Help me out folks. I'm a little confused.
Blagojevich is a scumbag. He's a little prick who decided that he would take his power to appoint the next senator from Illinois and use it as his own financial windfall. Politics don't get any more corrupt or recreant than that. They've got him on tape. They've got witnesses. The man has been indicted on federal corruption charges.
Blogojevich at this point has no credibility at all. Mr. Obama is right; he should step down and let others serve the people of the state of Illinois.
So instead of doing what he should do, Blogo has decided to act like nothing is wrong and he's in charge of things. As if he didn't betray every citizen of Illinois AND, when it comes to a matter of senate proportions, every citizen of the United States of America. Despite all that, he thinks he still has the right to appoint whoever he wants.
So what does he do? In an effort to give himself some credibility, he appoints a black politician who has been one of his staunch supporters and then he, along with another of his staunchest black political supporters dare the media, the public and the political establishment to reject the appointment of a black man claiming that to do so would indicate that they don't want to sit in the senate next to a black man. WTF?!
This claim to me, is reprehensible. So many people fought and so many people died to take us to the point we are at now in society. Martin's dream is alive. A black man is going to be sworn in a President of the United States in twenty days. From the thousands who were lynched, to James Meredith lying in the road in Mississippi, to Martin Luther King Jr. lying on that balcony to President Obama, how can these men trivialize that war by using such rhetoric to bolster the political career of a corrupt white politician?
I'm baffled. I'm baffled that this little worm could do something so absurd. I'm baffled that anyone would fall for it, but most of all, I'm baffled that two black politicians who have decent reputations would perpetrate this act. . . I mean, these guys aren't exactly Alan Keys republicans.
So help me out here. What am I missing? I want to understand.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Where does your food come from?
I've been thinking about this post for a long time and am still not sure how to approach it, but here goes:
Ever since the turkey incident with the former VP candidate I've been pondering what the level of awareness is that people have for where their food comes from. I heard all sorts of outrage over the video of the turkeys being killed. People were warned to cover their eyes and remove the children from the room. My response was "WTF?!" and then I had to go out into the barnyard and slit the throats of 30 Thanksgiving turkeys my customers were waiting for. Ya see, I raise totally organic, truly free range pasture fed turkeys and other poultry. In USDA lingo, "free range" means the birds have a place to put their feet on the ground. On my farm it means they get to go wherever the fuck they want to go. That's why it doesn't surprise me when a neighbor stops by and asks if I've seen my turkeys lately because he had just seen them 1/4 mile down the road foraging the local cemetary. My birds live happy, wild and free lives full of sunshine, fresh insects and vegetation and lots of whole grain organic feed. . . that is, until Thanksgiving and Christmas comes.
At that point, I very humanely take them into the slaughterhouse, insert them upsidedown into a “killing cone and slit their throats. After all the blood has drained from their body I lift the dead bird out of the cone by their feet and submerge them into a tub of 145 degree water for ~1.5 minutes. From there they go into the plucking machine where a big majority of their feathers are removed. After that, the plucking table where the remainer of the feathers are removed by hand. Now the fun begins. I pass them over to the dressing table where the process goes like this. . . remove feet, remove head, insert knife into abdomen and slice down along side the vent (asshole), cut around vent, cut fat and connective tissue from entrails (intestines), pull intestines from bird, reach into abdominal cavity and grab ahold of the gizzard. You gotta pull hard and hopefull the gizzard, liver and gall bladder will come out intact without rupturing the gall bladder. A ruptured gall bladder can ruin a bird. Slive the meaty sides from the gizzard and deposit in the giblet bowl, remove gall bladder from liver (this is a very precise maneuver requiring a steady hand, sharp eyes and sharp knife. I usually have a sharp knife) and deposit liver in giblet bowl (the giblet bowl is a big bowl with ice), Reach into abdominal cavity and with finger tips dig the lungs and kidneys out from around the ribs. Now spin bird around, cut skin down the neck and with one blow of a cleaver remove the neck. Trim and deposit in giblet bowl. Very delicately work your fingers around the crop and pull it out of the chest cavity. Hopefully you will remove the throat and esphagus at the same time. If not, remove. Clean out any remaining fat, go into the abdominal cavity and clean out any bits of guts and fat. Now spray bird down with water hose and get all the traces of blood and guts off. Submerge into ice water bath after removing previously killed bird and depositing it in a cooler full of ice.
Repeat . . . in my case, 25 times five days before Thanksgiving and 15 times five days before Christmas.
But the point is; it takes a lot of hard work and the spilling of lots of blood and guts to deliver that fine piece of meat to your dinner table. You should think about that the next time your satisfy your carnivorous desires.
The next day, I deliver and collect a crisp $100 bill for each turkey. That evening, I bemoan the fact that it just isn’t worth the effort when all I do is break even at best.
Yes, I sell these turkeys for $100 each and only break even. My chickens are $20 each and I only break even. . . sometimes, not even even.
Now go down to your local grocer and see how much he charges for a fully dressed turkey. $20? $25? WOW! How do they do that?!
Well, I’ll tell ya. They raise em in big pens containing thousands of birds. Each bird has a small area to move around in. Chickens are kept under worse conditions and laying hens, for those eggs you love are kept in tiny little cages they can't even move around in. They feed them all a specially processes feed for each stage of their life. The feed is full of cheap grains, which are grown with tons of cheap chemical fertilizers, vitamins, growth enhancers, “animal byproducts” (you don’t wanna know what that is) and all sorts of things that when you read the label you just wonder WTF they’re feeding these birds. They grow em fast. Factory chickens are raised in 6 weeks. Yup, that chicken you bought at the market last week was six weeks old when slaughtered.
The slaughtering process I described above is done with respect to the living animal and with the least amount of trauma to the animal as possible. No animal ever sees another animal killed on my farm. The way animals are killed on factory farms is reprehensible to me. There is no respect. The animals are treated like some sort of manufactured product, which is basically how they are raised and delt with their whole lives. I won’t describe the horrendous conditions under which these birds are slaughtered.
So yea, they grow em fast and cheap and use a big bag of tricks to do so.
How bout that cheap beef you get at your store. Same deal; fast and cheap. Lots of antibiotics, because when you finish off cattle in close proximity feed lots that are nothing but mud or dust, they tend to pass around some nasty bacterial infections. For feed, they get lots of cheap corn grown like the grains described above with all sorts of artificial chemical growth enhancers and growth hormones. And like above, the slaughtering process is horribly brutal.
How bout the politics of food? Do you know where the beef comes from when you bite into that cheap fast food burger that’s full of cholesterol and carbohydrates? Much of it comes from South America. Remember back in the 90s you heard a lot of screaming about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest? Well, it’s all for the beef. You see, they cut down huge patches of rainforest and up pops lots of forage for cattle. They populate those patches with lots of cattle to eat this abundance of new growth. Unfortunately, this new growth doesn’t last too long as the soil in a tropical rainforest is very low in nutrients nutrients and depends upon the constant natural cycles of growth death and decomposition to remain viable. Clear cutting the forest halts that process, so after a year or so, the cattle farmers have to abandon those once forested patches and move on to another.
Like I said, in the 90s there was outrage, but then it kinda dried up when the rethuglicans took over. Hmmmmmm. Wonder why?
So every time you chomp down on that fast food burger, be aware of where it came from and the consequences. Wanna save the rainforest? You can start right here at home.
Shall we talk about how that cheap fresh brocolli or those fresh Apples are raised? No, you’ve probably heard enough,. but believe me, when you bite into any veggies you buy frozen canned or fresh from the store you’re getting a good dose of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals used for the fast and cheap production of food. Unless it’s clearly marked as “organic,” there’s no telling what’s in it. Oh, and those “all natural” labels mean absolutely nothing.
Who doesn’t love shrimp? Don’t we all? Do you ever buy those relatively inexpensive bags of frozen shrimp or those big “tiger shrimp” in the grocery store? Most of them are labeled “Product of Thailand” or Indonesia or China. How bout that crap meat they’re trying to push on folks these days called “talapia?” “Silverbrite Salmon?” All those products are farm raised in some fairly unsavory circumstances. Who regulates what they are fed over there in China and Thailand? Shrimp will eat absolutely anything. You could throw whole dead dogs into a shrimp pond and they’ll strip it clean. How much antibiotic does it take to keep those silverbrite salmon alive in those cramped enclosures that line bays from Washington to China?
Speaking of China. . . after all that has happened in the past year with Chinese products, would you knowingly feed your family anything that is a “Product of China?” Read the labels. You’d be surprised what gets sold in the grocery store from China. Everything from fresh garlic to canned meats. Chweck you apples thoroughly. The Washington State apple industry is being wiped out by cheap imported apples from China.
I could write hundreds of pages on this topic. I’ve just barely scratched the surface. The point is that you should know where your food comes from. Ask your butcher. READ PRODUCT LABELS!
Apply your own moral and ethical standards to your food purchases.
I'm tired of all the killing. Killing in the cold, killing in the rain. . . the past five weeks have been a bloody mess filled with entrails and body parts. I need a break. I'm going to Floriduh till after the New Year. I'll sit in the sunshine, eat some good food, watch beautiful women in sexy bathing suits. . . mostly my wife, cruise around in my boat, I'll fish, then kill the fish, rip their guts out and eat them. . . it never ends.
Y'all have a good holiday.
Be in the moment. Pay attention to what's going on around you. Enjoy the peace it brings.
Ever since the turkey incident with the former VP candidate I've been pondering what the level of awareness is that people have for where their food comes from. I heard all sorts of outrage over the video of the turkeys being killed. People were warned to cover their eyes and remove the children from the room. My response was "WTF?!" and then I had to go out into the barnyard and slit the throats of 30 Thanksgiving turkeys my customers were waiting for. Ya see, I raise totally organic, truly free range pasture fed turkeys and other poultry. In USDA lingo, "free range" means the birds have a place to put their feet on the ground. On my farm it means they get to go wherever the fuck they want to go. That's why it doesn't surprise me when a neighbor stops by and asks if I've seen my turkeys lately because he had just seen them 1/4 mile down the road foraging the local cemetary. My birds live happy, wild and free lives full of sunshine, fresh insects and vegetation and lots of whole grain organic feed. . . that is, until Thanksgiving and Christmas comes.
