they sort of dignified this trip with their presence had a little smell of a coronation about it really before the election has actually happened.
Fair and pretty balanced from "The News Hour" Friday night.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:02 PM
Semper Fi, Marine
And carry on.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:48 PM | Comments (2)
Saturday Night Grub
Sometimes nothing beats the basics. A nice bottle of wine
and a plated loaded with a NY strip, pan-roasted rosemary potatoes and a nice helping of creamed spinach
yum yum yum.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:40 AM | Comments (3)
July 26, 2008
What I'm Drinking Tonight
Well, maybe not tonight
But one of these days, by gum...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:06 PM | Comments (5)
July 25, 2008
After Forcing Sweet major dad to Make Me a Caipirinha
...to see how green worked against the colors of my new absinthe design (BITCHING, in my humble estimation.)...
...I looked up from the camera to see he had thoughtfully placed almost the entire dinner fixin's (taters in the oven) beside the cocktail to keep it company.
Ebola is, unfortunately, unable to mooch join us tonight, so it's strictly an adult affair.
Ah, Friday night.
Shame about that, Ratboy.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:06 PM | Comments (10)
What a Weasel: Part Deux²³
What a SCHMACKdown!!
(And the left has the nerve to call McCain's grins "creepy"?!)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:37 PM | Comments (3)
"The Most Fickle Lover You Could Ever Have"
major dad points us to this Susan Estrich column. It sounds a warning chime for Team Obambi, but I'll betcha they're not listening.
...The problem with all this fawning is threefold. First of all, the fact that the press doesn’t push doesn’t mean that, sooner or later, the Republicans won’t. They will. Every question the press doesn’t ask and Obama doesn’t have to answer will be the subject of a speech at the Republican convention, an ad down the road, a tirade by somebody that will ring truer than it should precisely because it hasn’t been addressed before. Do you really think McCain and his friends won’t push hard for Obama to admit he was “wrong” about the surge? Of course they will; every bit as hard as Obama pressed Hillary on her war vote. Better to deal with it in questions from Katie, get an answer down that puts the question to rest rather than leaving her hypothetical viewer scratching his head than waiting for it to come back in a debate. Attacking Katie is not the answer — Katie isn’t running for President.Second, being the favorite of the press doesn’t necessarily win you votes. Most people don’t actually like the press. The friend of my enemy is not necessarily my friend. Being liked by the boys and girls on the bus doesn’t necessarily earn you the respect of the people back home. Standing up to them, giving as good as you get, all that helps. But if being loved by the press were a sure route to success, Hillary Clinton would never have carried all those big states after March 1. Ronald Reagan would never have gotten elected President. George Bush would have lost, twice.
It's so hard to hear through the halo static.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:48 PM | Comments (6)
Quote of the Day
Obviously someone needed to rein in this woman during the wedding planning.
Story here. The whole HILARIOUS blog here, plus another gem they recommend that could be called "When Quotation Marks Go Wrong" (for the geeky wordsmiths among us) (not that there are that many).
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:50 AM | Comments (10)
Yet Another Great NJ Legislator
Your tax dollars at work
TRENTON, NJ (AP) -- Veteran Democratic state Assemblyman Neil Cohen is being investigated for child pornography possession on his legislative office computer, according to four officials familiar with the situation.State Sen. Raymond Lesniak and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, who share a Union County office with Cohen, released a statement Thursday night that confirmed an investigation.
``We have been in constant touch with the appropriate authorities throughout this situation, and will continue to follow the Office of Legislative Services guidelines and counsel in this matter,'' they said. ``As the facts became apparent in our office, we notified the appropriate agency and will continue to assist in any way possible. While it was our proactive steps that led the investigation to this point, we are appalled at what has transpired.''
We really, really need to clean house in Trenton.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:26 AM
Would A Plastic Airbus Have Held Together?
Man, what a scary flight
Passengers on a London to Melbourne flight have described their terror after a faulty door "popped" in midair blowing a hole in the fuselage.Qantas flight QF30, with 300 passengers and crew on board, plunged 20,000ft after the faulty door caused an "explosive" depressurisation.
The Boeing 747 had just taken off from a stopover in Hong Kong when the incident happened. As the plane dropped from 30,000ft to 10,000ft, oxygen masks fell from the ceiling.
Debra Manchester, a passenger in first class, said there was a "huge bang" and a "massive rush of wind," with debris swirling around the cabin. Mrs Manchester, a housewife from Buckinghamshire, said there was an atmosphere of chaos as passengers struggled to put their oxygen masks on.
Give me a solid, well-built metal plane over some high-falutin' composite thingy any day.
Time for some heavy drinking.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:55 AM | Comments (11)
July 24, 2008
An Hour Ago at the Walmart Proves the Song Is ~ Indeed ~ Correct
"It's the End of the World As We Know It"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:11 PM | Comments (8)
Quote of the Day
If that doesn't send a chill up my leg, I don't know what does.“The senator wants to speak to the people of Europe and it would be inconsistent to exclude the public.”*
*UPDATE: What an arrogant ass. New replacement quote?
“Barack Obama will not be coming to us,” a spokesperson for the US military hospital in Landstuhl announced.“I don’t know why.”
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:03 PM | Comments (4)
"Moonwalker" Insists Aliens Exist?
Well...
...duh.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:40 PM | Comments (10)
Please Keep Nina In Your Prayers
Her Dad has passed on after a long fight.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:17 AM | Comments (1)
Channeling Han Solo
I am, after all, a simple man. It would seem to me that if you are a guy who's been married for 48 years and your wife is "totally devastated" because you've been caught on film in an S&M orgy with some prostitutes and you can think of "nothing more undignified or humiliating" for your two sons to experience that maybe, just maybe the blame and responsibility for these troubled times in your family lies with the fellow you see staring back at you every morning when you shave.
"It's not my fault!"
But, like I said...
I am a simple man.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:15 AM | Comments (12)
July 23, 2008
Fawning of the Worst Sort
Obama Overseas! In Presidential Mode! Back Home, It’s McCain in a Golf Cart....All three cable news networks carried Mr. Obama’s news conference live and in full. They showed only parts of Mr. McCain’s forum and focused mostly on his reaction to Mr. Obama’s statements. Even Fox News broke away from Mr. McCain midevent to cover the rescue of a bear cub wounded in a California fire and nicknamed Lil’ Smokey.
