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flappertball
Member Since: 12/9/2006 9:35:34 PM
About Me
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My Friends flappertball has 44 friends. View all of flappertball's friends. |
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Posted 12/16/2008 7:28:57 PM
Scoots, NB needs your attention. I was unable to post comments this week; last night I couldn't so much as log off. Other users are reporting that their anti-malware software is raising alarms the moment they land at NB.Sorry to those who posted who I wanted to leave comments with.
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Posted 12/10/2008 8:01:16 PM
I read another user's post this evening, in which it was stated that the world is dark and desolate. I thought the user had a good point, even though I don't always see the world in that light or absence of it. I thought I would ask the rest of you, in basic existential terms, is the world you live in a dark, desolate, empty and frightening place or is it full of light, happiness and satisfaction? Or does it run the gamut?Myself, being half Irish, I tend to the negative. I Know that the mice are about to chew through the wiring, sestting fire to the house, that I'm about to be laid off and develop horrendous diseases, etc. Still I manage to have a good time most of the time. Looking forward to your insights.
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Posted 11/29/2008 2:49:13 PM
I'm not leaving NB either, but this is the first time I've been able to log in for quite some time, so I've been talking to people via other sites. Even MySpace works better than NB lately and MySpace is a real dog of a site. If things clear up here for awhile I'll look forward to leaving lots of comments! At least I can read what you all are posting.
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Posted 11/7/2008 8:59:37 PM
One 3 to 4 pound chicken or equivalent in chicken parts.5 quarts water 3 or 4 large carrots half a head (head?) of celery 1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped onion 1 bag egg noodles Put the chicken in a 6 quart pot. We have one with a metal strainer insert, which is helpful for removing the chicken. Bring to boil and reduce heat to gentle boil or simmer. Allow to cook 4 hours, adding water when necessary. Leave cover off pan if you have a cold and want some humidity in the house! Remove chicken. Chop vegetables while chicken cools. Take meat off bones, give skin to the dog. Cook soup until vegetables are tender and add noodles in the last 5 minutes.
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Posted 11/7/2008 10:42:39 AM
This post references Figgy's post "Are We Done Being Stupid," and its comments.Some Americans say they are upset and angry because they believe they are being called stupid for voting for George W. Bush. I'm calling no one stupid, but I'm telling you why I am still angry with many Americans and why I am unmoved by their attempts to paint themselves as wronged. After Bush stole the election in 2000, as the Iraq war was being planned, some of us did all we damned well could to inform others that this war was being promoted on an underpinning of lies. We took days off and made signs, went to marches and endured being called NAMES I won't dare repeat here. We had people physically attack us in the streets for being against the war. One of our antiwar friends in town was a victim of arson because of his peace sign. We took it all because we believed most would look into things and come down on the side of peace. We spent hours writing op-ed pieces and letters to editors explaining what we thought was about to happen and why it was so wrong. We signed petitions, wrote to congresspeople, spoke with our neighbors and relatives, but only a small minority of Americans promoted peace. Many Minnesotans appeared at a pro-war rally hosted by the governor that turned into a shameful anti-Islam event. All you saw on the TV was LIBERATE IRAQ signs and ape chants of "USA USA!" As one reason for war on Iraq was discredited, several more were rolled out. When they ran out of false reasons they made blatant appeals to fear (mushroom clouds, Colin Powell's vial of baking soda, etc.). The people were easy to stir up because a group of people had actually killed 3000 Americans. Many Americans did not seem to care that no Iraqi threat existed, that most Iraqis liked Americans. By and large, the major media from FOX to the Washington Post slanted their coverage to a pro-war point of view. If you were not paying much attention, you may have jumped on the bandwagon and started doing your own ape chant. Or maybe you decided to read multiple major sources both US and international. There was plenty of solid reporting being done. McClatchy was notably good, and even the New York Times exposed most of the shenanigans despite their near simultaneous coverage of the lies as gospel. So the kill fever was revved up, congress surrendered to Bush and we attacked a perfectly innocent country. We killed hundreds of thousands of Iraq's men, its women and, worst of all, its children. We destroyed the country, took over their government and installed torture prisons and what WE deemed a proper government for them. Imagine some country doing those things to us. Have you ever stopped to think how angry thousands of Iraqis must be at America? If some of us sound angry when we reflect on the elections of 2000 and especially 2004, I'm sorry, but we have a damned good right to be angry. There was enough evidence available to show that the Iraq threat was a sham and Americans from the top down chose to disregard it. Mr. Obama cannot erase all the world's anger at what we have done. He cannot bring the innocent back to life. We have made many lasting enemies because of our actions and we may bear the consequences at some time in the future. We can't undo what is done, so we have to make what limited reparations are possible and move on. The next time our government begins to beat the war drums, please, please, take a very close and critical look at what is going on before you throw your support to those behind it.
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Posted 10/19/2008 9:37:32 AM
Seeing as Brian has been keeping NewBlog running without much support, maybe we need to do the right thing and have a Prime Minister. I suggest we nominate candidates for 3 days and then send it to a general NewBlog election after a short campaign season. Election day could be on Thursday, October 23rd. We can change this date, etc. if others want to.I nominate Brian.