At that point, I very humanely take them into the slaughterhouse, insert them upsidedown into a “killing cone and slit their throats. After all the blood has drained from their body I lift the dead bird out of the cone by their feet and submerge them into a tub of 145 degree water for ~1.5 minutes. From there they go into the plucking machine where a big majority of their feathers are removed. After that, the plucking table where the remainer of the feathers are removed by hand. Now the fun begins. I pass them over to the dressing table where the process goes like this. . . remove feet, remove head, insert knife into abdomen and slice down along side the vent (asshole), cut around vent, cut fat and connective tissue from entrails (intestines), pull intestines from bird, reach into abdominal cavity and grab ahold of the gizzard. You gotta pull hard and hopefull the gizzard, liver and gall bladder will come out intact without rupturing the gall bladder. A ruptured gall bladder can ruin a bird. Slive the meaty sides from the gizzard and deposit in the giblet bowl, remove gall bladder from liver (this is a very precise maneuver requiring a steady hand, sharp eyes and sharp knife. I usually have a sharp knife) and deposit liver in giblet bowl (the giblet bowl is a big bowl with ice), Reach into abdominal cavity and with finger tips dig the lungs and kidneys out from around the ribs. Now spin bird around, cut skin down the neck and with one blow of a cleaver remove the neck. Trim and deposit in giblet bowl. Very delicately work your fingers around the crop and pull it out of the chest cavity. Hopefully you will remove the throat and esphagus at the same time. If not, remove. Clean out any remaining fat, go into the abdominal cavity and clean out any bits of guts and fat. Now spray bird down with water hose and get all the traces of blood and guts off. Submerge into ice water bath after removing previously killed bird and depositing it in a cooler full of ice.
Repeat . . . in my case, 25 times five days before Thanksgiving and 15 times five days before Christmas.
But the point is; it takes a lot of hard work and the spilling of lots of blood and guts to deliver that fine piece of meat to your dinner table. You should think about that the next time your satisfy your carnivorous desires.
The next day, I deliver and collect a crisp $100 bill for each turkey. That evening, I bemoan the fact that it just isn’t worth the effort when all I do is break even at best.
Yes, I sell these turkeys for $100 each and only break even. My chickens are $20 each and I only break even. . . sometimes, not even even.
Now go down to your local grocer and see how much he charges for a fully dressed turkey. $20? $25? WOW! How do they do that?!
Well, I’ll tell ya. They raise em in big pens containing thousands of birds. Each bird has a small area to move around in. Chickens are kept under worse conditions and laying hens, for those eggs you love are kept in tiny little cages they can't even move around in. They feed them all a specially processes feed for each stage of their life. The feed is full of cheap grains, which are grown with tons of cheap chemical fertilizers, vitamins, growth enhancers, “animal byproducts” (you don’t wanna know what that is) and all sorts of things that when you read the label you just wonder WTF they’re feeding these birds. They grow em fast. Factory chickens are raised in 6 weeks. Yup, that chicken you bought at the market last week was six weeks old when slaughtered.
The slaughtering process I described above is done with respect to the living animal and with the least amount of trauma to the animal as possible. No animal ever sees another animal killed on my farm. The way animals are killed on factory farms is reprehensible to me. There is no respect. The animals are treated like some sort of manufactured product, which is basically how they are raised and delt with their whole lives. I won’t describe the horrendous conditions under which these birds are slaughtered.
So yea, they grow em fast and cheap and use a big bag of tricks to do so.
How bout that cheap beef you get at your store. Same deal; fast and cheap. Lots of antibiotics, because when you finish off cattle in close proximity feed lots that are nothing but mud or dust, they tend to pass around some nasty bacterial infections. For feed, they get lots of cheap corn grown like the grains described above with all sorts of artificial chemical growth enhancers and growth hormones. And like above, the slaughtering process is horribly brutal.
How bout the politics of food? Do you know where the beef comes from when you bite into that cheap fast food burger that’s full of cholesterol and carbohydrates? Much of it comes from South America. Remember back in the 90s you heard a lot of screaming about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest? Well, it’s all for the beef. You see, they cut down huge patches of rainforest and up pops lots of forage for cattle. They populate those patches with lots of cattle to eat this abundance of new growth. Unfortunately, this new growth doesn’t last too long as the soil in a tropical rainforest is very low in nutrients nutrients and depends upon the constant natural cycles of growth death and decomposition to remain viable. Clear cutting the forest halts that process, so after a year or so, the cattle farmers have to abandon those once forested patches and move on to another.
Like I said, in the 90s there was outrage, but then it kinda dried up when the rethuglicans took over. Hmmmmmm. Wonder why?
So every time you chomp down on that fast food burger, be aware of where it came from and the consequences. Wanna save the rainforest? You can start right here at home.
Shall we talk about how that cheap fresh brocolli or those fresh Apples are raised? No, you’ve probably heard enough,. but believe me, when you bite into any veggies you buy frozen canned or fresh from the store you’re getting a good dose of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals used for the fast and cheap production of food. Unless it’s clearly marked as “organic,” there’s no telling what’s in it. Oh, and those “all natural” labels mean absolutely nothing.
Who doesn’t love shrimp? Don’t we all? Do you ever buy those relatively inexpensive bags of frozen shrimp or those big “tiger shrimp” in the grocery store? Most of them are labeled “Product of Thailand” or Indonesia or China. How bout that crap meat they’re trying to push on folks these days called “talapia?” “Silverbrite Salmon?” All those products are farm raised in some fairly unsavory circumstances. Who regulates what they are fed over there in China and Thailand? Shrimp will eat absolutely anything. You could throw whole dead dogs into a shrimp pond and they’ll strip it clean. How much antibiotic does it take to keep those silverbrite salmon alive in those cramped enclosures that line bays from Washington to China?
Speaking of China. . . after all that has happened in the past year with Chinese products, would you knowingly feed your family anything that is a “Product of China?” Read the labels. You’d be surprised what gets sold in the grocery store from China. Everything from fresh garlic to canned meats. Chweck you apples thoroughly. The Washington State apple industry is being wiped out by cheap imported apples from China.
I could write hundreds of pages on this topic. I’ve just barely scratched the surface. The point is that you should know where your food comes from. Ask your butcher. READ PRODUCT LABELS!
Apply your own moral and ethical standards to your food purchases.
I'm tired of all the killing. Killing in the cold, killing in the rain. . . the past five weeks have been a bloody mess filled with entrails and body parts. I need a break. I'm going to Floriduh till after the New Year. I'll sit in the sunshine, eat some good food, watch beautiful women in sexy bathing suits. . . mostly my wife, cruise around in my boat, I'll fish, then kill the fish, rip their guts out and eat them. . . it never ends.
Y'all have a good holiday.
Be in the moment. Pay attention to what's going on around you. Enjoy the peace it brings.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Be Conscious
I think the first step in learning to be in the now is attaining some level of consciousness. Consciousness is another of those concepts that I learned about a long long time ago and thought was a good idea but really didn't have a clue.
What is consciousness? Let me try to explain what I know of consciousness today.
Consciousness for me begins with being aware of myself.
Consciousness of Thought
Am I being conscious of what I am thinking? Too often I react or have reacted to base emotions. I feel anger so I lash out, I feel jealous so I pout, I feel fear and I retreat. I do these things without even thinking about them or recognizing the anger, jealousy and fear. I don't stop and say "I feel angry" or "I am afraid" because I don't even realize it. Why would one not realize such a strong state of emotion? We are conditioned to react rather than to think. If I were confronted with a life and death situation in the wild, I'd need to react instinctually and instantaneously. Although I live a very rural life close to the land, I have been in life and death situations on very few occasions. Therefore, I don't have to react instinctually, but when I do I often end up hurting others or myself.
If I stop before I react or open my mouth and ask myself "What does this feel like? What emotion are you dealing with here?" my response becomes tempered or better yet, I can have no response.
Being aware of my emotional state will almost always explain why I am thinking the way I am. It will lead me to examine why I am reacting emotionally. If I am feeling anger, I can become aware of what emotion is driving that anger. Then I can become aware of what sparks that emotion inside of me. My reactions and emotions are never a result of what YOU are doing to ME. They are always a result of what I am doing to MYSELF. I can use you as an excuse for my behaviors, but it all comes down to my feelings and my emotions.
Consciousness of Action
How many times have I blurted out some simple declaration without thinking about the consequences, let alone my own self centered motivation.
"Well, he pissed me off" or "she really hurt me" always seems to be the justification for my hurtful and often brutal remarks. I attack without consciousness.
If I stop and consider my thoughts, consider my feelings and emotions and ultimately, consider my actions before I react, my world becomes much better place. If I think before I react, I will almost never alienate people. If I think before I react I will almost never hurt those I love.
I must think before I react.
Consciousness of Others
Once I become conscious of my own feelings and actions, I can become conscious of other's feelings and actions on a level beyond its effect on me. Becoming conscious of myself gives me the ability to be conscious of others. I can have an appreciation for why they might be reacting the way they are and what they might be feeling. When I am conscious of others, the things they do and say take on a whole new meaning. I am no longer effected on a base level by their sometimes hurtful remarks and actions. I can begin to feel compassion for others when I might otherwise have felt distain, resentment or disgust. By understanding myself, I understand others.
I want peace in my life. I don't want to feel anger. I don't want to live in fear. I don't want to let resentment eat me from the inside out.
The only way I know how to prevent all that is to become conscious of myself and of others.
Consciousness of Being
Not just my being, but all that is. The world is a wonderful place. It really is. No matter where you are, no matter who you are, there are things going on around you that are natural, right and beautiful. If I am paying attention to the world outside myself as it really exists I can see those things.
If I am thinking about what I'm going to do tomorrow or how I'm going to get the next thing I want, if am contemplating revenge, if I am replaying some past event or conversation over and over in my head and going through the useless exercise of how it should have happened or how I want it to happen, I am totally unconscious of the things around me.
How can I see the beauty of the world when I'm not looking for it and locked into the past or future?
I can not. What I see does not exist when I am looking at the past or future.
What I see, often doesn't exist when I am constantly judging and interpreting the things I see around me. How can I really listen to a bird sing if I am obsessed by the thought of how beautiful the bird and its song is.
I want to live in reality, therefore I have to view the world around me as it really is without judgement, without constant analysis and without interpretation.
It simply is what it is.
When I accept the world around me as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment in time, I am able to deal with it much better equipped than before.
Be conscious of yourself, others, and all of that which surrounds you.
What is consciousness? Let me try to explain what I know of consciousness today.
Consciousness for me begins with being aware of myself.
Consciousness of Thought
Am I being conscious of what I am thinking? Too often I react or have reacted to base emotions. I feel anger so I lash out, I feel jealous so I pout, I feel fear and I retreat. I do these things without even thinking about them or recognizing the anger, jealousy and fear. I don't stop and say "I feel angry" or "I am afraid" because I don't even realize it. Why would one not realize such a strong state of emotion? We are conditioned to react rather than to think. If I were confronted with a life and death situation in the wild, I'd need to react instinctually and instantaneously. Although I live a very rural life close to the land, I have been in life and death situations on very few occasions. Therefore, I don't have to react instinctually, but when I do I often end up hurting others or myself.