It's not that the guy's not insufferable ~ we all know he is ~ but this mad media dash to aid and abet his pretentious posing is just disgusting.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:03 AM | Comments (4)
I Will Always
...love you.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:24 AM | Comments (7)
July 22, 2008
Change Australia Can Believe In?
Barack Obama, who bows to nobody in his understanding of this world, has some rather important news for Australia: you are henceforth part of Asia
Now to find Australia some Hope.
(h/t to Daughter, who noticed this over my shoulder while I was on Obama's site)
(click post time to see full text)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:17 PM | Comments (10)
Is That a Load of Crap in Your Pocket?
There May Be Oil Offshore, But...Or are you just happy to see me?
...How much oil and natural gas is there offshore? No one really knows. According to estimates from the Interior Dept.'s Minerals Management Service [MMS], the U.S. has roughly 18 billion undiscovered and technically recoverable bbl. of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Eric Potter, associate director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin, says that if these areas are opened up now, by 2025, 1 million additional bbl. per day could potentially be added to the market. Using International Energy Agency demand forecasts, by 2030 this production would equal less than 5% of U.S. daily consumption, and less than 1% of global daily consumption. "It would certainly help," says Potter. "But it won't make us energy-independent."I thought "dang! That's gloomy! It's almost like they're saying it's not worth drilling." Well, the last oil "expert" they spoke to ~ after noting that our crude would probably wind up summers else anyway ~ says flat out it's not.
...Former Vice-President Al Gore, who opposes lifting the moratorium, raised that point at a July 17 news conference on energy policy. "You take an oil deposit right off the coast of California -- that's more likely to be sold to China, -- said Gore.Well, dang! That's gloomy, especially if that's ALL the news that's fit to print about oil independence. Drilling sounds like a big waste of dead fishes and carbon emishes, even if we act now. Al Gore says so. And I'm sure that's how he means it to appear to the uninitiated in Goreschpeak. As my favorite pitchman would say:
"But WAIT!!!! There's MORE!!!!"Moseying on over to Instapundit, what to my wondering, wandering eyes should appear?
A headline 'bout 800 BILLION barrels under here!! Well, shee-it HOWDY!
It's a shame no one reads the BLM releases and then asks Al Gore about those.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:00 PM | Comments (2)
Quote of the Day
Article here. Federal Reserve proposed changes:...Sometimes, it's not good to know how the sausage is made.But credit card and bank rules are too important to leave to the sausage makers, and fortunately, all comments made so far are available for public inspection. They are worth at least a casual browse.
The provisions addressing credit card practices are part of the Board’s ongoing effort to enhance protections for consumers who use credit cards, and follow the Board's 2007 proposal to improve the credit card disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act. The FTC Act proposal includes five key protections for consumers that use credit cards:* Banks would be prohibited from increasing the rate on a pre-existing credit card balance (except under limited circumstances) and must allow the consumer to pay off that balance over a reasonable period of time.
* Banks would be prohibited from applying payments in excess of the minimum in a manner that maximizes interest charges.
* Banks would be required to give consumers the full benefit of discounted promotional rates on credit cards by applying payments in excess of the minimum to any higher-rate balances first, and by providing a grace period for purchases where the consumer is otherwise eligible.
* Banks would be prohibited from imposing interest charges using the "two-cycle" method, which computes interest on balances on days in billing cycles preceding the most recent billing cycle.
* Banks would be required to provide consumers a reasonable amount of time to make payments.
A chance to rage against the machine?
Priceless.
You can let the Federal Reserve know how you feel here (use the "Submit Comment" links at the bottom of the page).
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:15 PM | Comments (4)
If Obama Isn't Elected, It's Because We're All Racists
And if he is elected, don't worry, we're still all racists
(CNN) -- "We had a dream. Now it's a reality."That's the slogan on a popular T-shirt linking Sen. Barack Obama's presidential run to the Rev. Martin Luther King's dream of racial equality. It's one of several T-shirts -- including "Barack is my homeboy"-- that reflect African-American's euphoria over Obama's White House bid.
But there are others who warn that an Obama presidency could hurt African-Americans. They say that an Obama victory could cause white Americans to ignore entrenched racial divisions while claiming that America has reached the racial Promised Land.
Paul Street, author of the forthcoming book, "Barack Obama and the Future of American Politics," says Obama risks becoming an Oval Office version of talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. She and former Secretary of State Colin Powell are African-American figures whose popularity allows some white Americans to congratulate themselves for not being racist, he says
"They're cited as proof that racism is no longer a significant barrier to black advancement and interracial equality," says Street.
I mean, there's just no getting ahead with some people. If a white votes for Obama, they're progressive...but also racist evidently. If a white votes against Obama, they're racist.
See? Everybody's happy.
I don't vote for someone because they're a symbol or because of what they represent; anyone who does that is an ass. I vote for someone, or not for someone, because of what they say they will do...and based on what they've done. And when we're talking about handing over the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, well, Hope! and Change! founded on the strong convictions and inspired leadership of over 100 'Present' votes doesn't quite do it for me.
I guess I should say racist me.
I try to always follow King's dream for his daughters, that they will live in a country where they are judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. And we're much farther down that road today than we were when he spoke those words, even though there are many folks who have made careers out of acting as though things haven't changed at all (yes, I'm looking at you Jesse and Al); there's a lot of money in the Institutionalized Grievance Business and those folks will actively seek to protect their turf regardless of the harm that accrues to those they claim to champion.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:39 PM | Comments (46)
You Know...
I may have to start watching Philly TV
PHILADELPHIA - A fired TV newscaster was charged Monday with hacking into the e-mail of his glamorous younger co-anchor hundreds of times for more than two years, as leaked information about her personal life helped lead to her own downfall.Federal prosecutors say former KYW-TV anchor Larry Mendte gained access to Alycia Lane's accounts from home and at work — about 537 times between January and May alone — and shared some of the information he found with a reporter. Lane's attorney said the motive was jealousy, but authorities were silent on Mendte's motive and his method.
...The allegations are the latest in what is playing out as a titillating local news rivalry that has already ended Lane's career at KYW-TV, the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia. She was fired in January after a series of embarrassing off-camera incidents, including a scuffle with a New York City police officer.
Juicy juicy!