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Posted 10/9/2008 10:27:22 PM
John Lennon's song, "Imagine," has been so over-exposed that today few people give it much thought when they hear it. Some right wing people such as my sister rail about its optimism as utopian and socialist. My sister especially hates this song and John Lennon because he accurately pointed out that religion is one of major impediments to world peace. This is most true of the extremes of a given faith, and unfortunately it seems most religions have an extreme wing. John said his song was pretty much the Communist Manifesto. Here in America, we now suddenly have Communism For The Rich, but only when the Rich have made out badly on their latest risky investments. The big problem with Communism is the big problem with Capitalism, which I don't have to spell out, do I? If the theory went as it was supposed to, most of you would not be worried about the state of the economy right now whether you lived in a Communist country or a Capitalist one. But theory rarely is followed in practice. If John were here today, looking at our political system, he might be singing about anarchy.
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Posted 10/6/2008 12:09:44 AM
Poor Figgy! With her broken arm, she has to endure my primitive cooking. This past week I had to work 12 hour shifts, and as a result my cooking was even more primitive than usual. We had Cajun Brats again tonight, a vegetarian pizza yesterday and Ramen Noodles the day before that. I have several days off from work now, so I will make an effort to improve Figgy's diet. Please help keep Figgy from starving to death and post pictures of food for her. I'm thinking I'll cook some summer squash and make bread tomorrow; maybe we'll also roast some garlic to put on the bread, since we have a ton of garlic from our garden all nicely dried out in the garage.
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Posted 9/25/2008 10:02:04 PM
I watched President Bush's speech to the nation on Wednesday night. Something looked off with his makeup; he looked a bit like he had just woken up from a deep sleep after a long night out. But I ignored his odd appearance and tried to focus on what he was saying.If Bush is to be believed, the country is about to go right over the edge, permanently--that was the real gist of his words. I'm wondering if I was the only one who, however, treated every statement with skepticism? Bush has made public statements that were distortions and outright lies throughout his presidency. Some of the biggest and most costly lies were his statements that Iraq was becoming a threat to its neighbors and the US because of its chemical and nuclear weapons. How about his insistence that al-Qaida chiefs had ties to Saddam. I won't trot out each of these "reasons for war against Iraq" once again. We all heard them and the mushroom cloud allusions, the yellowcake fantasy, etc. As I watched Bush's speech, I searched for some sense of credibility in his words, but I've heard so many falsehoods from George Bush that I came away unconvinced that a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street necessary. The people insisting the bailout is critical are all Bush people or Wall Street people who are involved in this crooked mess. I say, let the chips fall where they may. No bailout for the rich, unethical people who caused the problem and knew they were causing the problem all along.
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Posted 9/22/2008 10:58:14 PM
Think about it. Is Palin the most qualified choice the Republican base could find to take over when McCain has to resign for health reasons? Think of all the Republicans you know. Palin is more qualified to be president than any of them? Even in Minnesota we have had many honorable Republicans serve. My favorite is Governor Arnie Carlson. Governor Al Quie was good too. Rod Grams was a Republican senator who seemed to want to genuinely help all Minnesotans. He was very helpful to us personally. Dave Durenberger was a good senator too, and I don't care that he had minor tax difficulties. This is just Minnesota, one of 50 states. How many more well qualified people were passed over by the extremists who now control the party? The Republicans chose a glib, low class, vindictive person of limited intelligence for vice president. A governor who wanted rape victims to pay for their own rape kit! Palin? Really? What has happened to the Republican party? Seriously!
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Posted 9/21/2008 8:46:16 PM
Below is the text of a message I sent to my congressman and senators. Anyone here who agrees with it is free to copy it and send it to their own congresspeople. But it's best to just use your own heartfelt words.Here it is: Please, no bailouts for the high rollers, the risk takers and fools in the financial community. The free market, which loved de-regulation, has been allowed massive and unreasonable profits at the expense of others; justice and common sense say that it must then also allow the unwise and the crooked entities in the free market to fail when they reap the results of their own greed. Please do not be stampeded by Wall Street into giving these people a blank check with our (future) tax dollars. Issuing even more paper for this bailout will only float the economy for a short time and will result in the ultimate collapse of a bankrupt system being even more severe.
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Posted 8/30/2008 9:45:35 PM
The video at this link gives an up to date report of the latest illegal police actions in the twin cities, followed by a very entertaining video backed by Blondie, welcoming the RNC to St. Paul.http://twincities.indymedia.org/videos/2008/aug/rnc-emergency-dispatch The numerous raids on peaceful groups are making lots of people angry. I believe all they are doing is trying to foment violence by being clearly over the top with illegal storm trooper tactics on peaceful protesters. It looks to be lawsuit city for the city and county after the convention.