If I stop before I react or open my mouth and ask myself "What does this feel like? What emotion are you dealing with here?" my response becomes tempered or better yet, I can have no response.
Being aware of my emotional state will almost always explain why I am thinking the way I am. It will lead me to examine why I am reacting emotionally. If I am feeling anger, I can become aware of what emotion is driving that anger. Then I can become aware of what sparks that emotion inside of me. My reactions and emotions are never a result of what YOU are doing to ME. They are always a result of what I am doing to MYSELF. I can use you as an excuse for my behaviors, but it all comes down to my feelings and my emotions.
Consciousness of Action
How many times have I blurted out some simple declaration without thinking about the consequences, let alone my own self centered motivation.
"Well, he pissed me off" or "she really hurt me" always seems to be the justification for my hurtful and often brutal remarks. I attack without consciousness.
If I stop and consider my thoughts, consider my feelings and emotions and ultimately, consider my actions before I react, my world becomes much better place. If I think before I react, I will almost never alienate people. If I think before I react I will almost never hurt those I love.
I must think before I react.
Consciousness of Others
Once I become conscious of my own feelings and actions, I can become conscious of other's feelings and actions on a level beyond its effect on me. Becoming conscious of myself gives me the ability to be conscious of others. I can have an appreciation for why they might be reacting the way they are and what they might be feeling. When I am conscious of others, the things they do and say take on a whole new meaning. I am no longer effected on a base level by their sometimes hurtful remarks and actions. I can begin to feel compassion for others when I might otherwise have felt distain, resentment or disgust. By understanding myself, I understand others.
I want peace in my life. I don't want to feel anger. I don't want to live in fear. I don't want to let resentment eat me from the inside out.
The only way I know how to prevent all that is to become conscious of myself and of others.
Consciousness of Being
Not just my being, but all that is. The world is a wonderful place. It really is. No matter where you are, no matter who you are, there are things going on around you that are natural, right and beautiful. If I am paying attention to the world outside myself as it really exists I can see those things.
If I am thinking about what I'm going to do tomorrow or how I'm going to get the next thing I want, if am contemplating revenge, if I am replaying some past event or conversation over and over in my head and going through the useless exercise of how it should have happened or how I want it to happen, I am totally unconscious of the things around me.
How can I see the beauty of the world when I'm not looking for it and locked into the past or future?
I can not. What I see does not exist when I am looking at the past or future.
What I see, often doesn't exist when I am constantly judging and interpreting the things I see around me. How can I really listen to a bird sing if I am obsessed by the thought of how beautiful the bird and its song is.
I want to live in reality, therefore I have to view the world around me as it really is without judgement, without constant analysis and without interpretation.
It simply is what it is.
When I accept the world around me as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment in time, I am able to deal with it much better equipped than before.
Be conscious of yourself, others, and all of that which surrounds you.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Say hello to the present
Embrace the now.
As I grow older I begin to consider what is really important. It's much easier to do when one has a lifetime of experience.
Lately I've been thinking about a concept that I learned decades ago but was never able to comprehend. Perhaps nobody explained it to me in a simple form that my mind could understand. I will try.
We all spend a lot of time thinking about the past and contemplating the future. We might think about the good times we had in the past or the pain we suffered or others suffered. We look to the past as justification for our actions and we look to the future for salvation from our pain or past deeds. Either is a waste of time. We only have the present. The past and future do not exist. They never have.
But SagaciousOne, I was there. I saw those things happening. I felt the experience.
You were not in the past, you were in the now. You felt those thing in the now; in the present. It was the present. Nothing has ever happened in the past or future. There is only the now. The past is a memory in your mental database and the future is mere speculation or projection.
When your mind is always busy thinking about the past and the future, you are missing what is happening now around you.
I once spent some weeks hiking and canoeing with a Peruvian native woman who was a guide on the Amazon and in the Andes. She told me she didn't understand Americans because they would be sitting on a boat gliding through the Amazon jungle or riding on some mountain trail with vast vistas and they'd be listening to their WalkMan and reading a book.
I really loved traveling the river and walking the woods with Amelia. She would look, listen and feel rather than talk. She also didn't understand why, after having spent weeks in America and years around Americans she knew nothing of the natural beauty in America that I was showing her. "Why are so many Americans in therapy when they have all this" she would ask me.
She was in the now. She understood that it was all we really have.
Therapy is a wonderful thing. I've enjoyed it's benefits at times, but there comes a point when we enter a bottomless pit of self discovery uncovering every little event and consequence of our lives. If we are totally present in the now, what difference does it make why our anger drives us. What difference do the actions of our fathers or mothers decades before matter? Be conscious or where you are, what you are doing, what is going on around you and your reactions to those things, but don't react. Just observe and note. If we are conscious of our now and ourselves within it, those actions that are driven by unconscious pain can not control us. Accept what is and is happening. There is little you can do about any of it. It simply is what is happening in the now. You can do one of three things about the things around you, you can accept it and watch it unfold, you can accept it and remove yourself from it or you can accept it and try to be a positive influence upon it. Anything else is pure insanity that will at best have no effect and at worse, have tragic results. I walk away from almost all things that I find irritating to my now.
We spend countless hours thinking of what will be or what has passed. If you are like me, you can sometimes carry on conversations in your head the way you wished things had transpired during some event or conversation you had decades ago. Or, you can spend hours contemplating conversations you might have when this or that event finally arrives. Maybe you spend days fantasizing about how some experience is going to look or feel when it finally arrives only to find that when the experience does arrive it is nothing as you'd planned or imagined. And when that experience or event does arrive, it lasts but a few minutes or even seconds, but you have spent the past week, month or year worrying about or anticipating its arrival.
Enjoy where you are right now. Do you have any problems right now? Probably not. You have the luxury of sitting in front of your computer reading this. You have no problems right now. You may have situations that you will need to deal with tomorrow or the next day or even an hour from now, but they are not happening now. Most things outside ourselves that cause us grief or pain are very short lived events which we can do little to change. Enjoy where you are right now at all times.
When you are driving your car, drive your car. When you are taking a bath, take a bath. When you are having sex, simply have sex. Don't go off into some never neverland where you think things will be better or brighter. It never is. The best and brightest is right here where you are now. Experience life in the now.
Open your eyes and ears to what is, now. Embrace your now.
As I grow older I begin to consider what is really important. It's much easier to do when one has a lifetime of experience.
Lately I've been thinking about a concept that I learned decades ago but was never able to comprehend. Perhaps nobody explained it to me in a simple form that my mind could understand. I will try.
We all spend a lot of time thinking about the past and contemplating the future. We might think about the good times we had in the past or the pain we suffered or others suffered. We look to the past as justification for our actions and we look to the future for salvation from our pain or past deeds. Either is a waste of time. We only have the present. The past and future do not exist. They never have.
But SagaciousOne, I was there. I saw those things happening. I felt the experience.
You were not in the past, you were in the now. You felt those thing in the now; in the present. It was the present. Nothing has ever happened in the past or future. There is only the now. The past is a memory in your mental database and the future is mere speculation or projection.
When your mind is always busy thinking about the past and the future, you are missing what is happening now around you.
I once spent some weeks hiking and canoeing with a Peruvian native woman who was a guide on the Amazon and in the Andes. She told me she didn't understand Americans because they would be sitting on a boat gliding through the Amazon jungle or riding on some mountain trail with vast vistas and they'd be listening to their WalkMan and reading a book.
I really loved traveling the river and walking the woods with Amelia. She would look, listen and feel rather than talk. She also didn't understand why, after having spent weeks in America and years around Americans she knew nothing of the natural beauty in America that I was showing her. "Why are so many Americans in therapy when they have all this" she would ask me.
She was in the now. She understood that it was all we really have.
Therapy is a wonderful thing. I've enjoyed it's benefits at times, but there comes a point when we enter a bottomless pit of self discovery uncovering every little event and consequence of our lives. If we are totally present in the now, what difference does it make why our anger drives us. What difference do the actions of our fathers or mothers decades before matter? Be conscious or where you are, what you are doing, what is going on around you and your reactions to those things, but don't react. Just observe and note. If we are conscious of our now and ourselves within it, those actions that are driven by unconscious pain can not control us. Accept what is and is happening. There is little you can do about any of it. It simply is what is happening in the now. You can do one of three things about the things around you, you can accept it and watch it unfold, you can accept it and remove yourself from it or you can accept it and try to be a positive influence upon it. Anything else is pure insanity that will at best have no effect and at worse, have tragic results. I walk away from almost all things that I find irritating to my now.
We spend countless hours thinking of what will be or what has passed. If you are like me, you can sometimes carry on conversations in your head the way you wished things had transpired during some event or conversation you had decades ago. Or, you can spend hours contemplating conversations you might have when this or that event finally arrives. Maybe you spend days fantasizing about how some experience is going to look or feel when it finally arrives only to find that when the experience does arrive it is nothing as you'd planned or imagined. And when that experience or event does arrive, it lasts but a few minutes or even seconds, but you have spent the past week, month or year worrying about or anticipating its arrival.
Enjoy where you are right now. Do you have any problems right now? Probably not. You have the luxury of sitting in front of your computer reading this. You have no problems right now. You may have situations that you will need to deal with tomorrow or the next day or even an hour from now, but they are not happening now. Most things outside ourselves that cause us grief or pain are very short lived events which we can do little to change. Enjoy where you are right now at all times.
When you are driving your car, drive your car. When you are taking a bath, take a bath. When you are having sex, simply have sex. Don't go off into some never neverland where you think things will be better or brighter. It never is. The best and brightest is right here where you are now. Experience life in the now.
Open your eyes and ears to what is, now. Embrace your now.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Playing For Change: Song Around the World
Maybe we all ought to stand by each other a little closer these days.
I will.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
More bad news from American industry
Boeing delays Dreamliner flight, deliveries
NEW YORK – Boeing is delaying the first flight of its highly awaited 787 Dreamliner jet to the second quarter of 2009 and won't ship its first delivery until the following year due to the impact of the recent Machinists' strike and production glitches.
Prior to the strike that halted much of Boeing's commercial airplane work this fall and cost the aerospace company $100 million a day, the 787 was to make its first flight by year-end. First delivery had been slated for the 2009 third quarter.
The Chicago-based company says the delay also is linked to replacing fasteners on some early production planes.
Boeing Co. says it is evaluating the delay's impact on customer deliveries and financial guidance.