I have to say I just don't understand why you'd do a lot of this type of stuff. The egos of these people must be insanely, insanely large; I mean, look at what they were getting paid for basically being a pretty face who reads off of a teleprompter
Rosen alleged that Mendte acted out of jealousy, starting when Lane was offered a new contract in February 2005. Lane was making $780,000, or about $100,000 more than her co-anchor, he said.
She was making $780,000 and he was making $680,000.
I'm sending KYW my resume.
And as Cronkite had his "And that's the way it is.." sign off and Rather had his "Courage, Merry", so too will I have my trademark phrase:
"And thanks for letting us at KY share your night."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:00 AM | Comments (4)
Like I Said Before
As giant oil companies like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips get set to report what will probably be another round of eye-popping quarterly profits, just where is all that money going?The companies insist they're trying to find new oil that might help bring down gas prices, but the money they spend on exploration is nothing compared with what they spend on stock buybacks and dividends.
It's good news for shareholders, including mutual funds and retirement plans for millions of Americans, but no help to drivers already making drastic cutbacks to offset the high cost of fuel.
...you can blame "grannies". And retired school teachers. And the like.
Bastardly billions of big oil = a food stamp free mutual fund. Maybe enough left over for a cohiba.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:10 AM | Comments (1)
Truer Words
...And then in early 2007 came the surge, which so many of us in the antiwar left of the Democratic Party predicted would be a failure, throwing good men and women and billions of dollars after futility....were never spoken.We were wrong.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:06 AM | Comments (3)
July 21, 2008
Cast the First Stone
Eight women and one man convicted of adultery are set to be stoned to death in Iran, activists said Sunday.Lawyer and women's rights activist, Shadi Sadr, said the nine were convicted of adultery in separate cases in different Iranian cities.
"Their verdicts are approved, and they may be executed at any time," she told reporters.
...Most of the nine come from areas of Iran that have low rates of literacy and some did not understand the cases against them, she said.
One of Sadr's colleagues, Mohammad Mostafai, said his client, Malak Qorbani, had plead guilty to adultery even though she did not know the meaning of the charge.
Amazing what those 7th century secret religious police types can persuade someone to do.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:48 AM | Comments (7)
July 19, 2008
I'm Doing My Part
Karma is all, my friends.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:50 PM | Comments (8)
Simply Amazing
Greg Norman, at age 53, leads the Open after 54 holes.
Words just can't describe how cool this is. What's very enjoyable is watching the creative shots he's hitting, the unique shots that a links course requires and which so many folks from this side of the pond have no idea how to hit; things like the 5 iron pitch shots from 130 yards.
But that's what you need to do in a constant 35 mph wind.
Best of luck tomorrow, Greg; I would love to see you hang on and pull this off.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:49 PM
July 18, 2008
Dispensus With The Consensus!
Hot Air has the details on some credibility returning to the scientists. As Ed says
The paper points out that the warming seen on Earth during the period under question matched the warming seen on other planets in the solar system, a point repeatedly made by skeptics over the last few years. Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, and one of Neptune’s moons experienced the same climate shift at the same time, and Monckton assigns the blame not to SUVs or belching smokestacks, but to the only energy source all have in common: the sun. Solar activity during the past seventy years, Monckton states, exceeded what had been seen for 11,000 years, which led to the warming activity here on Earth and elsewhere in the system.
It's good to see scientists remembering the scientific method.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:52 AM | Comments (3)
Go Camilo!
He posts a 65. He's a really nice guy (I met him briefly this Spring); I hope he keeps doing well.
And what a putt by Norman on 18...and 17. Great stuff.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:26 AM
July 17, 2008
Gonna' Party Like It's 1989
Greg Norman atop the leaderboard at the British Open.
How cool is that?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:26 AM | Comments (6)
Keep Voting Until You Get It Right!
Ah, the gallic arrogance of the Ruling Class! Here's Democracy, Euro-Style
Irish politicians reacted angrily Wednesday after French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested Ireland should hold a second referendum on the EU's new treaty, after rejecting it last month.Irish voters dealt a blow to the European Union last month by rejecting the Lisbon Treaty in the only popular vote on the text anywhere in the 27-nation bloc.
According to deputies who attended a meeting with Sarkozy Tuesday, he said that the Irish would "have to re-vote", despite 53 percent opposition.
A key adviser to the French president said later on Wednesday that Sarkozy could ask Ireland to hold a second referendum on the document, but with some minor changes.
"One of the solutions would be indeed to eventually ask the Irish to re-vote, but probably not on a text that would be exactly the same," said Henri Guaino in an interview to French television.
Gee, are they going to let the folks who voted "Yes" also revote?
Hell, are they ever going to let everyone in Europe vote on it, too?
Methinks...not.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:11 AM | Comments (10)
July 16, 2008
About Time
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:04 AM | Comments (3)
To Every Thing
...turn, turn, turn.
...I've never had any doubt that the U.S. military would defeat Saddam Hussein's army. There was never any doubt that if we poured enough resources in there, that we could lock down Iraq.
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
...And that is a terrific opportunity, but the underlying issue, which is what the surge was supposed to accomplish, creating the space so that the Iraqi factions would actually start working together more effectively politically so that you have a stable government and you've got a relationship between the central government and the provinces that works, that has not yet occurred. And it is my belief that it will not occur unless they have a greater sense of urgency about it. Now is the right time for us to begin bringing our combat troops out of Iraq.
And a time for every purpose, under heaven.
...GWEN IFILL: That's a final question, just to - I want you to think a little bit about the stage that you're at in your campaign. You have 26 percent of people still think you were raised a Muslim. People look at your shifts on issues, from warrantless surveillance to gun control, and they say: "Who is this guy? What does he believe?" How do you begin to, in this stage in your campaign, tell people who you are and have it stick?SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, first of all, I do think that this notion that somehow we've had wild shifts in my positions is simply inaccurate. You mentioned the gun position. I've been talking about the Second Amendment being an individual right for the last year and a half.
So there wasn't a shift there....The fact of the matter is on the big issues -- ending the war in Iraq, universal health care plan, a tax code that is fair for every American, having a serious plan to deal with this foreclosure crisis, capping the emission of greenhouse gases, increasing fuel efficiency standards on cars, investing in our infrastructure, increasing troops in Iraq, getting serious about a whole host of issues around civil liberties like closing Guantanamo and restoring habeas corpus -- on those big issues that are going to determine the future of this country and whether or not ordinary Americans can achieve the American dream, I have been entirely consistent not just during this campaign, but through most of my adult life.
