Don't Ask

Don't even think of asking me how the first 18 holes of my golf week went. Today is another day and after all the practice I got yesterday ( a lot of extra strokes) I should be cooking with gas today. Right? The weather was nice, the course was nice but hard, the companionship was great (not much laughing) so on balance I can't complain. It is just a game after all. Now if I could just find that Crossroads that Robert Johnson was talking about.

All's Well

How about that! Even though I didn't sit in front of the TV or computer worrying and wringing my hands the Goddess shifted Katrina just enough to spare The Big Easy and all its sin and whiskey and jazz and funky stuff and whack Mississippi and Alabama instead. Not that that I have anything against those two wonderful southern states and neighbors but I find it rather odd that two of the most religious states get it instead of sin central. Maybe they better rethink the insistence that God on His Throne, stern visage and all, is the real deal and look more favourably on the Goddess.

Safe in Arkansas

Made it safe and sound and ready to embark on an overdose of golf followed by lots of cold beer and friends. Went out and did nine holes last night after we got here and didn't embarass myself too badly. Due to the lack of practice my short game is atrocious but some time on the driving range this morning should help that out.
Things seem to be proceeding as normal without my constant attention so you guys must be covering OK. Mustang Bobby seems to come out of his exposure with Katrina without too much damage. DrMax is complaining about his boring life. Jane is still on watch and Tbogg is still Tbogg. I am not going to worry too much...

Pray This Is An Overstatement

Here is the statement from NOAA on the probable effects of this size storm on New Orleans.

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALLFAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOODFRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT
BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOMEWALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION.
PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS. THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED.
ONLYTHE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEWCROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED.

Pray to any God or Goddess you feel appropriate, but pray.

Memphis

Successfully made it to Memphis, so we are half way to the goal. Got here early enough in the afternoon to take in a few tourist things.The Rock and Soul Museum is worth a stop. It highlights the other musical forces from Memphis besides Elvis. Sam and Dave, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and all the others. Stax, Sun and Hi records. WDIA, the first black format radio station. Personally, Beale Street is a bust...it is just a block of tourist traps and though there is a lot of music blaring there doesn't seem to be a lot of soul in the background. Seems artificial and contrived.

The one thing I did manage to do was have ribs at Corky's on Poplar. I must say, modest person that I am, that these ribs are almost as good as mine. This is great praise, remember that I lavish days of tender loving care on a couple of slabs at a time and Cork's probably cooks a ton or more a day. Smoky, juicy, falling of the bone. Mighty fine. Make sure you get them Memphis style with the dry rub. They will ship them via Federal Express if you can't come to the source but I can't guarantee how good they will be.

Next the back woods of northern Arkansas. We are going to a small retirement community just north of Bentonville and right on the Missouri line. I know it is dangerously close to the corporate home of the great beast Wal-Mart but i have charms in the pocket to help ward and besides I should have enough booze to dull the karmic pain that emanates from the place. If not I will send up the flag.

I will try and post as the week goes by and I see how badly my handicap has deteriorated over the last 6 months.

Piling Up

Did you ever notice how everything seems to wait until a couple of days before you are going on a week holiday to happen? Well, that is the situation for yours truly and why there has been no activity here for the last couple of days. There is plenty to talk about... just no time. I am just trying to get out of town, see some friends and play a little golf before I have to hit the international road again for the rest of the year. Off to Japan for the balance of September week after next, a week home and then to Lyon for a couple of weeks and then the U.K for the balance of the year except for the Thanksgiving break.
I think everybody knows that my presence in the U.S. will be limited for the next few months and they want everything in the next couple of days.
Anyhow, long and busy day today, travel to Memphis the next and on to Northern Arkansas for the week with a side trip to St. Louis to see the steamship Arabia museum then back and pack for Japan leaving the 7th. The only highlight here is that this is a part of Japan I have never visited before and am looking forward to exploring something besides Tokyo.

He's Nuts

Sorry. I am sort of distracted. I failed to point out an excellent post by MandT over at Adgitadiaries Eban Jeezus Kain't Raise Roadkill. Granted he quotes me but it doesn't take away from the post.