This better be really good and worth the wait. Airbus already has it's 380 in the air, delivered and making commercial flights.
Are we watching the final demise of American aviation dominance?
There used to be three major airliner companies in the USA. Now there is only one and it can't seem to keep up with the Europeans. Compound that with the number of companies that used to make all sorts of airplanes in the USA compared with the few that do now. . . . g'night.
NEW YORK – Boeing is delaying the first flight of its highly awaited 787 Dreamliner jet to the second quarter of 2009 and won't ship its first delivery until the following year due to the impact of the recent Machinists' strike and production glitches.
Prior to the strike that halted much of Boeing's commercial airplane work this fall and cost the aerospace company $100 million a day, the 787 was to make its first flight by year-end. First delivery had been slated for the 2009 third quarter.
The Chicago-based company says the delay also is linked to replacing fasteners on some early production planes.
Boeing Co. says it is evaluating the delay's impact on customer deliveries and financial guidance.
This better be really good and worth the wait. Airbus already has it's 380 in the air, delivered and making commercial flights.
Are we watching the final demise of American aviation dominance?
There used to be three major airliner companies in the USA. Now there is only one and it can't seem to keep up with the Europeans. Compound that with the number of companies that used to make all sorts of airplanes in the USA compared with the few that do now. . . . g'night.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Governor Addict
Watch this guy Blagojevich. According to transcripts of his conversations supplied by the MSM, he is desperate for money. He is willing to quit the governorship to go to work for some fantasy 501(c)4 so that he can make more money. He has thrown all caution to the wind and is blurting out things that no sane human being would even consider saying in public.
He even looks hollow and unhealthy.
He will be entering rehab sometime in the next few weeks. Maybe today or tomorrow.
You heard it here first.
He even looks hollow and unhealthy.
He will be entering rehab sometime in the next few weeks. Maybe today or tomorrow.
You heard it here first.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Spoiled liberal granola chewing punks
Liberals voice concerns about Obama
Carol E. Lee, Nia-Malika Henderson – Mon Dec 8, 4:22 am ET
Liberals are growing increasingly nervous – and some just flat-out angry – that President-elect Barack Obama seems to be stiffing them on Cabinet jobs and policy choices.
Obama has reversed pledges to immediately repeal tax cuts for the wealthy and take on Big Oil. He’s hedged his call for a quick drawdown in Iraq. And he’s stocking his White House with anything but stalwarts of the left.
Now some are shedding a reluctance to puncture the liberal euphoria at being rid of President George W. Bush to say, in effect, that the new boss looks like the old boss.
Will you cry baby uber-leftist whiney granola chewing upper and upper middle class white critics just shut the fuck up?!
Obama hasn't even taken office yet but you're already whining like the spoiled little twits that you are. Why don't you just shut the fuck up for once and let the man work his administration. Contrary to what you believe, you silly fucks have no clue about what Obama is doing and how he's going to handle issues . . .and here's a clue for ya; you are not know-it-all gifts to humanity.
This isn't MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp who appointed whoever his handlers told him to appoint and then sat back and let it all happen while he ate pretzels and drank beer in the White House. Obama is going to run his presidency. He is going to tell his people what to do and how to do it.
Now let me ask this: how far would he get if he went out and picked a whole bunch of left wing radical whack jobs to be in his cabinet? If he's going to get anything done, he needs the support of some of the republicans in the congress. Alienating them before he even gets started will spell doom for his administration. There is a long list of US presidents who got nowhere because they were blocked by congress every step they took. And don't forget, the democrats running the congress today are the same ones who handed Bush the Chimp everything he wanted from the start.
So why don't all you whiney despicable trust fund babies shut your big fat well excersized pie holes and let the guy proceed.
Sometimes it's really embarrassing to be a white liberal with dumb fucks like you shooting off your mouths ever chance you get.
Carol E. Lee, Nia-Malika Henderson – Mon Dec 8, 4:22 am ET
Liberals are growing increasingly nervous – and some just flat-out angry – that President-elect Barack Obama seems to be stiffing them on Cabinet jobs and policy choices.
Obama has reversed pledges to immediately repeal tax cuts for the wealthy and take on Big Oil. He’s hedged his call for a quick drawdown in Iraq. And he’s stocking his White House with anything but stalwarts of the left.
Now some are shedding a reluctance to puncture the liberal euphoria at being rid of President George W. Bush to say, in effect, that the new boss looks like the old boss.
Will you cry baby uber-leftist whiney granola chewing upper and upper middle class white critics just shut the fuck up?!
Obama hasn't even taken office yet but you're already whining like the spoiled little twits that you are. Why don't you just shut the fuck up for once and let the man work his administration. Contrary to what you believe, you silly fucks have no clue about what Obama is doing and how he's going to handle issues . . .and here's a clue for ya; you are not know-it-all gifts to humanity.
This isn't MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp who appointed whoever his handlers told him to appoint and then sat back and let it all happen while he ate pretzels and drank beer in the White House. Obama is going to run his presidency. He is going to tell his people what to do and how to do it.
Now let me ask this: how far would he get if he went out and picked a whole bunch of left wing radical whack jobs to be in his cabinet? If he's going to get anything done, he needs the support of some of the republicans in the congress. Alienating them before he even gets started will spell doom for his administration. There is a long list of US presidents who got nowhere because they were blocked by congress every step they took. And don't forget, the democrats running the congress today are the same ones who handed Bush the Chimp everything he wanted from the start.
So why don't all you whiney despicable trust fund babies shut your big fat well excersized pie holes and let the guy proceed.
Sometimes it's really embarrassing to be a white liberal with dumb fucks like you shooting off your mouths ever chance you get.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The death throws of American industry
Ford, GM, Chrysler. . . they're all that's left of a once diverse auto industry in the USA. I remember Studebaker, Henry J, Pontiac, Nash, American Motors, Rambler. . . as American buying power increased, you'd have thought that the American economy would have diversified. It didn't. Corporate greed caused it to shrink into a few major players in all market sectors. The chemical industry, electronics, everything from TVs to boat motors to pianos, the playing field shrunk while the Japanese came in and trumped the American companies with higher quality products.
I sorta had a front row seat to the demise of the American corporation. When I got outta college back in the early 70s there weren't any decent jobs for a biologist and you had to be an Ivy Leaguer to get the piss poor ones that were available, so I had to join a mega corporation in their R&D dept doing chemistry. They were huge, world class and they spent lots of cash on R&D. Back then, they knew R&D was the lifeblood of the corporation and the whole country was immersed in a culture of research and development. This was only a year or two after the end of Apollo. America knew that R&D could take you to the Moon. All our CEOs and Presidents were R&D guys. They'd come down from headquarters now and then just to look around and visit their old buddies.
In the early to mid 80s that all began to change slowly but surely. R&D began to get pressed to show how they directly affected profitability.
More and more we were doing process optimization work rather than letting our brilliant PhD scientists come up with wild assed and often lame ideas which every once-in-awhile resulted in an break through product that made hundreds of millions in profit.
Ya see, research and development isn't something you can measure against next quarter's profit and sadly, the focus of the company began to center more and more on next quarter's profit. They began a profit sharing program where every quarter we'd get a cut of the profits (more like a token). There were all sorts of profit incentive programs which were kind of baffling to those of us in R&D, but they were peddled to us anyway. It became clear that WE were not making money for the corporation and that WE were part of the problem. In the 70s and 80s my salary rose big every year. From the late 80s on, my salary was adjusted for inflation and that was about it.
Soon there was very little research going on. No one seemed interested in 3, 5 or 10 years out. Before long, the company CEO was a bean counter. Some prick from accounting. Our world class technology company was being run like a clothes pin company. By 1999, after some horrendous blunders by top management, we were bought out by a company that had always been a competitor, but far behind. Now they are shipping most of their operations overseas to places like China, India and the Middle East.
Greed. Short term profit. Both those things killed our technology company. Both of those things have killed the American auto industry. But why? Why should an industry die just because the economy turns sour? Why does six months of bad sales put huge corporations into bankruptcy?
To answer this, ask why the middle class family, whose bread winners had good jobs for many years is now being forced out of their house after being laid off for a few months. Why didn't THEY have the cash set aside to get them through hard times?
Greed and the pursuit of junk. Same as the corporations. CEOs making hundred of millions of dollars, share holders demanding their cut, every executive getting inflated ridiculous salaries while the people in the trenches sucked air.
I knew accountants who had degrees from local colleges making twice what PhD scientists from Ivy league schools were making. It got all twisted up and fucked by the time the end came. . . but I digress. . . When shit hit the fan a few months ago, the auto companies had NOTHING to hold them over. Pardon me folks, but isn't that piss poor planing? Isn't that REALLY piss poor planing? What is it they say about piss poor planing on your part?
Yea, it's going to get ugly when the auto industry folds in America. Really ugly. I don't even want to drive through the upper mid west. I suspect we'll see a lot of migrants from that area in the rest of the country. It'll be really, really ugly on so many levels, but ya know, fuck Ford, Chrysler and GM. The strong survive. If it's so bad you need the gov't to bail your asses out, what possible motivation do we have for throwing good money after bad? I suspect Toyota, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Hyundai, etc., will fill the void quite readily and with much better, more technologically advanced vehicles. They'll employ many of the workers who were abandoned and ravaged by 200 million dollar executives and their million dollar lackeys. We'll adjust. Yea, it'll be ugly, but we got a lot of ugly times ahead of us.
Hell, if American corporations can run the gov't, instigate wars, etc. as their last act in America, why can't foreign industry come in and occupy our land?
Welcome to the New World.
I sorta had a front row seat to the demise of the American corporation. When I got outta college back in the early 70s there weren't any decent jobs for a biologist and you had to be an Ivy Leaguer to get the piss poor ones that were available, so I had to join a mega corporation in their R&D dept doing chemistry. They were huge, world class and they spent lots of cash on R&D. Back then, they knew R&D was the lifeblood of the corporation and the whole country was immersed in a culture of research and development. This was only a year or two after the end of Apollo. America knew that R&D could take you to the Moon. All our CEOs and Presidents were R&D guys. They'd come down from headquarters now and then just to look around and visit their old buddies.
In the early to mid 80s that all began to change slowly but surely. R&D began to get pressed to show how they directly affected profitability.
More and more we were doing process optimization work rather than letting our brilliant PhD scientists come up with wild assed and often lame ideas which every once-in-awhile resulted in an break through product that made hundreds of millions in profit.