And so I don't think it's going to be hard to persuade people what I stand for because the truth is the things that I stand for today are the things I stood for 10 years ago and 20 years ago.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:05 AM | Comments (7)
July 15, 2008
Good
Let her rot in jail and rethink her ways
(CNN) -- Susan Atkins, a terminally ill former Charles Manson follower convicted in the murder of actress Sharon Tate, on Tuesday was denied a compassionate release from prison.
Susan Atkins, Califorina's longest-serving female inmate, is shown in her most recent mug shot.Atkins, 60, has been diagnosed with brain cancer and has had a leg amputated, her attorney said. In June, she requested the release, available to terminally ill inmates with less than six months to live.
Sorry, anyone who did this
According to historical accounts of the murder, Atkins stabbed Tate, who was eight months pregnant, and scrawled the word "pig" in blood on the door of the home the actress shared with director Roman Polanski.By her own admission, Atkins held Tate down and rejected her pleas for mercy, stabbing the pregnant woman 16 times.
Never ever deserves to breathe free air.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:22 PM | Comments (5)
Tired, Lots Of Work To Do This Week: Part Deux
Painting 'til the wee hours.
Art show. New Orleans. Four days.
::sigh::
So tedious, Kcruella is flying in from Jersey to help me suffer.
That is all.
Carry on.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:09 PM | Comments (5)
"God-Like" Isn't What It Was Cracked Up to Be
...any more, is it?
We interrupt the continued deification of Brett Favre -- a first-ballot Hall of Famer and the most durable player in NFL history -- with the following reality check.Yes, Favre played long enough to throw the most touchdown passes and collect the most wins by an NFL quarterback. But let's examine the second half of No. 4's career. The truth is, Favre did little over the past decade to earn the gushing praise heaped upon him by our fawning brethren in the media.
After beating the San Francisco 49ers in the 1997 NFC Championship Game, Favre won just three of his last 10 playoff games. Eli Manning had more postseason wins in a 29-day span this past season than Favre had in his last decade with the Green Bay Packers.
And reality checks suck. So, enough already with the 'comeback', "Waaaaaaaa, I didn't wanna quit!".
Quit being a selfish prick who believes his own publicity and let somebody else have a shot while you still have some luster.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:41 AM | Comments (7)
Ya Think?
"I am sure you see the absurdity of a university threatening an employee with discipline for reading a scholarly work that deals with the efforts of Notre Dame students in the 1920s to fight the KKK," American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana attorney Ken Falk said in a letter to an IUPUI lawyer.
The irony is, with all that education...they don't.
It takes the fall out from an article in the Wall Street Journal months later to force the "apology".
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:18 AM | Comments (4)
Tired, Lots Of Work To Do This Week
That is all.
Carry on.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:59 AM | Comments (2)
July 14, 2008
Why Wall Street Fears...
Investors this summer have been placing their bets on an Obama presidency, and for the most part that hasn't been good for the market.Without giving him a chance to explain himself in detail on the campaign trail or at the Democratic National Convention, they are voting with their shares by tossing financial, health insurance, manufacturing and high-dividend stocks into the ash can, and are growing skeptical about energy companies as well.
It's not that major institutional investors don't like the man -- far from it. He has many backers among the financial elite, including multibillionaires George Soros and Ron Burkle. And it's not that there aren't many other reasons for investors to sell stocks now, as the global economy tangles with the terrible twin beasts of bank deleveraging and inflation.
It's just that Obama's rhetoric on taxes and health care is scaring common wealthy people with large capital gains from investments made over the past decade, and a lot of them don't want to wait around to see whether it's just populist fluff that might be set aside once he takes office.
Aside from the populist rhetoric, does anyone know what his policies actually are? It's not a question of "giving him a chance to explain himself;" for god's sake, the man is running for President. He should be laying out for us his plan.
And this is comforting:
Plus, the Democrats who run Congress know that a weaker economy favors their nominee -- and they are loath to pass banking or trade legislation now to improve the nation's industrial standing over fears that it could backfire and give comfort to the Republicans.
Because, obviously, the health of their Party is more important than the health of their country.
But don't question their patriotism!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:22 AM | Comments (4)
July 12, 2008
Chuck Schumer, Super Genius
The unbridled arrogance of this man never ceases to amaze or entertain.
Except now he's cost us billions
The federal government took control of Pasadena-based IndyMac Bank on Friday in what regulators called the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history.Citing a massive run on deposits, regulators shut its main branch three hours early, leaving customers stunned and upset. One woman leaned on the locked doors, pleading with an employee inside: "Please, please, I want to take out a portion." All she could do was read a two-page notice taped to the door.
...Federal authorities estimated that the takeover of IndyMac, which had $32 billion in assets, would cost the FDIC $4 billion to $8 billion. Regulators said deposits of up to $100,000 were safe and insured by the FDIC. The agency's insurance fund has assets of about $52 billion.
IndyMac's failure had been widely expected in recent days. As the bank was shuttering offices and laying off employees to cope with huge losses from defaulted mortgages made at the height of the housing boom, nervous depositors were pulling out $100 million a day. The bank's stock price had plummeted to less than $1 as analysts predicted the company's imminent demise.
There was a massive run on the bank, which drained its assets away.
And what caused that run? Glad you asked:
IndyMac, which once employed 10,000, fell prey to a classic run on the bank, and regulators singled out Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) as having helped to fuel massive withdrawals. On June 26, Schumer said in letters to the FDIC, the OTS and two other federal agencies that IndyMac might have "serious problems" with its loan holdings."I am concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers," he wrote. The bank "could face a failure if prescriptive measures are not taken quickly."
That public warning prompted depositors to pull $1.3 billion out of accounts between June 27 and Thursday.
This damn attention whore, seeking the spotlight once again now that Hillary's star has faded, decided to try his hand at self-fulfilling prophecy.
Thanks, Chuck.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:57 AM | Comments (20)
July 11, 2008
I Am Sick With Dread in Anticipation
...of the autopsies.
Missing soldiers' bodies recovered in Iraq
Pentagon confirms the deaths of men who were seized in 2007 ambush
Dear God, the possibilities are so horrific and I hope against hope that the animals who held them went against type this time.