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Posted 8/25/2008 10:00:22 PM
Here's what peaceful Americans who wish to peacefully give their opinion to the Democrats have to face (you may want to press "Stop" on the music player on my home page first):It sure looks like the Democrats are some Big Tent party, embracing and encompassing the views of a wide range of Americans, doesn't it? The Democrats are just about as Big Tent as the Republicans were in 2000 and 2004. Don't the people in the DNC understand that many Democrats, most Republicans and virtually all Independents turn up their nose at the Democrats attempt to be Republican Lite? And don't even get me started on the big extravagant parties for "elected officials" put on by lobbyists at the Denver Convention. I believe Figgy may have some incisive and more articulate views on this soon. I'm too disgusted to be articulate just now. I wonder if the lobbyists had to face the faceless cops or do their lobbying in freedom cages? CODEPINK has a nice "boots on the ground" of the early silliness they are putting up with on Day One. http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/25/11132
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Posted 7/2/2008 9:37:54 PM
Many of us had an upbringing in a particular religion. How do you feel about the religion with which you grew up? In terms of impact upon the individual psyche, how do you rate the religion of your childhood? I grew up in the Catholic system and I give it very low ratings. As taught to us by the nuns and priests, Catholicism appeared to control it's members through fear. We started being told horrific tales starting in 2nd grade in which a mortal sin and resulting hell was around every corner. As a sensitive person who took all of it seriously I had a lot of difficult years trying to live up to what I had been taught. Others may love the Catholic religion, having had different experiences, so please understand that I am not bashing this religion, which has plenty of fine ideas, despite my unfortunate experiences with it. I am just giving my own feelings about it.
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Posted 7/1/2008 9:08:24 AM
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Posted 6/29/2008 8:03:10 PM
I sent the below to Senator Amy Klobuchar. I urge anyone who agrees with me to write to their congresspeople. We need to preemptively attack yet another country like we need a hole in the head.---------------------------------- I'm disappointed to learn that you have co-sponsored Senate Resolution 580. I urge you to withdraw your support from this AIPAC-backed legislation. I do not believe the right wing of the Israeli government has the interests of America in mind with this resolution. Please help to stop the demonization of Iran. We need another war like we need $12 a gallon oil, and Bush's air attack on Iran would bring $12 oil about overnight, not to mention many other worse consequences (such as the deaths of many innocent people and the de-stabilization of the world's economies). I am not concerned whether Iran has an active nuclear program or not. Please consider this: Israel has 200 or more nuclear weapons, many of them on submarines. Is Iran going to pre-emptively nuke Iran? I don't think so. If I were Iranian, I would want Iran to have a nuclear program as a hedge against pre-emptive attack by Israel, a country with a long history of attacking its neighbors pre-emptively. None of our 13 intelligence agencies believe that Iran has an active nuclear program! Yet Bush wants to attack Iran (and has gotten $400 million in funding for special operations--preparing the battlefield--from this Democratic controlled congress? What is going on? This is truly crazy. Minnesotans voted you into the senate on a promise of change from the war and big business policies of Bush and company. I demand as a citizen that the congress begin to pay attention to us, to represent us, the citizens, and to work in our true interests instead of carrying out the dangerous and nonsensical wishes of professional lobbyists. I believe firmly that the strong majority of Americans aware of what is taking place is of like opinion. Please convey my demand to the rest of the senate.
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Posted 6/15/2008 10:04:47 PM
I haven't posted in a long time, but I regularly read a number of NB'ers posts & occasionally comment. Nothing earthshaking to report, so here is a mundane post of my day!I had a good Father's Day. Figgy and I started the day in the computer room, swigging coffee, railing and ranting at the right-wingers latest machinations and plotting our next revolutionary, leftist subversive act (to confirm the worst fears of JK, we do this religiously every single day), while catching up on things via our respective machines. Beethoven, as usual, lay directly under my feet and Honey, wearing her Che Guevara beret, took more than her half of the piano bench I sit on while using my trusty old eMac. After the latest revisions for disrupting the Republican National Convention were downloaded (encrypted on JPEGs of he whose name we never utter), I went to work on my Revolutionary Irish Woodshed, otherwise known as PsychoFerret's Rage Depot. I dragged the 13 year old bundles of unused shingles that had been stored in the basement in the event of emergency (and what else would you call this--a Rage Depot of foreign descent without any shingles on it) and began shingling. After going through a bundle, I discovered that the rest of the shingles were of a different color than the first lot. What to do? The Revolutionary Irish Rage Depot is beneath a canopy of trees, and it's single plane roof faces an abrupt ravine. If the shingles are of various hues, who is going to know? Anyone who would brave the mosquitoes to walk around back and stand at the precipice to view the shingling job on The Revolutionary Irish Rage Depot would deserve the shock mismatched shingles can provide. I wasn't worried about the big black pickup that is often seen near our property, idling, with 2 or 3 burly guys wearing shades--there's no way they could get a view of the roof from the dirt track they frequent. However, Homeland Security does lots of low level flyovers, and in the winter, they're going to be able to see the mismatched shingles. How is that going to look? Can you see the headline? BIG LEFTISTS COLORBLIND! Or maybe, MULTICOLORED ROOF AN AL-QAEDA ENCRYPTION DEVICE? To be continued....