Stand Up

MJS of MortalJive: The Rest Is Silence left this in the comments section over at Corrente and I think it needs a little more distribution

Some folks claim that Democrats don't stand for anything--this meme conjures in my mind images of townspeople griping about a knight while he holds off a dragon. Standing up to the baser, untoward and unsavory ravenous conmen of our world is a pretty good start from where I sit.

Stand up between the wage monster and the wage-earner, the wildlife slayer and the wildlife, the wilderness destroyer and what's left of the wilderness.

Stand between our lives and the cowardly war mongers, between the penis and vagina patrol and you-get-the-idea...

These straw men, these hollow men, the fake men and fake god-lover, the phony doctor and his phony crowd-whippin' diagnosis "from afar", the war merchants, the bought news stations and the bought news reporters, the dirty congress person covered in pork grease--the natural opponent of the Lord of the Flies is the liberal, the intellect, the valiant and the clear eyes of reason and decency--common decency, not some arbitrary "decency" for prudes.

Stand between me and those freaks who want to tell me what to believe, what to say, who I can make love to: this is what a proud liberal democrat can stand for, and this is what I admire in those who do (in case anybody cares).

+++
MJS

Amen, brother(or sister as the case may be)

What He Says

Digby responds to Matt's wishy-washy view of what is needed to regain our country going forward. I agree completely with everything he says and recommend everyone read it, think about it and agree that it is time we come to the game to win and that the old strategies of letting them define us is a proven recipe for failing. Change the rules and win the game.

What we should be debating is how we win elections. The base of the party is ready to support anyone who is willing to speak in clear, straighforward terms about the contrast between the Republicans and the Democrats and they believe that it could be a winning electoral strategy to do that. Certainly, they are extremely impatient with the split the difference, triangulation strategies that have failed to win majorities for the last several election cycles.

That, I think, is the real question here. Will our "shrillness" help or hurt the party? I think the netroots believes it's time to try a message that has a little more heat than lukewarm water. The establishment, still smarting from their seminal loss in 1972, is scared to death of anything that resembles real passion. Far more than a serious division in the party over specific policy, that, I think is the real fault line. What kind of politics --- not policies --- do the Democrats think will win?

Death By Jesus

Pat Robertson gives us another reason to fear a theocracy run by the lunatic fringe of the Christians in this country.

"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

Actually, I hesitate to lump Robertson, Dobson, et al into the same crowd as most Christians in this country and I am pretty sure Jesus would feel the same way. Robertson's statement illustrates very clearly my contention that the "American Taliban" would not hesitate to murder those of us that won't tremble in fear of eternal damnation merely because they say so. The only thing stopping them is the law. These people are bat shit crazy and can justify anything in their twisted world view. Try an experiment the next time you come across one and ask him or her if they see anything wrong with the American slaughter of thousands of Iraqi children and see what answer you get.
Here is a little free advice for someone born and raised in the south and who has been surrounded by these poisonous people all his 56 years. Turn your back to them at your own peril. Expecting altruism and behaviour from them consistent with the teachings of the historical Jesus is delusion. Any positive behaviour they demonstrate will be offset by twice as much vitiolic hate and intolerance in the very short term. If they appear sincere and caring then they think you either have money for them to steal or that you can benefit them in some other way. Assume the worst motivation and nine times out of ten you won't be disappointed.

Slow Dawning

The good news is that reality is slowly, ever slow slowly, sneaking up on the American public. The bad news is that it has taken this long for them to admit that what we were saying almost six years ago was the absolute truth and that it may take the next century to undo the damage. That is assuming that all the damage is correctible.

George W. Bush's overall job approval ratings have dropped from a month ago even as Americans who approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president are turning more optimistic about their personal financial situations according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 36% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 33% approve and 62% disapprove.

Among Americans registered to vote, 38% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 56% disapprove, and 36% approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 60% disapprove.

Ten Steps

Juan Cole offers Ten Steps for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. They seem to make sense to me especially in light of what is happening with the "budding democracy". If I remember correctly one of the overriding reason for not taking out Saddam in the first Gulf War was the fear that the vacuum of his departure would more than likely trigger an Isamlic state with the Shiites taking control a Shiite Theocracy as it were. It also seems to me that this was run up the flagpole pre Bush "step on crank". Amazing how the "reality based" crowd was ignored by the hawks that insisted that the Iraqi's had no love for shariah.
Now in the desparation to get a constitution, any constitution, the Americans behind the scene in Iraq are agreeing that having shariah as the main influence in the new constitution is what has to be and therefore what we will have is a Shiite Theocracy. This is such a mind blowing disaster that the words escape me.