Ya see, research and development isn't something you can measure against next quarter's profit and sadly, the focus of the company began to center more and more on next quarter's profit. They began a profit sharing program where every quarter we'd get a cut of the profits (more like a token). There were all sorts of profit incentive programs which were kind of baffling to those of us in R&D, but they were peddled to us anyway. It became clear that WE were not making money for the corporation and that WE were part of the problem. In the 70s and 80s my salary rose big every year. From the late 80s on, my salary was adjusted for inflation and that was about it.
Soon there was very little research going on. No one seemed interested in 3, 5 or 10 years out. Before long, the company CEO was a bean counter. Some prick from accounting. Our world class technology company was being run like a clothes pin company. By 1999, after some horrendous blunders by top management, we were bought out by a company that had always been a competitor, but far behind. Now they are shipping most of their operations overseas to places like China, India and the Middle East.
Greed. Short term profit. Both those things killed our technology company. Both of those things have killed the American auto industry. But why? Why should an industry die just because the economy turns sour? Why does six months of bad sales put huge corporations into bankruptcy?
To answer this, ask why the middle class family, whose bread winners had good jobs for many years is now being forced out of their house after being laid off for a few months. Why didn't THEY have the cash set aside to get them through hard times?
Greed and the pursuit of junk. Same as the corporations. CEOs making hundred of millions of dollars, share holders demanding their cut, every executive getting inflated ridiculous salaries while the people in the trenches sucked air.
I knew accountants who had degrees from local colleges making twice what PhD scientists from Ivy league schools were making. It got all twisted up and fucked by the time the end came. . . but I digress. . . When shit hit the fan a few months ago, the auto companies had NOTHING to hold them over. Pardon me folks, but isn't that piss poor planing? Isn't that REALLY piss poor planing? What is it they say about piss poor planing on your part?
Yea, it's going to get ugly when the auto industry folds in America. Really ugly. I don't even want to drive through the upper mid west. I suspect we'll see a lot of migrants from that area in the rest of the country. It'll be really, really ugly on so many levels, but ya know, fuck Ford, Chrysler and GM. The strong survive. If it's so bad you need the gov't to bail your asses out, what possible motivation do we have for throwing good money after bad? I suspect Toyota, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Hyundai, etc., will fill the void quite readily and with much better, more technologically advanced vehicles. They'll employ many of the workers who were abandoned and ravaged by 200 million dollar executives and their million dollar lackeys. We'll adjust. Yea, it'll be ugly, but we got a lot of ugly times ahead of us.
Hell, if American corporations can run the gov't, instigate wars, etc. as their last act in America, why can't foreign industry come in and occupy our land?
Welcome to the New World.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Save money, energy and pollute less. . . welcome to the New World
Welcome to the New World. I've been saying that a lot lately. Since the election of O-Man, I feel like we really are living in a New World. Imagine what it would be like right now if we'd been relegated to the hell of looking forward to a McCain-Palin administration? What would be different except there would be so many more of us who felt desperate and hopeless. So yes, we really have entered into a New World, but that new world has broader ramifications than just having a liberal, intellectual, person of color in the White House. The two biggest things I see in our future, on a personal basis, is that each and every one of us is going to have to learn to behave in two new and different ways.
1. We've got to start working in a personal way to protect our environment. Each of us can do things in our daily life to make a difference. We can cut nack on the amount of electricity we use. We can cut back on our gas consumption. We can cut back on the amount of trash we send to landfills. We can eat more wisely which will benefit the Earth and our bodies. There are so many things we can do and if everyone does, it will change the world. Welcome to the New World.
2. We've got to quit spending money like mad idiots and riding the merry-go-round of consumerism. Yea, it will fuck up the economy for a while. A lot of rich people will lose their asses and a lot of not so rich people will lose even more than their asses, but we've got to stop this insanity. We don't need all the bullshit we're buying.
We also don't need our government to fund all the bullshit they're funding. These motherfuckers are spending 100s of billions of dollars like my granddaddy used to spend nickles on his grandkids.
Here are some of the things I'm doing:
I'm driving less. I'm consolidating trips. I'm just not making a lot of trips I used to. It's difficult to do when you live 2 miles off the hard road and over ten miles from the nearest convenience store and 20 miles from the nearest town, but then again, if I can cut out one or two trips a week, it really mkes a difference.
i've got a light fixture in my dining room and another in my bedroom that have six bulbs in each of them. When I'm home just doing regular stuff, I don't need six, sixty watt bulbs burning over my ass, so I've unscrewed all but one of them in each fixture and replaced that one with one of those newfangled flourescent screw in bulbs. So instead of burning six sixty watt bulbs, I'm burning one 40 watt flourescent. When folks come over for dinner I screw them all in. . . the lightbulbs. I've done the same thing with the light over my bathroom vanity. I don't need all six of them burning so I've unscrewed four of them. That will not only use a lot less electricity, it will cost me a lot less on my electric bill. See, all this works both ways.
The less bullshit I buy, the less industrial pollution is occurring. The less electricity I pay for, the less pollution occurs.
There are lots of things I really need to do. I need to quit using so many plastic bag and use more of those cheap reusable plastic containers. I need to put some more insulation around my front door. I need to change the air filter in my truck. I need to quit buying gallon jugs of drinking water and start using reusable containers (my well sucks).
Other things I've done. . . turned down the temperature of my hot water heater. Nobody needs scalding hot water coming out of their faucet. Close off rooms that aren't in use. I've got two rooms that don't need to be heated since nobody uses them regularly and no water lines run through or under them. Turn down the heat at night.
Bottom line: There are lots of things we can all do to save energy, cut pollution and spend less money.
If you've got any good ideas, please let me know.
[Hat tip to Hawa at Frackintruth.typepad.com for the seed of this post. Go see her.]
1. We've got to start working in a personal way to protect our environment. Each of us can do things in our daily life to make a difference. We can cut nack on the amount of electricity we use. We can cut back on our gas consumption. We can cut back on the amount of trash we send to landfills. We can eat more wisely which will benefit the Earth and our bodies. There are so many things we can do and if everyone does, it will change the world. Welcome to the New World.
2. We've got to quit spending money like mad idiots and riding the merry-go-round of consumerism. Yea, it will fuck up the economy for a while. A lot of rich people will lose their asses and a lot of not so rich people will lose even more than their asses, but we've got to stop this insanity. We don't need all the bullshit we're buying.
We also don't need our government to fund all the bullshit they're funding. These motherfuckers are spending 100s of billions of dollars like my granddaddy used to spend nickles on his grandkids.
Here are some of the things I'm doing:
I'm driving less. I'm consolidating trips. I'm just not making a lot of trips I used to. It's difficult to do when you live 2 miles off the hard road and over ten miles from the nearest convenience store and 20 miles from the nearest town, but then again, if I can cut out one or two trips a week, it really mkes a difference.
i've got a light fixture in my dining room and another in my bedroom that have six bulbs in each of them. When I'm home just doing regular stuff, I don't need six, sixty watt bulbs burning over my ass, so I've unscrewed all but one of them in each fixture and replaced that one with one of those newfangled flourescent screw in bulbs. So instead of burning six sixty watt bulbs, I'm burning one 40 watt flourescent. When folks come over for dinner I screw them all in. . . the lightbulbs. I've done the same thing with the light over my bathroom vanity. I don't need all six of them burning so I've unscrewed four of them. That will not only use a lot less electricity, it will cost me a lot less on my electric bill. See, all this works both ways.
The less bullshit I buy, the less industrial pollution is occurring. The less electricity I pay for, the less pollution occurs.
There are lots of things I really need to do. I need to quit using so many plastic bag and use more of those cheap reusable plastic containers. I need to put some more insulation around my front door. I need to change the air filter in my truck. I need to quit buying gallon jugs of drinking water and start using reusable containers (my well sucks).
Other things I've done. . . turned down the temperature of my hot water heater. Nobody needs scalding hot water coming out of their faucet. Close off rooms that aren't in use. I've got two rooms that don't need to be heated since nobody uses them regularly and no water lines run through or under them. Turn down the heat at night.
Bottom line: There are lots of things we can all do to save energy, cut pollution and spend less money.
If you've got any good ideas, please let me know.
[Hat tip to Hawa at Frackintruth.typepad.com for the seed of this post. Go see her.]
Friday, November 28, 2008
Horrible lives
So some dude was killed in a mad rush of people breaking down the door to get at the bargains at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, NY. That's Long Island, Naasau County which is not a poor working class or hillbilly neighborhood.
I'd like to say that this is an isolated incident and doesn't represent America as a whole especially since I've been feeling so good about my fellow Americans since Nov. 4, but can we? Does the quest for cheap flat screen TVs, low priced DVDs, digital cameras and similar products not represent the norm? Couldn't what happened in Valley Stream have happened anywhere in America? I dunno, I'd like to think that people around here would have been much too courteous to their fellow human being to let one get trampled under-foot. . . but I digress.
Yes, this does represent the sick and festering condition that is American consumerism. No one is ever satisfied. There is a constant need and craving for the next thing to acquire. It drives people away from their reality. They live for the future acquisition of material goods and as a result they're completely missing the only thing that is real. "But SagaciousOne, my 10.4 mega pixel large format extrasuperduper groovy digital camera IS real." Sorry Charlie, but the only thing that is real is where you stand right now and what you are doing right now. Your big screen TV, DVDs, game systems and all the other bullshit you use to transport yourself someplace else is all fantasy and illusion. The real world is passing by you without you even having a brief moment of consciousness about it.
We have a society that is fixated on creating for themselves a life (if you want to call it that) of illusion. It's so sad. I fear it will destroy the Earth. . . or at least western civilization.
What kind of holiday season will the family of the man who was trampled to death have this year and every year from now on?
Will justice be done? Will people be arrested for trampling another human being and tried for murder? Surely they have store video tape of the whole thing going down.
the horror
I'd like to say that this is an isolated incident and doesn't represent America as a whole especially since I've been feeling so good about my fellow Americans since Nov. 4, but can we? Does the quest for cheap flat screen TVs, low priced DVDs, digital cameras and similar products not represent the norm? Couldn't what happened in Valley Stream have happened anywhere in America? I dunno, I'd like to think that people around here would have been much too courteous to their fellow human being to let one get trampled under-foot. . . but I digress.
Yes, this does represent the sick and festering condition that is American consumerism. No one is ever satisfied. There is a constant need and craving for the next thing to acquire. It drives people away from their reality. They live for the future acquisition of material goods and as a result they're completely missing the only thing that is real. "But SagaciousOne, my 10.4 mega pixel large format extrasuperduper groovy digital camera IS real." Sorry Charlie, but the only thing that is real is where you stand right now and what you are doing right now. Your big screen TV, DVDs, game systems and all the other bullshit you use to transport yourself someplace else is all fantasy and illusion. The real world is passing by you without you even having a brief moment of consciousness about it.