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Posted 5/27/2008 9:12:18 PM
A fellow Newblogger wished to see evidence of my statement that US Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie, gave Saddam a pass on invading Kuwait. This can easily be found by using Google, but I reprint below April's discussion with Saddam (followed by a later attempt by British journalists to interview Ms. Glaspie) along with the link. This document can be located in many sites on the internet. Read the interview and draw your own conclusions about the "green light."http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=164186 Saddam-Glaspie meeting Transcript of Meeting Between Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie. - July 25, 1990 (Eight days before the August 2, 1990 Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait) July 25, 1990 - Presidential Palace - Baghdad U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - I have direct instructions from President Bush to improve our relations with Iraq. We have considerable sympathy for your quest for higher oil prices, the immediate cause of your confrontation with Kuwait. (pause) As you know, I lived here for years and admire your extraordinary efforts to rebuild your country. We know you need funds. We understand that, and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country. (pause) We can see that you have deployed massive numbers of troops in the south. Normally that would be none of our business, but when this happens in the context of your threat s against Kuwait, then it would be reasonable for us to be concerned. For this reason, I have received an instruction to ask you, in the spirit of friendship - not confrontation - regarding your intentions: Why are your troops massed so very close to Kuwait's borders? Saddam Hussein - As you know, for years now I have made every effort to reach a settlement on our dispute with Kuwait. There is to be a meeting in two days; I am prepared to give negotiations only this one more brief chance. (pause) When we (the Iraqis) meet (with the Kuwaitis) and we see there is hope, then nothing will happen. But if we are unable to find a solution, then it will be natural that Iraq will not accept death. U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - What solutions would be acceptab le? Saddam Hussein - If we could keep the whole of the Shatt al Arab - our strategic goal in our war with Iran - we will make concessions (to the Kuwaitis). But, if we are forced to choose between keeping half of the Shatt and the whole of Iraq (i.e., in Saddam s view, including Kuwait ) then we will give up all of the Shatt to defend our claims on Kuwait to keep the whole of Iraq in the shape we wish it to be. (pause) What is the United States' opinion on this? U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - We have no opinion on your Arab - Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait. Secretary (of State James) Baker has directed me to emphasize the instruction, first given to Iraq in the 1960's, that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America. (Saddam smiles) On August 2, 1990, Saddam's massed troops invade and occupy Kuwait. _____ Baghdad, September 2, 1990, U.S. Embassy One month later, British journalists obtain the the above tape and transcript of the Saddam - Glaspie meeting of July 29, 1990. Astounded, they confront Ms. Glaspie as she leaves the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Journalist 1 - Are the transcripts (holding them up) correct, Madam Ambassador?(Ambassador Glaspie does not respond) Journalist 2 - You knew Saddam was going to invade (Kuwait ) but you didn't warn him not to. You didn't tell him America would defend Kuwait. You told him the opposite - that America was not associated with Kuwait. Journalist 1 - You encouraged this aggression - his invasi on. What were you thinking? U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - Obviously, I didn't think, and nobody else did, that the Iraqis were going to take all of Kuwait. Journalist 1 - You thought he was just going to take some of it? But, how could you? Saddam told you that, if negotiations failed , he would give up his Iran (Shatt al Arab waterway) goal for the Whole of Iraq, in the shape we wish it to be. You know that includes Kuwait, which the Iraqis have always viewed as an historic part of their country! Journalist 1 - American green-lighted the invasion. At a minimum, you admit signaling Saddam that some aggression was okay - that the U.S. would not oppose a grab of the al-Rumeilah oil field, the disputed border strip and the Gulf Islands (including Bubiyan) - the territories claimed by Iraq? (Ambassador Glaspie says nothing as a limousine door closed behind her and the car drives off.)