Bless their brave hearts and comfort their brave families.
And I want to throttle anyone who can talk about Guantanamo unequivocally, as if we were capable of such bestiality.
Fuckers. I hate them.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:12 PM | Comments (1)
South Carolina Is So Gay
Oh my goodness. Someone really wasn't thinking when they approved this
South Carolina’s top tourism agency has canceled an overseas advertising campaign targeting gay tourists.The campaign, tied to gay pride week celebrations in London, included ads that proclaimed “South Carolina is so gay.” A handful of other U.S. destinations joined the campaign, including Atlanta, Boston and New Orleans.
...Employees “exercised extremely poor judgment in approving participation in the program,” Prosser said. PRT, he said, will require more review of future overseas advertising, as it does with domestic advertising.
Gee, y'think?
What about "South Carolina is Beachin'!"
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:08 PM | Comments (8)
iDiots
I mean, c'mon, I'm as big an Apple Fan Boy as there is, and there's no steenkin' way I'm camping out over night on the sidewalk...for a phone.
iDiots.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:17 PM | Comments (2)
I Knew It!
Via Insta, comes this encouraging news ahead of the weekend
Ending Moderate Drinking Tied To DepressionScienceDaily (July 9, 2008) — Scientific evidence has long suggested that moderate drinking offers some protection against heart disease, certain types of stroke and some forms of cancer.
But new research shows that stopping drinking -- including at moderate levels -- may lead to health problems including depression and a reduced capacity of the brain to produce new neurons, a process called neurogenesis.
I have to say, one of the funniest lines I've ever read in one of these scientific articles is this one:
In mice that voluntarily drank alcohol for 28 days, depression-like behavior was evident 14 days after termination of alcohol drinking.
Bottoms up! Be Happy!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:59 AM | Comments (2)
Battleship Potemkin
After dinner we decided to watch it last night; what a neat flick.
There are so many scenes and elements of this movie that are familiar, because so many directors have borrowed them from this 1925 classic. We recently watched The Untouchables, for example, and there's the baby in the carriage rolling down the steps amongst the bodies...
I must sadly admit though that in my advancing age I confuse the Potemkin with the Aurora.
With regard to the crew of the Potemkin, I think this is pretty neat (from 1987):
Ivan Beshoff, the last survivor of the 1905 mutiny on the Russian battleship Potemkin, a harbinger of the Russian Revolution, died Sunday, his family said today. His birth certificate said he was 102 years old, but he contended he was 104.Born near the Black Sea port of Odessa, Mr. Beshoff abandoned chemistry studies and joined the navy, serving in the engine room of the Potemkin.
The mutiny over poor food was the first mass expression of discontent in Czar Nicholas II's military and later came to be seen as a prelude to the 1917 Russian Revolution.
The mutineers killed the captain and several officers. The entire Black Sea fleet was ordered to suppress the rebellion, but crews refused to fire on the battleship, and it sailed for 11 days before surrendering.
Mr. Beshoff had said he fled through Turkey to London, where he met Lenin. He settled in Ireland in 1913, saying he had tired of the sea.
Mr. Beshoff worked for a Soviet oil distribution company and was twice arrested as a Soviet spy, but became a beloved figure in the Irish community.
After World War II, he opened a fish and chips shop in Dublin.
What a funny world we live in.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:05 AM | Comments (3)
July 10, 2008
I'm Not Sure How This Made a Major News Gathering Place, BUT
...somebody has great taste.
Ooogachaka, baby.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:44 PM | Comments (11)
Good Thing The NOLA Police Brass...
..are crackin' down on the real criminals
With minutes left in the last shift of his 35-year New Orleans police career, Sgt. Bobby Guidry received a call from a supervisor telling him he had been suspended for wearing the wrong uniform shirt, the veteran officer said.The Police Department confirmed the censure Tuesday, though it quibbled with the term "suspended." Rather, Guidry is "under investigation for wearing the wrong uniform," said Police Department spokesman Bob Young.
Instead of the standard-issue all-black uniform, Guidry, a veteran officer in the city's Uptown 2nd District, chose the powder-blue uniform shirt that he wore to work for more than three decades.
Yes sir, they come down hard on Blue Collar crime in the Big Easy.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:54 AM | Comments (11)
July 09, 2008
So, I've Used "Dog" Myself For Years Now
"She's a dog", "he's a horn dog", "quit dogging me", "I'm dog tired", "dog gone it"...you get the idea. But like this?
...But its own gay rights group has opposed the move, claiming that cutting back the bushes was "discriminating" to homosexual men who used the area for late night outdoor sex known as dogging.
Never in my wildest imagination. Twisted sort of logic about it, I guess, with dogs, bushes, doggie
Save the little animals. Trim the bushes.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:52 PM | Comments (4)
So Where Does That Leave the Furor
...over "Yo Quiero Taco Bell", considering the Mexican attitude?
A comic-book character popular in Mexico for generations has run into a cultural barrier at the border, where Americans see him as a racist caricature.... "This is absolutely insensitive toward race, in particular the African-American culture, and also people of color," Quannel X said. "This is poking fun at the physical features of an entire people."
But Mexican readers who grew up following the shenanigans of Memin say critics need to look beyond the cover and understand the stories.
Mexicans weren't quite so understanding about the cute little dog...
...or another cartoon character years before him.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:22 PM | Comments (9)
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
Who says golfers haven't got a sense of humor?
Tiger Woods is out for the rest of the golf season, and so is caddie Steve Williams.Caddies are a caring group, especially when it comes to their own, so it was only fitting that they take up a collection for a guy who's player won't be earning any more money on the PGA Tour until he recovers from reconstructive knee surgery.
Two weeks ago at the Travelers Championship, the caddies put up a sign in their trailer that said, "Steve Williams Benevolent Fund," offering caddies a chance to donate to the cause.
For a money jar, they used a shot glass.
Hehehehe.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:44 AM
July 07, 2008
Hahahaha! If Someone Else Already Had This
I apologize. (I don't get out much...)
Do-It-Yourself Obama poster.
It's hilarious.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:51 PM | Comments (9)
WASSUP??! They Eat Horses, Don't They?
This is getting downright nasty.