Not Time to Hide

The following quote from a good piece by David Sirota at the Huffington Post really pisses me off. What do these elitist so called Democrats think is wrong anyway. Until the we stand up and tell the Neocon Bush assministration that we are tired of being lied to and we are tired of our troops dying for no reason then there is nothing to differentiate us from the sheep that voted for it. Can they not see the sympathetic vibrations emanating from the Cindy Sheehan event? We are on the cusp of a revolution in American thought and every effort needs to be made to push toward that horizon. The nation is beginning to see what the rest of the world has seen from the beginning and that is that the emperor has no clothes. It is time, and has been, to fight back not hide in the corner.

[T]he Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) is once again undermining the Democratic Party. This time, it has "accused war critics of 'anti-American bias'" (wonder if that includes Vietnam War hero and Republican Senator Chuck Hagel?). This is a pristine example of self-proclaimed Democrats literally regurgitating the most offensive and dishonest right-wing spin out there. There is nothing "anti-American" about wanting to bring our troops home. (Frankly, it's the other way around: there is something "anti-American soldier" about wanting to indefinitely leave our troops in a shooting gallery without an exit strategy, without proper body armor, and without any semblance of a plan). The DLC's rhetoric is reminiscent of Attorney General John Ashcroft's now-famous statement that critics of the Bush administration "only aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve." It is also frighteningly reminiscent of the 9/8/03 Washington Post story that noted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that "critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy are encouraging terrorists and complicating the ongoing U.S. war on terrorism."

Windmills

Grace over at Scriptoids takes at a critical look at the poster boy for planned parenthood (Jonah Goldberg) and his inept and SFB handling of a story about the idea to put 130 windmills in shallow waters off Nantucket. Jonah uses the story as a feeble and inaccurate excuse to ridicule the Kennedys instead of a real story of hard environmental choices.

I personally think windmills are cool. I spend a lot of time on the west coast of Sweden where there are windmills along all the bays and inlets. Granted they are not part of the natural landscape but I think they are graceful and majestic. The knowledge that they are producing much needed energy with absolutely no pollution just adds to the beauty.

Bad JuJu

If this is true the Army's top dog sure knows how to rain on one's parade. If the current rate of death and destruction reflects what we can expect for 4 more years we are looking at 3400 or more deaths and 26,000 plus wounded. Only Goddess knows how many more Iraqi citizens(50,000+?).

Does anyone seriously think that the country will allow this to go unchecked for this much longer? A better question might be how many election cycles will the neo-con rethuglicans allow this to continue. My guess is that after a disaster at the polls next year they will be bailing and leaving the mess for Clinton or Clark to clean up.

I seriously doubt we can sustain this troop level in Iraq without changing some of the laws about how long reservists and National Guard can stay mobilized. Many of the folks in Iraq right now on their second tour and are at the current legal limit for the length of time that they can be kept active. Four more years at this level means a draft for sure.

The Army is planning for the possibility of keeping the current number of soldiers in Iraq - well over 100,000 - for four more years, the Army's top general said Saturday.

In an Associated Press interview, Gen. Peter Schoomaker said the Army is prepared for the "worse case" in terms of the required level of troops in Iraq. He said the number could be adjusted lower if called for by slowing the force rotation or by shortening tours for soldiers.

Schoomaker said commanders in Iraq and others who are in the chain of command will decide how many troops will be needed next year and beyond. His responsibility is to provide them, trained and equipped.

About 138,000 U.S. troops, including about 25,000 Marines, are now in Iraq.

Schoomaker's comments come amid indications from Bush administration officials and commanders in Iraq that the size of the U.S. force may be scaled back next year if certain conditions are achieved.

(via AP)

Newt, Newt

It's Saturday after a long week and I have all kinds of "honey-do's" but first I couldn't resist a bit of comment on the talk Newt gave yesterday to the National Press Club. (I can't find a clean electronic link right now..maybe later)

Washington --- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich warned Friday that the United States could be at war with Islamic radicals for a half-century, but nobody is willing to say so.