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Posted 4/12/2008 9:09:42 PM
Here are some of my ideas for BB's 6' x 9' garden plot.Having your soil tested is not a necessity, but if you have it done, the extension office will give you a good idea of which plants will do best with your plot. If you want lowest maintenance, use some sort of mulch as a weed barrier. Janis suggests newspapers, covered with a thin layer of soil. This will work well unless you have something like quackgrass in the location; it will quickly send runners right through the newspaper. Quackgrass is hard to get rid of without effort. You can do it by spading the area thoroughly with a spading fork and shaking out all the roots and rhizomes. You can also kill it with Roundup (glyphosate), but be warned that Roundup will also kill everything else that it touches, including the bulb you saw coming up. But at least Roundup is not a persistent herbicide. It degrades into harmless components where it contacts soil and you can plant the area within a week or two after using Roundup. You might want to wait a week or so and see if more bulbs appear before spading up the area or doing anything else drastic. If you don't see any invasive coarse grass in the plot right now, you probably do not have a pest perennial grass such as Quackgrass to battle with. The problem with broadcasting a wildflower mix is that you will be having to do some weeding, especially while the plants are small. Agricultural type weeds will always show up after an area is worked up and planted; at least they do here in the midwest. What you might want to do is buy a roll of "landscaping fabric" which is a weed barrier that allows water and air to permeate the soil. With this approach, cover the entire area with the stuff and cover it with a shallow layer of soil. Then go to your local plant nursery and buy some annuals and perennials. Cut a slit in the fabric wherever you want to place a plant. You will have to do a little weeding of the shallow layer of soil, but much less than doing it without a mulch of some sort. If you like lettuce, consider finely working up an 18" x 18" area of the plot and sprinkling a package of lettuce seed over this area. Work in the seed lightly with a garden rake, mark the plot's borders with sticks or rocks and water gently until the seed is up. Don't let this planting get too dry until you see the lettuce plants. As the plants grow, they will become crowded--eat the extra little plants and let the spaced plants grow until up to size. Very little weeding is needed once the plants are getting larger. You'll end up with a lot more lettuce than you can eat. If the area is in shade more than half the day, Hostas are a very low maintenance, attractive perennial. There are many varieties. They are good companion plants with several other shade loving perennials. But Hostas will not do well if there is too much sun. If you have full sun, and poor soil, native prairie species of grasses and wildflowers will do well. Do not apply any sort of fertilizer to prairie plantings. With prairie stuff, you will have to be patient because the plants will not look like much of anything until the second growing season. Given the small area, I would choose buying live plants over seeding as you can place things more attractively. The main requirements are keeping newly established plants watered and weeded. Once established, very little care is necessary. I can send more information on this if prairie species are your option. There are many more options for your plot. If you have an established plant nursery in your area, they will recommend plenty of varieties for your area and sun exposure.
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Posted 4/7/2008 8:55:08 PM
Since the prescribed burn on our prairie, I've been posting a photo periodically so you can follow the progression through the seasons. Here's a photo from February 2nd, followed by the previous shots:
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Posted 3/19/2008 10:29:36 PM
Lately our company has decided that we need a company culture and that each of us employees needs to think of our 80 or so fellow employees as family members. All of us are members of one big family! Today, on the 5th anniversary of our country's invasion of Iraq, I spent my lunch hour at a small, peaceful anti-war vigil here in town--one of thousands held across the US today. I went to the vigil because it was about all I could do to express my sadness and rage at the meaningless, vicious war on Iraq. I won't ever allow anyone to think I approved of this illegal outrage; I believe that those who are silent are those who approve. I was the only employee of my company who attended. The attitude of my four siblings regarding the Iraq war ranges from profound ignorance and apathy to right-wing pro-war extremism. None of my siblings will ever be seen at a peace vigil. As I looked around during the vigil and saw none of my fellow employees standing there in the bright sunlight, I reflected that I felt about as close to my work family as I did to my siblings.
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Posted 2/18/2008 9:00:47 PM
Well, it looks like someone cleaned house at Dodge! We appreciate it!
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Posted 12/29/2007 11:36:23 PM
I'm sick of whiners going on about how such and such isn't supporting the troops. All you are doing is mouthing a stupid, meaningless phrase.I was a troop myself. In the bad old days. I didn't go around whining about the supposed poor reception to the likes of us. I went on with my life. Right wing urban legends to the contrary I never witnessed or heard a single personal story of any other soldier I knew ever being harassed or spit on when returning to the world. Contrary to popular belief, serving in the military does not make you a hero. There are great people in the service and there are losers and misfits. Same as on the outside. You're a good person or you're not. Some people just stay in the military because it will make decisions for them and simplify their lives. It's a job. Few people here appear to understand that the people putting themselves out there to promote peace are as heroic as the people who risk themselves trying to save their platoon. The difference is that this country doesn't give medals to people who try to prevent unnecessary and illegal wars, only to the pawns who end up having to fight them, who suffer the consequences for the rest of their lives. Consequences that are only given lip service on Veterans Day. And that lip service is really meaningless and insulting. How many of you vets get the day off on Veterans Day? 90% of the country doesn't care enough to even watch the tv coverage of Veterans Day, much less trying to understand what it's all about. And about 90% of the "We support our troops" people fall into this group, in my modest estimation. They're an insult to these poor guys.
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Posted 12/23/2007 10:07:58 AM
It's that time of year. Every winter I research adding some more insulation to the attic, study the Menards ad and figure out how much high R-value insulation I need to buy. Then I study the small hatch I'll be crawling through to access the area. I actually crawled up there once, about 10 years ago. There was a lot of bat poop up there, and I knew that where there's bat poop, there's bats. I got out of there right quickly.But I should be able to do this job in one day. It's not hard to unroll bats of insulation and lay them down. Think of the heating fuel savings. Ten years ago liquid propane cost $.59 a gallon. Nowadays the cost is nearly $2.00 a gallon. Imagine the reduction in roof problems all that insulation will provide. Not so many ice dams! No need to go out with the roof rake after every significant snowfall. Think of how pleasantly cool the second floor rooms will be in the summer with all that new insulation keeping the heat from the asphalt shingles out of our living areas. Imagine the reduction in cracking plaster as the insulation reduces the continual expansion and contraction of this old house's bones each time the temperature outside takes a big shift. In the winter all the bats up there should be in a deep state of hibernation. Right? I believe, and I can see myself bravely sealing and insulating the entire crawlspace up there, moving adroitly from one stud to the other without actually missing a step and going through the plaster into the room below. And nary a bat wakes up. Nor do I inhale any rabies infested powdered bat pee as I kick up the dust in the area. I was vaccinated against rabies many years ago, but I'm pretty sure my protection is gone by now. But the bats are all asleep. Right? Right? Let me think about this a spell.