We have a society that is fixated on creating for themselves a life (if you want to call it that) of illusion. It's so sad. I fear it will destroy the Earth. . . or at least western civilization.
What kind of holiday season will the family of the man who was trampled to death have this year and every year from now on?
Will justice be done? Will people be arrested for trampling another human being and tried for murder? Surely they have store video tape of the whole thing going down.
the horror
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Walk in Beauty
[Yea, it's a retread, but I can't say anything better.]
Hello my friends. Here in America it's Thanksgiving. It's a time for families to gather, be grateful for their fortune, however large or small it may be, and feast. We should enjoy our family and celebrate our personal triumphs and tragedies. It is good to do so. It should also be a time to reflect upon what has happened between today and when people from Europe first set foot upon this great land. If you are of European descent, it's not YOUR fault that our ancestors raped, pillaged, stole and committed genocide against the native population, but it is your responsibility to recognize and be aware of what transpired before we came to be here. In that awareness, perhaps we can recognize the ongoing oppression perpetrated by those who find themselves in positions of authority and rule. Sometimes, it only takes one person to speak up and voice concern when injustice occurs. A single voice raised against injustice can sometimes make a difference. If we are grateful for what we have, and humbly accept our good fortune, we can also be a voice for reason and justice.
So be happy on this day of thanks and celebrate family, friends and good fortune, but never ever forget the past, because those who do are doomed to repeat it with all its horrors.
In the words of my friend Blair: "It's Thanks - for taking my fucking land - giving"
Bedagi (Big Thunder) late 19th century.
Wabanaki Algonquin writer
Give us hearts to understand;
Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;
never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty;
never to take from her what we cannot use.
Give us hearts to understand
That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion;
that to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty;
That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench;
that as we care for her she will care for us.
We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security.
We have exploited simply for our own ends.
We have distorted our knowledge.
We have abused our power.
Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst,
Help us to find the way to refresh your lands.
Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution,
help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.
Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse,
help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.
Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed, help us to find a way to replenish them.
Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption,
help us to find the way to restore our humanity.
Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind, whose breath gives life to the world,
hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.
May I walk in Beauty.
Hello my friends. Here in America it's Thanksgiving. It's a time for families to gather, be grateful for their fortune, however large or small it may be, and feast. We should enjoy our family and celebrate our personal triumphs and tragedies. It is good to do so. It should also be a time to reflect upon what has happened between today and when people from Europe first set foot upon this great land. If you are of European descent, it's not YOUR fault that our ancestors raped, pillaged, stole and committed genocide against the native population, but it is your responsibility to recognize and be aware of what transpired before we came to be here. In that awareness, perhaps we can recognize the ongoing oppression perpetrated by those who find themselves in positions of authority and rule. Sometimes, it only takes one person to speak up and voice concern when injustice occurs. A single voice raised against injustice can sometimes make a difference. If we are grateful for what we have, and humbly accept our good fortune, we can also be a voice for reason and justice.
So be happy on this day of thanks and celebrate family, friends and good fortune, but never ever forget the past, because those who do are doomed to repeat it with all its horrors.
In the words of my friend Blair: "It's Thanks - for taking my fucking land - giving"
Bedagi (Big Thunder) late 19th century.
Wabanaki Algonquin writer
Give us hearts to understand;
Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;
never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty;
never to take from her what we cannot use.
Give us hearts to understand
That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion;
that to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty;
That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench;
that as we care for her she will care for us.
We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security.
We have exploited simply for our own ends.
We have distorted our knowledge.
We have abused our power.
Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst,
Help us to find the way to refresh your lands.
Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution,
help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.
Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse,
help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.
Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed, help us to find a way to replenish them.
Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption,
help us to find the way to restore our humanity.
Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind, whose breath gives life to the world,
hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.
May I walk in Beauty.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Change? What can we believe in?
WTF? Uh Barry, you have a mandate. You best be gittin someone who can hand you a plan for immediate withdrawl on day-1. We didn't vote-up for no corpo-fascist Bush the Chimp regime lackey to continue running this war.
This is just bullshit.
Gates seen more likely to stay as Pentagon chief
WASHINGTON – What Robert Gates once called "inconceivable to me" — his remaining as defense secretary beyond Inauguration Day — is looking a bit more conceivable to the rest of Washington.
The 65-year-old former spymaster has turned publicly mum on the circumstances under which he would stay, even briefly, after President-elect Barack Obama takes office. But one of the leading scenarios for a wartime transition at the Pentagon has Gates holding the fort, at least for some months.
This is just bullshit.
Gates seen more likely to stay as Pentagon chief
WASHINGTON – What Robert Gates once called "inconceivable to me" — his remaining as defense secretary beyond Inauguration Day — is looking a bit more conceivable to the rest of Washington.
The 65-year-old former spymaster has turned publicly mum on the circumstances under which he would stay, even briefly, after President-elect Barack Obama takes office. But one of the leading scenarios for a wartime transition at the Pentagon has Gates holding the fort, at least for some months.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Fuck Joe Leiberman - throw his ass out NOW!
Joe Leiberman needs to pay for his political treason. Why are the democrats talking about letting him get away with speaking at the republican convention and going out on the campaign trail and daily attacking Barack Obama? The dems want to let there be no consequences for such low life behaviors. I don't give a damn about maintaining one more senate seat.
Let him go over to the republican side. He's a low life piece of shit and they shouldn't let him caucus with the dems just to save a seat. Remove him from all positions in the senate. . . . you gambled and lost Joe, now go fuck yourself.
42-13. Remember that number. That's the vote to give LIEberman a walk on the political treason he perpetrated against the democratic party.
This SOB tried to sabotage the campaign of Barack Obama and then the party leaders in the senate give him a fucking walk.
Change we can believe in???
This is the same ol same ol. Remember, most of these panty waisted senators are the same ones who have ogne along with the MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp agenda for the past eight years. These are the scum who voted FOR the fiasco in Iraq. Surprised they voted in favor of one of their own Bush lackeys no matter what the crime?
So LIEberman gets away with one of the most recreant political performances EVER.
WTF!
This is an insult to all the democrats who put their heart and soul into getting Barack Obama elected these past many months. Many of them will simply go back to their hard scrapple life of making ends meet. Joe LIEberman will go back to his senate seat and his committee chairmanship.
To the 42. . . your time will come.
Let him go over to the republican side. He's a low life piece of shit and they shouldn't let him caucus with the dems just to save a seat. Remove him from all positions in the senate. . . . you gambled and lost Joe, now go fuck yourself.
42-13. Remember that number. That's the vote to give LIEberman a walk on the political treason he perpetrated against the democratic party.
This SOB tried to sabotage the campaign of Barack Obama and then the party leaders in the senate give him a fucking walk.
Change we can believe in???
This is the same ol same ol. Remember, most of these panty waisted senators are the same ones who have ogne along with the MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp agenda for the past eight years. These are the scum who voted FOR the fiasco in Iraq. Surprised they voted in favor of one of their own Bush lackeys no matter what the crime?
So LIEberman gets away with one of the most recreant political performances EVER.
WTF!
This is an insult to all the democrats who put their heart and soul into getting Barack Obama elected these past many months. Many of them will simply go back to their hard scrapple life of making ends meet. Joe LIEberman will go back to his senate seat and his committee chairmanship.
To the 42. . . your time will come.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Welcome to West Virginia
Home to a bunch of fat assed ignorant racist voters.
Huntington, WV. . . makin all WVians proud.
W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer – Sun Nov 16, 12:28 pm ET
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – As a portly woman plodded ahead of him on the sidewalk, the obese mayor of America's fattest and unhealthiest city explained why health is not a big local issue.
"It doesn't come up," said David Felinton, 5-foot-9 and 233 pounds, as he walked toward City Hall one recent morning. "We've got a lot of economic challenges here in Huntington. That's usually the focus."
Huntington's economy has withered, its poverty rate is worse than the national average, and vagrants haunt a downtown riverfront park. But this city's financial woes are not nearly as bad as its health.
Nearly half the adults in Huntington's five-county metropolitan area are obese — an astounding percentage, far bigger than the national average in a country with a well-known weight problem.
Huntington leads in a half-dozen other illness measures, too, including heart disease and diabetes. It's even tops in the percentage of elderly people who have lost all their teeth (half of them have).
It's a sad situation, and a potential harbinger of what will happen to other U.S. communities, said Ken Thorpe, an Emory University health policy professor who is working with West Virginia officials on health reform legislation.
Huntington, WV. . . makin all WVians proud.
W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer – Sun Nov 16, 12:28 pm ET
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – As a portly woman plodded ahead of him on the sidewalk, the obese mayor of America's fattest and unhealthiest city explained why health is not a big local issue.
"It doesn't come up," said David Felinton, 5-foot-9 and 233 pounds, as he walked toward City Hall one recent morning. "We've got a lot of economic challenges here in Huntington. That's usually the focus."
Huntington's economy has withered, its poverty rate is worse than the national average, and vagrants haunt a downtown riverfront park. But this city's financial woes are not nearly as bad as its health.
Nearly half the adults in Huntington's five-county metropolitan area are obese — an astounding percentage, far bigger than the national average in a country with a well-known weight problem.
Huntington leads in a half-dozen other illness measures, too, including heart disease and diabetes. It's even tops in the percentage of elderly people who have lost all their teeth (half of them have).
It's a sad situation, and a potential harbinger of what will happen to other U.S. communities, said Ken Thorpe, an Emory University health policy professor who is working with West Virginia officials on health reform legislation.
The Audacity of Dreams
I read the following this morning and began to ponder what the United States did 40 years ago.
India celebrates planting its flag on moon
By GAVIN RABINOWITZ, Associated Press Writer Gavin Rabinowitz, Associated Press Writer – Sat Nov 15, 10:16 am ET
NEW DELHI – India rejoiced Saturday at joining an elite club by planting its flag on the moon as the country's space agency released the first pictures of the cratered surface taken by its maiden lunar mission.
A probe sent late Friday from the orbiting mother spacecraft took pictures and gathered other data India needs for a future moon landing as it plummeted to a crash-landing at the moon's south pole, said Indian Space Research Organization spokesman B.R. Guruprasad.. . .
The Asian Age proclaimed "India is big cheese."
It will be 40 yrs ago this Christmas that American astronauts first orbited the moon. It's hard to believe that in a time when we didn't have personal computers or even handheld electronic calculators that a group of men (a group of thousands) could have done what they did.
Nine times they went to the moon and back. Six times they landed, explored and returned. . . 40 years ago.