Belgian-based brewer InBev will seek to remove and replace the board of Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc to secure a $46.3 billion takeover of its U.S. rival, InBev said on Monday.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:49 AM | Comments (1)
In the "Why Does It Cost So Much?" Category
...add yet another entry.
BP's rivals shift in Russian tussleThe fate of the second biggest foreign investment in Russia hangs in the balance amid signs of a shifting mood in the Kremlin which may have wrong-footed investors and one of the world's biggest oil companies.
... TNK-BP, a highly lucrative 50-50 joint venture between BP and four Russian-connected billionaires, began in 2003 amid much fanfare in a deal blessed by then-president Vladimir Putin. It produces a quarter of BP's global oil output and posted a net profit of $5.7 billion last year.
TNK-BP's first five years were a success story. Former BP managers working at the venture talk with pride of how they improved management of oilfields using the latest technology, cut back leaks, and boosted operating efficiency.
... So when a campaign against TNK-BP suddenly started this year involving tax police, alleged labor code violations, security service sweeps and court cases, many assumed the Kremlin was pressuring the firm to accept a state partner.
A similar barrage of official harassment was unleashed in 2006 against Royal Dutch Shell to force it to sell a controlling stake in its giant Sakhalin gas venture to Russia's state-dominated energy champion Gazprom.
The American public acts like the world does business just like US companies have to here. I can't think of many places besides the United States where your investment in exploration, development and infrastructure is safe from nationalistic meddling.
-Putin sets the hook.Of course, if America is utilizing her own national resources, foreign upsets in the supply chain won't hit as hard.
But, nowadays, that's a foreign concept.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:01 AM | Comments (5)
July 06, 2008
Poetry
...of a different meter.
...a grossly mishandled cock-up...
I don't agree with the sentiment per it's target, but dang. You have to hand him the 'spoken-as-I-see-it' trophy.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:58 PM | Comments (3)
Reason 978 That Coddling Certain Islamic 'Sensibilities' Sucks Wind
Police: Jonesboro Man Killed Daughter Who Wanted Out Of Arranged Marriage
Victim Had No Contact With Husband For 3 MonthsA 25-year-old Jonesboro woman is dead after police said she told her father she wanted out of an arranged marriage.
Police said they found Sandela Kanwal’s body inside a home on Utah Drive in Jonesboro. They said Kanwal had been killed by her own father, Chaudry Rashad.
This daddy needs to die.
Note to Islamic immigrants: When you move to the twentyFIRST century United States, check your seventh century shit at the door, yo. If you feel you shouldn't have to compromise either your 'religion' or 'culture' for western living, I think England has available space. (Plus, the police dogs tromping around your home during the homicide investigation? In England, they wear booties. Win, win, right?)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:11 PM | Comments (6)
July 04, 2008
What I'm Eating For The Fourth Of July
As y'all are well aware my Bride has cruelly abandoned me on this most American of holidays. So what's a fellow to do?
Well, for starters, I will wear a shirt she got for me a few years ago back on the Mississippi
That will set the proper mood, dontcha think?
To help that mood along I made myself a caipirinha
using our buddy Cahaça Dave's cachaça, Fazenda Mãe de Ouro.
Damned tasty stuff.
Now for fun I had bought a bottle of German Zeller Schwarze Katz wine to have
as it was only $7, but the caipirinha was too damn tasty at the moment, so it had to wait.
Anyhow, I decided that to honor Independence Day I needed to make a meal in honor of a specific government employee, so I decided to make Dave J. Burgers.
Yes, the glorious Dave J. Assistant Prosecutor Burger!
First, take nearly 2 lbs. of ground beef
What?
You're not interested in...this, are you?
Well, wait a minute.
La-la-la-la.
Ok, go ahead
Now, take whatever beef you've been able to save from The Beast™ and form into a flat pattie with a large pocket
and fill the pocket with crumbled blue cheese, then fold it over and seal the blue yumminess inside and liberally coat with fresh ground black pepper and sea salt
Dude, did I forget to feed you?
Throw the patties on the toasty grill
Anyhow, next...oh damn!
Well, let's make another, shall we?
First, grab a lime
cut off the skin (the secret to reducing the bitterness)
Cut the lime into eight pieces and muddle with 4 teaspoons of sugar (more or less to taste)
add about, er, oh, this much cachaça
add ice and stir
and enjoy!
Now, back to Dave J Burger Land...
Take your wedge of Gorgonzola
cut two manly slices and plop them atop the happily flipped grilling burgers
While the cheese is meltulating get the minty condoms, er, condiments ready
Oh Damn! Gone already?
Rats. Anyhow, place the pickles on the potato rolls
followed by the cheesily burgers and top it all off with fresh basil leaves
You know, this black cat cellar wine ain't so bad
cold, crisp, with a slight raisiny sweetness; 9% alcohol it's perfect for hot summer nights
and come to Poppa, you Dave J burger, you!
A happy 4th to y'all!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:42 PM | Comments (3)
The Tree Rat
Look at this little bastard
A squirrel that has lost his tail.
Pity it wasn't his head instead.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:28 PM | Comments (6)
It's a Masterpiece, I Say! They Will Cheer Every Word, Every Letter!
Let me add my fervent "Happy Fourth of July" to Bingley's.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:49 AM | Comments (4)
Friday, July 4th, 8:30 am
Well, even though my beloved Bride and Daughter are out of town I still have my responsibilities that I take seriously, and intend to discharge to the best of my ability. The deck and house need to be stained, and to that end I spent the weightier part of yesterday power washing the deck to strip off the old stain, and afterwards while it was drying in the glorious sun I stained, oh, about half of the garage side of the house.
So I awoke this morning, sadly somewhat sore and stiff, I must confess, to continue performing my duty on this most patriotic of days.
Let's see, dry stripped deck, anxiously awaiting stain
check.
Wait, what's this? A cool moistness to the pleasant zephyr descending the hillside? I cast my gaze heavenward and pray tell what do I see?
An impenetrable layer of Werhmacht Gray cloudiness as far as the eye can see! Egads!
A quick perusal of weather.com confirms my worst fear: showers all day with a thunderstorm chaser this afternoon. The Almighty has declared "Thou Shall Not Stain Today."
Oh damn!!