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Posted 12/13/2007 9:24:30 PM
Let's beat the dead horse one more time. If I have this right, JK Rapture says that those of us who were right about the Iraq war were lucky fools.It certainly couldn't have been that we were paying attention to and investigating and debunking the lies that were given as reasons for war on Iraq. No, we were Lucky Fools who could know nothing true. So while the administration, the congress, the media and the Stupid were going "LIBERATE IRAQ! NINE ONE ONE!" and generally behaving like medieval mobs with torches and pitchforks, a few of us investigated all the neocon claims and found solid sources (only much later to be acknowledged as such by the mainstream) repudiating all the reasons for war as outright lies--lies with an agenda of Empire. And we are Lucky Fools for having spent hundreds to thousands of hours searching for the truth? God bless the Lucky Fools of this country.
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Posted 12/12/2007 10:20:40 PM
Since JK Rapture thinks we are "lucky fools" for being right about everything we stated with regards to Iraq, I reprint here my blogs from January 24th and 27th. I am as angry as I was then at Americans for allowing the US to attack Iraq for reasons that were Known Lies to anyone who cared to investigate.Here's January 27th; go back to the original in the archives if you want to read the comments. --------------------------------------------- This is mainly for JKRapture, in response to his comments on my previous blog. JK's quotes of me are in single quotes, his comments in double quotes. JK Comment 1 "only the Americans seemed to be completely duped by the pitiful references to Saddam having high tech nuclear missiles pointed at us" ""I do not remember this ever being claimed, they did say that Saddam wanted to obtain nuclear weapons and possibly use them on us. Which we found evidence that this was a real motivation. The real threat was always about the Sarin gas he used on his on people. So we know they had it at one point. It was actually reported way before the war, that Saddam had enough to kill the world over three times."" ------------------------------------------------ This was indeed alluded to by the administration. You may recall the reference they made at one point that Saddam's missiles could hit us with less than 45 minutes warning. Look it up! In reality Saddam had no long range missiles and had ordered his nuclear program shut down years before (1991). The Israelis had bombed Iraq's only nuclear power reactor prior to the entire program being shut down by Saddam (apparently Israelis feel they can have reactors and nukes, but not anyone else in the middle east). As for the gas, the Reagan administration gave Iraq its starter kit for producing those chemical weapons, hoping they would use them against Iran. Maybe you saw the famous photo of Donald Rumsfeld rushing to Saddam's arms in the 80s, when he was helping facilitate this! Both Iraq and Iran used CWs in that war. So, JK, was it moral and ok for the United States to give Saddam chemical weapons and technology to use against Iran? It is also a fact that Saddam ordered the remaining stores of Iraq's chemical weapons destroyed, circa 1991. (I point out that the US has yet to destroy most of its tons and tons of chemical and biological weapons, not to mention the nukes.) Saddam's general of the time, Hussein Kamel, acknowledged that he carried out this order, ordering all chemical, biological weapons, and weapons programs destroyed. Again, this was in 1991, and there were and still are plenty of reputable sources attesting to this on the internet and elsewhere. Our intelligence agencies were well aware of this. You may also recall that the UN inspectors found zero nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in Iraq. This is because they were, indeed, all destroyed. JK's Comment 2: Added 1/24/2007 8:59:58 PM ""You know Saddam killed 750,000 people... where is your criticism for him? Where is your criticism of all the war and death caused by the insurgents fighting in Iraq right now? It is more likely the little girl will be killed by insurgents then by our own military. Why do you only blame America?"" ----------------------------------------------- Saddam's government certainly killed people. George Bush tried to amplify the numbers as much as he possibly could. George Bush himself is responsible for 655,000 excess deaths according to the British medical journal, The Lancet. US led sanctions against Iraq in the 1990s (GHW Bush and Clinton) led to the deaths of an estimated half million Iraqi children. As for Saddam, some of the most famous examples of his genocide have turned out to be bogus, such as the Kurds supposedly gassed by Iraq in Halabja. Inspectors found the agent was a gas used only by Iran in that case. Perhaps you would be so kind as to read the article published by the New York Times in connection with this. Here is a link to it: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0131-08.htm As for insurgents, there were no insurgents in Iraq until we invaded and destroyed their country, their government, their infrastructure and their society. There we no al-Qaida terrorists in Iraq under Saddam either. Saddam did not approve of Osama bin Laden or his vision. Saddam was a tough ruler, but though he was Sunni he included Shiites in high level positions. Women had full rights and there was a highly functioning medical system. Christians and Jews had freedom to worship in Iraq. Right or wrong, I believe Saddam used the minimum force he felt would hold his fractious country together. He never attacked us. He invaded Kuwait in 1990 only after US ambassador April Gillespie gave him the green light. He asked first! Go ahead, look it up! There was a lot of corruption in Saddam's government, and