No doubt the greatest technological achievement in human history. I got to watch it unfold and happen. I wouldn't trade anything for having witnessed that unbelievable accomplishment. Those who performed those superhuman feats were and always will be my heroes.
This is a picture of Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon, July 21, 1969.
So enjoy your crash landing of a square box on the Moon, India. . . not exactly a flag planting, but keep dreaming.
India celebrates planting its flag on moon
By GAVIN RABINOWITZ, Associated Press Writer Gavin Rabinowitz, Associated Press Writer – Sat Nov 15, 10:16 am ET
NEW DELHI – India rejoiced Saturday at joining an elite club by planting its flag on the moon as the country's space agency released the first pictures of the cratered surface taken by its maiden lunar mission.
A probe sent late Friday from the orbiting mother spacecraft took pictures and gathered other data India needs for a future moon landing as it plummeted to a crash-landing at the moon's south pole, said Indian Space Research Organization spokesman B.R. Guruprasad.. . .
The Asian Age proclaimed "India is big cheese."
It will be 40 yrs ago this Christmas that American astronauts first orbited the moon. It's hard to believe that in a time when we didn't have personal computers or even handheld electronic calculators that a group of men (a group of thousands) could have done what they did.
Nine times they went to the moon and back. Six times they landed, explored and returned. . . 40 years ago.
No doubt the greatest technological achievement in human history. I got to watch it unfold and happen. I wouldn't trade anything for having witnessed that unbelievable accomplishment. Those who performed those superhuman feats were and always will be my heroes.
This is a picture of Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon, July 21, 1969.
So enjoy your crash landing of a square box on the Moon, India. . . not exactly a flag planting, but keep dreaming.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Welcome to the New World
Really? I'm not going to wake up to the same old shit? Holy shit!
So I went and voted at about noon on Tue (the lines were incredible. . . I was the only one there. I had to go get the poll ladies out of the church kitchen to come and do whatever it is they do) and I'm trying to decide. . . do I want to drive all the way to Cincy or do I just want to sit back at home alone and watch what might be a very disappointing night? Well, my wife is already there and has been there for the past three days doing poll work for the Obama campaign and my son has been on the ground in Ohio criss crossing the state for months working for one of the largest unions in the country. . . ok, I'll go. They're expecting me. Off I go to Cincinnati, Ohio.
I hit Cincinnati a little before 6PM. With the help of a really cool guy who was originally from Sri Lanka and whose name I forget on the other end of my Demure One's phone for what seemed like an hour or so, I snaked my way through Cincinnati's twisted maze of streets and arrived at the polling place where my Demure One was working as a polling place observer for the O campaign. She then introduced me to the democratic precinct "judge," who was very familiar with bloggers in our liberal community and actually knew the Sagacious Hillbilly by way of Field Negro. Yea, he'd come here from Field Negro's blog.
Hey GW, it was good meeting you and thanks for entertaining the Demure One all day!
After the polls closed, we ran back to the hotel, cleaned up and headed out to the bar where the Union was having their after glow party. . . while at the hotel and on the way there I kept listening to the news and was getting a bit anxious as it looked like it was getting WAY too close even though few results were in yet.
By the time we got to the bar, things were looking better and WOW! they called PA for Obama! "It's happening." I thought it and I said it. People were going crazy cheering and hugging. A number of states turned, but all were expected. I kept looking at Ohio results and kept telling SonnyBoy that it was looking very good. . . he's a cynical little shit and kept pooh-poohing me. Then it happened. . . Ohio fell to Obama. The place exploded. This was just about the most diverse crowd I've ever seen? It was probably half or more black, some Latinos, Asians and other minority folks and the rest whites, but really, there were only people in that room and spilling out onto the sidewalk and into the street. These people have been busting their asses with all their heart and soul for months trying to turn Ohio blue. I mean they had invested their hearts, minds and bodies into the fight to deliver Ohio to Obama and there, in that one instant they saw a perfectly successful conclusion to their incredible hard work. . . and yes, everyone knew that at that point, with Ohio in the bag, probably nothing could stop Obama. These people were going absolutely nuts. Everyone was hugging, kissing and back slapping. People began chanting "O-hio, O-bama. O-hio, O-bama."
We watched and watched as the electoral count froze at 200. I kept thinking. . . CA, OR, WA and the election is won. At 1 minute and 45 seconds till 11PM I told my Demure One "in a minute 45 seconds, the polls will close in CA and they will call the election for Obama. . . BAM! It happened.
I have never seen such a gigantic burst of energy explode from a group of people. People were crying laughing, screaming, dancing, hugging, kissing." My son and I were locked in each other's arms sobbing when the Demur One found us and joined in the fun.
Amid the screaming and joyous revelry every now and then someone would stop, look at the TV screen and just stare with a dumbfounded look and tears running down their face. . . I did it a number of times. Out in the streets, everyone was freaking out. I watched one guy I'll never forget dance around and proclaim that there was "going to be soul food in the White House. . . fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens," and then he did a long animated routine about tucking in his napkin and having soul food with President Barack Obama. Groups of people were moving around in the neighborhood we were in and they were all coming up and joining the celebration. People were proclaimingthings like "We're gonna all be together at last!" PEople who didn't know each other were hugging and just smiling into each other's faces. . . yes, we were looking each other in the eye and experiencing each other's exhilaration. Never have I experienced such glory.
After a while a group of us decided to move up the street a few blocks to where the official Obama Campaign party was happening. We partied all the way there meeting other groups of people and greeting everyone with chants of "O-BA-MA!" and "PRESIDENT OBAMA!" Same thing was going on at the campaign party but we did add a little life to the party. We watched President Obama's speech while there and once again cried like babies.
Another cool thing was that twice I called my daughter and let her listen to the celebration, especially when her brother was leading a very loud cheer out in the street. Too bad she had to work today and couldn't be there, but somebody has to keep the wheels of gov't turning.
My words simply don't do justice to what we experienced.
I have seriously watched politics for 40 years in my 55 years and been very aware of politics since I can remember. I have truly waited my lifetime for this moment. . . for a candidate that I could really support and believe in. Thank you Barack Obama for being that candidate. . . now get busy. And thank you all you incredible people in Ohio who did something truly amazing. All of you who ignored everything else and dedicated all of yourself for a bit of time to a truly noble cause.
And to my son, who has worked tirelessly and fought his whole adult life so that others could live a better life. He loves the rank and file members of his union and our society. He believes that making life better for them will make life better for everyone and make the entire Earth a better place. He has been my hero for a long time and never lets me down.
Other notes:
As predicted, WV went large for McCain. Man am I glad I went to Ohio rather than hang around in this backwater.
I listened to some right wing talk radio on the way home today. It was sad. They sounded like raving maniacs. I hope the American people totally reject their sick hate based politics.
They have become irrelevant.
MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp; Shut the fuck up, sit down, do nothing and stay out of the way for the next 75 days. You are a sorry piece of shit who should die a miserable death rotting away in a cold dark dank prison cell.
I'm going to Washington, D.C. to watch President Obama be sworn in.
I'm not going to blog anymore about right wing morons.
I'm going to wear my two Obama tee shirt more often now. We have to support our new president as much as possible and be cheerleaders for his administration.
The media is going to go nuts over the Obama family. Wow, America hasn't had a royal family since the Kennedys. We've never had one as pretty as the Obamas.
Let's face it, America's presidential families haven't exactly been a good looking bunch.
The next year will be a very interesting time in American history. Enjoy the ride and don't take it all too serious.
Two tanks of gas . . . $64.00
Cheap hotel in a midwestern city. . . $50.00
Round of drinks for young cool union workers. . . $38.00
Partying with Ohio Union campaign workers
while watching Barack Obama win in Ohio and the nation. . . ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS
So I went and voted at about noon on Tue (the lines were incredible. . . I was the only one there. I had to go get the poll ladies out of the church kitchen to come and do whatever it is they do) and I'm trying to decide. . . do I want to drive all the way to Cincy or do I just want to sit back at home alone and watch what might be a very disappointing night? Well, my wife is already there and has been there for the past three days doing poll work for the Obama campaign and my son has been on the ground in Ohio criss crossing the state for months working for one of the largest unions in the country. . . ok, I'll go. They're expecting me. Off I go to Cincinnati, Ohio.
I hit Cincinnati a little before 6PM. With the help of a really cool guy who was originally from Sri Lanka and whose name I forget on the other end of my Demure One's phone for what seemed like an hour or so, I snaked my way through Cincinnati's twisted maze of streets and arrived at the polling place where my Demure One was working as a polling place observer for the O campaign. She then introduced me to the democratic precinct "judge," who was very familiar with bloggers in our liberal community and actually knew the Sagacious Hillbilly by way of Field Negro. Yea, he'd come here from Field Negro's blog.
Hey GW, it was good meeting you and thanks for entertaining the Demure One all day!
After the polls closed, we ran back to the hotel, cleaned up and headed out to the bar where the Union was having their after glow party. . . while at the hotel and on the way there I kept listening to the news and was getting a bit anxious as it looked like it was getting WAY too close even though few results were in yet.
By the time we got to the bar, things were looking better and WOW! they called PA for Obama! "It's happening." I thought it and I said it. People were going crazy cheering and hugging. A number of states turned, but all were expected. I kept looking at Ohio results and kept telling SonnyBoy that it was looking very good. . . he's a cynical little shit and kept pooh-poohing me. Then it happened. . . Ohio fell to Obama. The place exploded. This was just about the most diverse crowd I've ever seen? It was probably half or more black, some Latinos, Asians and other minority folks and the rest whites, but really, there were only people in that room and spilling out onto the sidewalk and into the street. These people have been busting their asses with all their heart and soul for months trying to turn Ohio blue. I mean they had invested their hearts, minds and bodies into the fight to deliver Ohio to Obama and there, in that one instant they saw a perfectly successful conclusion to their incredible hard work. . . and yes, everyone knew that at that point, with Ohio in the bag, probably nothing could stop Obama. These people were going absolutely nuts. Everyone was hugging, kissing and back slapping. People began chanting "O-hio, O-bama. O-hio, O-bama."
We watched and watched as the electoral count froze at 200. I kept thinking. . . CA, OR, WA and the election is won. At 1 minute and 45 seconds till 11PM I told my Demure One "in a minute 45 seconds, the polls will close in CA and they will call the election for Obama. . . BAM! It happened.
I have never seen such a gigantic burst of energy explode from a group of people. People were crying laughing, screaming, dancing, hugging, kissing." My son and I were locked in each other's arms sobbing when the Demur One found us and joined in the fun.