May you all equally enjoy the bounteous blessings of this great land, and truly appreciate the sacrifices made by those who have come before us, on this day and every day hereafter. Honor their memory and efforts by upholding the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and the words of the Constitution, and shrink not from sacrifices yet to be asked of you so that your children and their heirs may yet live as you have, in the freest Republic the world has ever seen.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 03, 2008
What I'm Drinking Tonight
Oh Woe Is Me!
Well, more precisely, oh woe is my liver. You see, Daughter has been off at camp for two weeks, and today my beloved Bride flew out to get her and visit with her Pop for a week.
This leaves me alone. For a week.
Well, I do have important tasks to do, mind you. The deck needs to be power washed and restained, as indeed does the entire house, and to this end I've spent the weightier part of today. But a feller has to eat, doesn't he?
and drink?
For dinner I'm going to make some Bingley Rabe, as it's my traditional I'm-so-ronery meal.
I've decided to channel my inner Cullen while I cook (and drink) so I've put Black Sabbath's "We Sold Our Soul For Rock And Roll" cd on the stereo very loud. Most excellent.
For beverages I thought I'd work my way through a variety of German wines
as I haven't posted really anything on them.
But then this cute little keg of beer caught my eye
Dortmunder is very tasty and smooth out of this 5 liter keg. What I especially appreciate is the little Germanic order on the side: "Once opened, party keg must be consumed in one day."
Not a problem.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:56 PM | Comments (5)
Definition of a "Whack Job"?
Right next to this picture...
...in the "W's".
...He declared: 'It is possible in this country for those who are entering into a contractual agreement to agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law.'
Have they ALL lost their EVER loving, tea sipping BRAINS?
So, I'm curious, George. What DOES it mean to be "English" these days?
IS there such a thing anymore?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:32 PM | Comments (5)
July 3rd, 1776
On this day the giants debated and edited those glorious words, this glorious idea.
Just think about this: Jefferson, Adams and Franklin submitted the Declaration to Congress on June 28th. As it was a Friday, Congress of course adjourned and did nothing, tabling discussion until Monday, July 1st.
By July 4th it was debated, slightly edited and passed.
Just imagine how long this would take given our current crop of "leaders."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:40 AM | Comments (8)
July 02, 2008
Once Again, Our Worth is Proven Through Impartial Means
Needs an expert? On almost any subject, you need only consult the Swilling.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:53 PM
Breaking News
headline on CNN: Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and 3 Americans have been rescued from rebels, a Colombian official says.
This is great news. Uribe has done a fantastic job against these terrorists, and deserves as much help as we can give him.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:31 PM | Comments (10)
Game, Set, SMASHED!
NPR (!?!?!?!) lays a verbal hurt on Weasley Clark.
...When you yourself were a candidate for president, you touted your own military service. And I seem to remember you saying that that was part of what made you a well-qualified candidate to sit in the Oval Office.
A WARM Swill salute to File It Under, who suggests also listening to the exchange in a search for Weasley 'nuances'.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:16 PM | Comments (3)
What Part Of "Go And Sin No More" Don't They Understand?
We're having our great Liberty Extravaganza at church and, given the insanity coming out of the Presbyterian General Assembly, I sent Tim a note letting him know that there were still some sane Presbyterians left in the world (he was dragged to my church last year after I rendered him insensible with the weightier part of a case of wine). He was kind enough to point me to this latest bit of insanity from the General Assembly
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The nation's largest Presbyterian denomination on Friday (June 27) cracked open the door to ordaining non-celibate gay and lesbian clergy, though the decades-old fight is far from over.Delegates at the Presbyterian Church (USA) meeting here voted 54 percent to 46 percent to remove a clause in their constitution that requires clergy to be either married and faithful or single and chaste.
...In a related move, delegates approved an "authoritative interpretation" of church rules on gay clergy, a move that was meant to piece back together a delicate compromise forged two years ago that was rejected by the church's highest court.
Under the new interpretation, gay and lesbian clergy would be allowed to declare a conscientious objection to rules that would otherwise prohibit them. Local bodies could then choose to ordain them, or deny them access to the pulpit.
How come the G & L folks get special treatment? Why can't I "declare a conscientious objection to rules" that, you know, might crimp my style or, even worse, perhaps cast my desires in a less-than-flattering light?
Last I heard people who declare a "conscientious objection" to God's rules were called atheists, not clergy.
But I don't get out much, and obviously times have changed.
Talking about this this morning with my Pastor, he pointed me to some recent letters concerning these latest GA actions, specifically this one from Mark Isaac:
I am not as discomforted at the actual decisions of the current General Assembly as I have been at the quoted justifications of several of the delegates. The following quote, assuming it is accurate, is representative of why we are in the mess we are in. The speaker is represented as being a supporter of the pro-gay-marriage language of one of the debates:"Likewise, [name deleted], a youth advisory delegate from Winnebago Presbytery, said, 'We've already made a giant leap toward full inclusion of all Presbyterians.' She argued that the failure to give full privileges to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people 'goes against our constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness.'"
It's hard to know where to begin to respond to this quote. First, I'd ask which Constitution she is quoting. Certainly not the U.S. Constitution, which mentions things like life, liberty and property but not the "pursuit of happiness." (Perhaps she is thinking of the Declaration of Independence). More to the point, our ultimate "Constitution" as Christians is Scripture, and a search for "pursuit of happiness" in a popular Biblical search engine has failed to produce any insightful texts on this "right." What I see in this quote, and in so many others during the past several days, is an Assembly that includes a startling number of delegates who have ceased even to debate about what God wants from us and instead approach awesome decisions from the perspective of what our culture wants from God. "Inclusion," "the pursuit of happiness" and so forth are now the theological starting points of the debate that trump all else.
I've been praying about these events for the past couple of days, and I've been moved to believe that what is called for is a radical reorientation of my relationship with the organized Presbyterian church in the USA. My life as a Christian can no longer simply be concerned with "church membership" – wrestling with the question, "Do I take my membership here or there?" The time for debating over the arrangement of the deck chairs to get a better view of the icebergs is over.
I've decided that Jesus doesn't care about my church membership. I've always wondered what it would be like to feel called to be a missionary in some foreign land. Instead, I believe that the church in America has been so completely overwhelmed by modern culture that the only appropriate stance for me is to live my life as a missionary Christian – living in the modern church culture but not of it, teaching and (I pray) living the gospel among those who have been taught that God is the God of "the constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness." (Lest we all get too comfortable, it would be very easy to find ways in which so-called "evangelical" Christians replace the Gospel with modern culture). Unless we can succeed in thus teaching and living the gospel in this culture, who controls which property and what overture changes which part of the Book of Order is nothing but a vanity.