certainly there were cruel and evil officials. How much better is it now? Look at our own government's corruption and evil. It is quite possible that the two little girls will be or have been killed in insurgent fighting. Some of the insurgents are Iraq freedom fighters who hate the American occupation. Other insurgents are Shiites, bent on killing Sunnis. And vice versus. And Kurds who dislike both. Not to mention the new terrorists who have moved to Iraq now that Saddam and order are gone. And yes, it is all America's fault. Saddam was a small despot in a big world before Bush decided to play cowboy. Yes, JK, I blame America for allowing the Iraq disaster to occur. JK's Comment 3 Added 1/24/2007 9:03:04 PM "Saddam about to kill millions with Colin Powell's tiny vial of baking soda." ""Sarin gas is far from just being baking soda. One drop can kill 1,000 people. We know he did have them at one point. We even found, after the invasion, 500 depleted rounds of Sarin Gas. So he did have WMD's. The only reason they were depleted was because we stopped Saddam's ability to maintain them. For some reason this story was under reported."" --------------------------------------------- As I showed earlier, Saddam had his US SUPPLIED chemical weapons destroyed in 1991. Before the war the Iraqi generals were laughing about the search for the chemical weapons. They said the weapons would never be found, because they, themselves had ordered them destroyed. The old artillery shells that once had gas had been rendered non-functional years earlier. Maybe that's why this story was "under reported." Powell knew good and well that there were zero WMDs in Iraq. The CIA people witnessing his performance at the UN that day were shocked and embarrassed according to Ray McGovern who was one of them. Almost everyone who was watching events unfold knew that Powell was obediently lying to the world. I wonder how he sleeps. JK's Comment 4 Added 1/24/2007 9:06:01 PM "My state's own governor presided at a massive, racist rally against Muslims" Are you sure it was not a anti terrorism rally instead of a anti Muslim rally? It is hard to get away with racism in this political correct world. So I highly doubt your story. ----------------------------------------------- It was billed as a support the troops rally, and by all accounts immediately turned into a pro-war rally in front of the state capitol and there was plenty of coverage of the ugliness engendered by that crowd. I saw it on the news. It indeed turned anti-Muslim, and I was ashamed. A Muslim speaker was booed and cursed and shouted down, even though she was a pro-war Muslim. This is what our Governor chose to attend and support, as did one of our senators. We will never forget. If you doubt that racism is common in this country, I'd urge you to search out an organization called CAIR. As for getting away with racism, how about the Muslim man, Abdullah Naderi, beaten and set on fire in Indiana (again, look it up!), the killing of 4 immigrants in revenge for 9-11--well, there are plenty of sources of violent and racist acts against the Muslims here in our great country. You don't need me to list them. You may be young and you may have a sheltered life, and I don't blame you for that. I was once young and sheltered myself, and a lot less involved in public debate than you, so, you're one up on me there! I thank you for being interested enough to respond to my story. I believe if the rest of the country had been as engaged in the issue of Iraq before the war, the whole mess would have been avoided. The people who did nothing or reacted in blind fear in response to red herrings about 9-11 are the people who really earned my contempt. I wonder if I might suggest a book about life in Germany in the 1930s. It's called "The Berlin Stories" by Christopher Isherwood. I read it years ago in college, for a lit course. It gives you a street-level vision of what Germany was like as the Nazi power began to build, written by one who was there. Please check out this book some time; you'll find you can't put it down, and by the time you're done you won't be able to say, "It can't happen here." [ Edit |
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Posted 12/12/2007 10:18:50 PM
Since JK Rapture thinks we are "lucky fools" for being right about everything we stated with regards to Iraq, I reprint here my blogs from January 24th and 27th. I am as angry as I was then at Americans for allowing the US to attack Iraq for reasons that were Known Lies to anyone who cared to investigate. Here's January 24th; go back to the original in the archives if you want to read the comments. I'll add to the political fracas with the experience that turned it all personal for me. Back in February of 2003 I was already well opposed to the upcoming war on many grounds, and I was doing what I could to speak against it. I had already spent countless hours reading the various claims the administration was making and researching their merits. As most of the world was aware, the Bush administration was telling us outright lies as reasons to massively attack a country. Of the world's population, only the Americans seemed to be completely duped by the pitiful references to Saddam having high tech nuclear missiles pointed at us, Saddam causing 911, Saddam about to kill millions with Colin Powell's tiny vial of baking soda. I was angry because it was all false, and it looked like our country was about to throw away its good name by destroying a country which was no threat to us. "Liberate Iraq" signs were everywhere. My state's own governor presided at a massive, racist rally against Muslims, and there was ignorant racism and jingoism all over the media and all over town. Vandals and arsonists went around our town, destroying and burning lawn signs promoting peace. At our small and legal peace rallies, men in giant trucks cursed