"The sheer reality of the long war --- I call it 'long war' deliberately --- [is] we're going to be fighting the irreconcilable wing of Islam for at least 50 to 70 years," Gingrich said in a speech to the National Press Club.

"And . . . my biggest complaint is nobody has yet to stand up and say this is going to be really hard, this is going to take a long time," he added in response to questions after the speech.

This is an interesting concept 'irreconcilable wing of Islam'. I guess he means that they don't want to be turned into Southern Baptists or Jews but by GOD we'll kill everyone of them unless they do accept Jesus as their savior. There is absolutely no room for negotiation on this...it's them or us and don't even consider peaceful coexistence...ain't happening...no siree.

"The question we have to have an honest national dialogue about is simple: If we leave Iraq, do you really think [militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi] is going to retire? Do you really think after the victory parade of the people who hate us they're going to have fewer recruits? Do you think they are going to be less dangerous? Do you think Madrid, Amsterdam, London, New York and Washington were accidents?" He said terrorist suspects being held at the U.S. terrorism detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may have to remain "locked up for their entire lifetime" because "these are people who have said that as a matter of their religious faith, they intend to kill us."

I'm sorry Newt but I know and have known a lot of Muslims and I for the life of me can't remember one of them telling me that he or she was going to have to kill me if I didn't accept Mohammed as my spiritual leader.
Not that you will ever read this Newt but let me expain it to you.
If we would quit pooping in their sandbox and trying to manipulate the middle east as to protect out precious oil supply. If we would quit supporting the abusive regimes. If we would quit calling them whacko crazy people and disrespecting their beliefs and traditions. If we would treat Israel the same as any other foriegn country and condemn their agression and violation of the Geneva conventions and dozens of U.N. resolutions.
In a nutshell treat them as we outselves expect to be treated then everything would eventually calm down and we could share this dying world for the rest of its limited years until we all choke to death on our own waste.

Quiet Here Today..Too Quiet

In meetings all day so it will be rather quiet here today...you guys play nice.

More on Iraq

Both Armondo at Kos and Kevin Drum have pertinent posts that are tangent to my previous post. I agree that the time is now to strike fear into the hearts of the Democratic leadership on the issue of what to do about Iraq. Now is the time for Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Howard Dean, and all the rest to recognize the pain and anquish that is building in the country over the misbegotten adventure in Iraq. Find a positive position on withdrawal and damage control or do not expect our support for their politial ambitions.
Fish or Cut Bait.

Where's The Biggees?

Is it just me or is there a material dearth of big name Democrats or Progressives making any kind of statements about what is going on down at Camp Casey? Maybe I'm just seeing the wrong news or reading the wrong pages in the AJC. It would seem to me that this is a perfect opportunity to take the lead in putting the Iraq disaster squarely in Bush's front yard so to speak. Here you have a woman that singlehandedly put the American view of the war into clear human terms and it is resonating with the nation. Cindy has weathered the shit storm from the talking heads on the right with no apparent damage and who probably deserves as much credit as anyone for the additional 5 point drop in Bush's approval polls in the last week.

What are the leaders on the left afraid of? Too much controversy? It should be a clear signal to them that with all the guns on the right focused on trashing Cindy that she is a positive symbol and is able to energize the populace.

I am pretty sure that missing this opportunity to get out in front of the Iraq issue using the energy that has developed around Cindy is a mistake. This kind of debate about the cost of the war in boys and girls and treasure is good for country. It has been too slow to develop and should have been in the forefront long before now.

Bombing

Evidently there is an evil attempt to Google bomb Intelligent Design and cause any Google searches for it to go instead to National Center for Science Education (NCSE). I just want to go on record and say that abusing Internet search engines is not nice. (Unless, of course, it is for a really, really good cause,) Those dimwits (Hello George) that think teaching Intelligent Design have a right to think how they wish and to have anyone who searches for Intelligent Design come up with a website that does not support Intelligent Design is a travesty. Before you know it someone might try and bomb the phrase "Miserable Failure"

Don't blame me it was Sis's idea.