"I've decided that Jesus doesn't care about my church membership." Completely true. The organized church is nothing but a human construct, and as such is fallen...as our GA goes out of its way to remind us every year.
Folks like Mr. Isaac are why membership in squishy mainline churches, such as what the GA evidently wants us to be, are declining. We are surrounded by relativism, by folks and institutions that go out of their way to be non-judgmental and accepting and affirming of basically everything lest they in some way offend our tender sensibilities by somehow perhaps kind of sorta implying that maybe something we've done is, er, wrong, which of course is an invitation for a lawsuit. If our church, and by its lead and implication Scripture, are now to go down that path then what pray tell is its purpose or use? We don't need another venue to worship ourselves.
The young lady he quotes is sadly all too indicative of this prevalent and all-too-common mindset, and completely bass-ackwards. The church has no need to make a "giant leap towards full inclusion" (a phrase which to my aged ear sounds chillingly Maoist); God is all-inclusive already. However, he does have a few rules that we have to choose to follow, and this is where things evidently get dicey for folks these days. He makes the rules and we have to decide if we will follow them or not. Now, as we have all already decided not to follow them we have to go to Plan B and admit that we, not society, not George Bush, not Mom who didn't buy us that puppy we wanted when we were 8, no, we are fallen, broken and at fault for much of the misery in our lives, for the mistakes we have made. We have to look in the mirror and declare "I am wrong;" heck, we have to publicly declare "I am wrong" by affirming our faith in church.
Otherwise church is just Oprah minus the couches.
As far as the rest of his letter, it's interesting and obviously I agree with most of what he says but he starts to lose me when he talks about going off and "teaching" the Gospel; it seems he's drifting perilously close to falling into the trap he's trying to escape from, the personal interpretation of Scripture. Try to live the Gospel as best you can, 'teach' to some extant via your example, but I'm uncomfortable with someone anointing themselves a "teacher." I much prefer someone to have training with the weight of history behind it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:36 AM | Comments (5)
July 01, 2008
"Come Unto Me, Children"
And witness Thou some shameless pandering for Thine vote unto Me.
Obama to expand Bush's faith based programs
Says challenges faced today are 'too big for government to solve alone'Reaching out to religious voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called for expanding President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and — in a move sure to cause controversy — supported some ability to hire and fire based on faith.
(Note: The Associated Press initially reported Obama supports "their (faith-based organizations') ability to hire and fire based on faith." NBC reports the campaign says Obama's plan would prevent organizations from discriminating based on faith. The Associated Press changed its wording to say, "some ability to hire and fire based on faith." The campaign says this second version is still inaccurate.)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:34 PM | Comments (9)
Sorry, Elliot ~ "It's Mine, All MINE!!!" Edition
Seems he gets to keep it.
Court dismisses more claims in Grasso case: report
A New York court has dismissed more claims against former New York Stock Exchange chief Richard Grasso brought by state officials who want him to return part of his $187.5 million pay package, CNBC reported on Tuesday.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:02 PM | Comments (4)
"Mmmmmm, Burgers!!"
Adequate nutrition at surfing events is always a concern.
Considering the calories expended, there's no qukibbling about it.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:54 AM | Comments (1)
"Dakota Oil: Persia on the Plains?"
Oh, you BET controversial!
Western North Dakota and western Pennsylvania, by which I mean the middle of nowhere, are on track to become the center of the universe for energy companies over the next few years as geologists, speculators and attorneys battle for control of two of the most important and unusual oil and gas finds of the past three decades.
Before the battle is fully defined and winners are awarded the spoils, there's plenty of time for investors to make low-risk bets that could generate great returns over the next few years. There are even cheaper opportunities north of these two hot spots, in the Canadian tundra of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, which share the same rich rock formations but have yet to attract as much interest.It may be a little hard to believe that these forlorn areas -- far from the glamorously derrick-dotted plains of Texas, Oklahoma and California -- could yield the sort of riches that attract the diamond-studded-cowboy-hat crowd, but energy exploration has never exactly gone hand in hand with the tourist trade. So put on your mukluks and parka, get out your atlas and prepare for a visit to the Bakken and Marcellus shales.
In fact SO controversial, it makes some people sick!
That must be why I feel ill every time I see him.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:07 AM | Comments (4)
Speaking Of The Olympics...
Miss Wang's favorite curative may cause a problem or two for some Chinese athletes
Wang Cheng has the perfect remedy for athletes struggling to recover from injury during the Beijing Olympics. “Deer's penis,” she said, proferring a desiccated sample across the counter of the Tongrentang traditional Chinese medicine store in central Beijing.“Mix it with some alcohol, take it every one or two days, and you'll soon feel better,” Ms Wang, a graduate in Chinese traditional medicine, said.
When asked what her remedy contained however, Ms Wang was stumped. Therein lies a problem for Chinese authorities anxious to avoid a doping scandal during the Olympics.
Now, I freely admit that my general rule of thumb for healthy living is to mix everything with alcohol and take it for several days, but even I draw the line at desiccated deer dongs (Kangaroo Kastrati bottle openers are a favorite of THS's, however).
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:20 AM | Comments (2)
Won-Ton Sailing
Now doesn't this look inviting
BEIJING: With less than six weeks before it plays host to the Olympic sailing regatta, the city of Qingdao has mobilized thousands of people and an armada of small boats to clean up an algae bloom that is choking large stretches of the coastline and threatening to impede the Olympic competition.Local officials have initiated an all-out effort to clean up the algae by mid-July. Media reports estimate that as many as 20,000 people have either volunteered or been ordered to participate in the operation, while 1,000 boats are scooping algae out of the Yellow Sea. The official news agency, Xinhua, reported that algae currently covered a third of the coastal waters designated for the Olympic races.
Water quality has been a concern for the sailing events, given that many coastal Chinese cities dump untreated sewage into the sea. At the same time, rivers and tributaries emptying into coastal waters are often contaminated with high levels of nitrates from agricultural and industrial runoff. These nitrates contribute to the red tides of algae that often bloom along sections of China's coastline.
Hmm, is the proper stroke here the Butterfly or the Cuisinart?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:08 AM