us from the safety of their extended cabs and women in SUVs gave us the finger, their windows tightly rolled up. I thought I understood how awful the war could be, but one morning at work I realized it was indescribably worse than I had so far imagined. One Saturday while on break at work I turned open the op-ed page and saw a picture of 2 heartbreakingly cute little girls on a ferris wheel, smiling into the camera. They had on these really cheap, hard plastic shoes. They were having a wonderful time. It was a masterful photo. In studying it, you could come away feeling you knew something about the children personally. They were immediate, they were real. They were being photographed in Saddam City's (now known as Sadr City) amusement park, and the headline of the accompanying editorial said, "Meet The Future Victims." I looked at that picture and, then and there, I just lost it; I cried most of that day, at work and at home. It was true. These were the poor of Iraq, those who wouldn't be able to sit out the war in Syria or Jordan. These charming little girls were about to experience "shock and awe," and whether they lived or died, their lives were going to change horribly. The photo conveyed their happy innocence; it cut through the pro war propaganda and showed clear reality. The article accompanying the picture was by a religious group that had been working in Iraq for a number of years, trying to help the poor of Saddam City. On the way home from work I bought another copy of the newspaper, but somehow our copy of the Star-Tribune from that day got lost; I've been searching for that photo ever since. It looks like I may finally be able to get it if I get into our library's microfilm, but it's not been online anywhere I've searched. When I find it, I'll post it here. I've thought of those 2 little girls so often since that time, and I still feel so bad for them. I wonder if they're still alive and I wonder what awful experiences they have had. So now when I post an angry rant, I hope you'll know why. [ Edit | Delete ]
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Posted 11/26/2007 8:47:27 PM
The whole question is much like the question of whether God exists. Some of you claim to have had contact with him and believe in his goodness. Others, like me, have never had their email questions to him answered for nearly a year. Some fear that an angry Scoots might destroy the world he created. Some point to the existence of Newblog as evidence that He exists. Others perceive Newblog to be a chaotic, even random electronic world.My profane challenge met with no response. I was not zapped from Newblog, but neither were the software issues fixed. If Scoots exists, it might be as a detached deity who created a world and is content to let it tumble endlessly through existence. But seeing as my test had no effect I have taken it down so as not to offend any of the Newbloggers who claim to know Scoots as an ok dude. Besides, who knows (as Mom used to say), he could be lying somewhere in a ditch, or he could have some other valid excuse for ignoring Newbloggers issues.
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Posted 11/23/2007 9:36:20 PM
We live in an old rural house, built in 4 different eras. The oldest part of the house was built in the 1870s. The newest part was the rotting late 40s era bathroom until we destroyed it and rebuilt it ourselves in 2001. This massive project spanned the better part of 3 months. When the addition was completely torn off we left the toilet in place for a week or so--nothing there but a floor, a toilet, and the great outdoors. But when even that had to be removed for floor and stud replacement, we had to create a temporary powder room. So, I worked earnestly one hot July afternoon for many hours, knowing that my sweetie was not big on "camping out." Her favorite style of camping is, in fact, at The Hilton. Nonetheless, I was rather proud of my efforts, which yielded a hole some 4 feet deep, a large pile of loose dirt complete with attendant scoop (a garden dirt scoop for sprinkling over the, ahem, well, never mind) and a tarp for keeping the loose dirt dry and scoopable, deluxe walls of scrap plywood on 3 sides (the 4th facing the prairie you've all seen, and there are only dead people out there), and an au naturale found object--a forked twig which was perfect for a TP holder). The builders among you may laugh, but I was thinking I had done myself proud, being half Irish and all (in particular, my heritage is of the non-builder Irish; my father's hog fences and gates were constructed similarly to my latrine, much to Mom's dismay--our hogs escaped often!). In the late afternoon I proudly led my sweetie to what would be our restroom facilities for the next 6 weeks. She was not impressed. "So I'm expected to go out here in the dark? At night? How will I see what I'm doing? Where's the roof? What if it rains? What if there are animals? What if it doesn't work?" Etc. Well, it was a far cry from the Army latrines we had to dig in the field, but, looking at my handiwork, I had to agree, I had created no Shangri-La. It wasn't even up-town looking. In fact, I had to admit, the whole thing was "ghetto," as my daughter described it later. I really wish I had a photo of my creation to share, but it's probably best that I don't, all things considered. By September, the outdoor latrine was just a bad memory, the scrap wood gone, the hole filled, the dead people in the prairie on to new amusements. I pray to the powers that be that our bathroom outlives us.
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Posted 10/25/2007 9:19:57 PM
Since the prescribed burn on our prairie, I've been posting a photo periodically so you can follow the progression through the seasons. Here's a photo from October 6th, followed by the previous shots:
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