Amid the screaming and joyous revelry every now and then someone would stop, look at the TV screen and just stare with a dumbfounded look and tears running down their face. . . I did it a number of times. Out in the streets, everyone was freaking out. I watched one guy I'll never forget dance around and proclaim that there was "going to be soul food in the White House. . . fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens," and then he did a long animated routine about tucking in his napkin and having soul food with President Barack Obama. Groups of people were moving around in the neighborhood we were in and they were all coming up and joining the celebration. People were proclaimingthings like "We're gonna all be together at last!" PEople who didn't know each other were hugging and just smiling into each other's faces. . . yes, we were looking each other in the eye and experiencing each other's exhilaration. Never have I experienced such glory.
After a while a group of us decided to move up the street a few blocks to where the official Obama Campaign party was happening. We partied all the way there meeting other groups of people and greeting everyone with chants of "O-BA-MA!" and "PRESIDENT OBAMA!" Same thing was going on at the campaign party but we did add a little life to the party. We watched President Obama's speech while there and once again cried like babies.
Another cool thing was that twice I called my daughter and let her listen to the celebration, especially when her brother was leading a very loud cheer out in the street. Too bad she had to work today and couldn't be there, but somebody has to keep the wheels of gov't turning.
My words simply don't do justice to what we experienced.
I have seriously watched politics for 40 years in my 55 years and been very aware of politics since I can remember. I have truly waited my lifetime for this moment. . . for a candidate that I could really support and believe in. Thank you Barack Obama for being that candidate. . . now get busy. And thank you all you incredible people in Ohio who did something truly amazing. All of you who ignored everything else and dedicated all of yourself for a bit of time to a truly noble cause.
And to my son, who has worked tirelessly and fought his whole adult life so that others could live a better life. He loves the rank and file members of his union and our society. He believes that making life better for them will make life better for everyone and make the entire Earth a better place. He has been my hero for a long time and never lets me down.
Other notes:
As predicted, WV went large for McCain. Man am I glad I went to Ohio rather than hang around in this backwater.
I listened to some right wing talk radio on the way home today. It was sad. They sounded like raving maniacs. I hope the American people totally reject their sick hate based politics.
They have become irrelevant.
MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp; Shut the fuck up, sit down, do nothing and stay out of the way for the next 75 days. You are a sorry piece of shit who should die a miserable death rotting away in a cold dark dank prison cell.
I'm going to Washington, D.C. to watch President Obama be sworn in.
I'm not going to blog anymore about right wing morons.
I'm going to wear my two Obama tee shirt more often now. We have to support our new president as much as possible and be cheerleaders for his administration.
The media is going to go nuts over the Obama family. Wow, America hasn't had a royal family since the Kennedys. We've never had one as pretty as the Obamas.
Let's face it, America's presidential families haven't exactly been a good looking bunch.
The next year will be a very interesting time in American history. Enjoy the ride and don't take it all too serious.
Two tanks of gas . . . $64.00
Cheap hotel in a midwestern city. . . $50.00
Round of drinks for young cool union workers. . . $38.00
Partying with Ohio Union campaign workers
while watching Barack Obama win in Ohio and the nation. . . ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS
YES WE DID!!!!
The Sagacious Hillbilly is feelin ALL the love today!!!
Last night was one of the top 5 nights of my life.
I partied with the people on the ground in Cincinnati, Ohio who turned Ohio, U.S.A. into a big BLUE state!!! What an amazing bunch of wonderful people.
An incredible evening it was, but I'll have ot post on that later as I'm sitting in a Best Western parking lot stealing bandwidth right now.
Just feel the love today folks. . . fell the love here in this new world we have awaken into.
Last night was one of the top 5 nights of my life.
I partied with the people on the ground in Cincinnati, Ohio who turned Ohio, U.S.A. into a big BLUE state!!! What an amazing bunch of wonderful people.
An incredible evening it was, but I'll have ot post on that later as I'm sitting in a Best Western parking lot stealing bandwidth right now.
Just feel the love today folks. . . fell the love here in this new world we have awaken into.
Monday, November 3, 2008
For election night consideration
Watch it all unfold here. . . .
SagaciousHillbilly; your source of up to the minute opinion, news and useless information.
SagaciousHillbilly; your source of up to the minute opinion, news and useless information.
History
I'm voting for Barack Obama for President of the United States.
Twenty years from now, if I'm still here, I'll be able to proudly tell my g'children, yes, I voted for Barack Obama and supported him throughout his campaign.
What side of history will you be on?
Twenty years from now, if I'm still here, I'll be able to proudly tell my g'children, yes, I voted for Barack Obama and supported him throughout his campaign.
What side of history will you be on?
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The cost of oil. . .
How did it feel last month when gas prices had topped $4 per gallon? In my small 6 cyl. pick-up truck, which is a minimum requirement for working my farm, it cost me over $10 just to drive to town and back. I know how it made me feel. . . I was wondering how long I could continue. As gas prices crept up, I went out and got work outside the farm. Now, one would have thought that being a benevolent international and U.S. based corporation, Exxon/Mobile would have contributed to the well being of our country by cutting back some of their profits so that the working people of America could get around. . . .
Exxon Mobil posts biggest US quarterly profit ever
HOUSTON – Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, reported income Thursday that shattered its own record for the biggest profit from operations by a U.S. corporation, earning $14.83 billion in the third quarter.
Bolstered by this summer's record crude prices, the Irving, Texas-based company said net income jumped nearly 58 percent to $2.86 a share in the July-September period. That compares with $9.41 billion, or $1.70 a share, a year ago.
The previous record for U.S. corporate profit was set in the last quarter, when Exxon Mobil earned $11.68 billion.
Down in Venezuela, the gov't runs the oil industry. They have cheap gas and all the profits go toward social programs. I'm not suggesting that we nationalize the oil industry and become a dictatorship like Venezuela. . . we've seen where that might get us the past 8 years. Our dictator might just be another oil company lackey like MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp. But ya know, maybe we do need to regulate these greedy motherfuckers. They're sucking up the wealth of our nation at a startling rate. The poor are getting poorer, the middle class is barely surviving and the working class is becoming poor. You can't sell a decent $75,000 house in our capital city, I know, I've had one sitting for over a year, yet they continue to build $500,000 houses up on the hills.
And the proles will go to the polls and vote against their best interests once again, but the outcome this time may be different.
How do Exxon/Mobile's record profits make you feel.
Damn, I wasn't going to post anything political till 11/04. . . that lasted 24 hours.
Exxon Mobil posts biggest US quarterly profit ever
HOUSTON – Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, reported income Thursday that shattered its own record for the biggest profit from operations by a U.S. corporation, earning $14.83 billion in the third quarter.
Bolstered by this summer's record crude prices, the Irving, Texas-based company said net income jumped nearly 58 percent to $2.86 a share in the July-September period. That compares with $9.41 billion, or $1.70 a share, a year ago.
The previous record for U.S. corporate profit was set in the last quarter, when Exxon Mobil earned $11.68 billion.
Down in Venezuela, the gov't runs the oil industry. They have cheap gas and all the profits go toward social programs. I'm not suggesting that we nationalize the oil industry and become a dictatorship like Venezuela. . . we've seen where that might get us the past 8 years. Our dictator might just be another oil company lackey like MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp. But ya know, maybe we do need to regulate these greedy motherfuckers. They're sucking up the wealth of our nation at a startling rate. The poor are getting poorer, the middle class is barely surviving and the working class is becoming poor. You can't sell a decent $75,000 house in our capital city, I know, I've had one sitting for over a year, yet they continue to build $500,000 houses up on the hills.
And the proles will go to the polls and vote against their best interests once again, but the outcome this time may be different.
How do Exxon/Mobile's record profits make you feel.
Damn, I wasn't going to post anything political till 11/04. . . that lasted 24 hours.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Can we relax and enjoy?
I know, you big time campaigners out there like my son can't stop until all the polls are closed in Nov. 4th. . . believe me, I appreciate you and love you all dearly for the work you've done and will continue to do for the next few days. . . especially the man in Ohio who is busting his ass for low wages and little or no recognition just so that he can make this world a better place for all of us and especially the real American workers he works for. If you want the definition of "man-up," find my son.
Now having said that, I'm going to relax for a while and do something completely different. . .
For your consideration, another Ohio super hero. One who has shown his strength in politics, the atmosphere and space.
I give you John Hershel Glenn - American, fighter pilot extraordinaire, astronaut, U.S. Senator and all around nice guy.
Here's Mr. Glenn as a young astronaut (actually he was the oldest of the original seven).
Here's Mr. Glenn as an old astronaut. . . the oldest dude to ever go into space, and probably the baddest moth. . . oh, never mind.
Here is the honorable Senator John Glenn (D) Ohio (what a great president he'd have been).
Here is the senator with his lovely wife Annie. Their romance and relationship should be in the Couples Hall of Fame on the tallest pedestal.
And here he is again. . .
. . . because we all know, he was the original Mr. Clean.
Thanks John Glenn. I was just thinking about heroes and Ohio today and you came up in my mind like an old friend.
Now having said that, I'm going to relax for a while and do something completely different. . .
For your consideration, another Ohio super hero. One who has shown his strength in politics, the atmosphere and space.
I give you John Hershel Glenn - American, fighter pilot extraordinaire, astronaut, U.S. Senator and all around nice guy.
Here's Mr. Glenn as a young astronaut (actually he was the oldest of the original seven).
Here's Mr. Glenn as an old astronaut. . . the oldest dude to ever go into space, and probably the baddest moth. . . oh, never mind.
Here is the honorable Senator John Glenn (D) Ohio (what a great president he'd have been).
Here is the senator with his lovely wife Annie. Their romance and relationship should be in the Couples Hall of Fame on the tallest pedestal.
And here he is again. . .
. . . because we all know, he was the original Mr. Clean.
Thanks John Glenn. I was just thinking about heroes and Ohio today and you came up in my mind like an old friend.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
An October surprise?
IF this is true, does this matter?
Maybe not, but I think it does from the perspective of; what other skeletons are hiding in the closet?
Also, was it his fault? Was he drunk?
This is a guy with a ton of baggage on his head in the form of; locked up in a Hanoi prison for 5 years while being tortured. That would fuck me up. How badly did it fuck up McCain? He has never released and psychological records, briefs or summaries from competent psychologists assuring the American people that he is psychologically stable after such a horrid life experience. Shouldn't we know that before electing him to the presidency of the United States? Now this? Either of these trauma would shake the foundations of most men, possible rendering them incapable of leading this nation.
How can we elect someone who has not proven that they are NOT standing on a crumbling foundation?
We do know that the guy has anger problems and a tendency to seek revenge on his enemies. All signs of a shaky foundation. . .
What else do we know?
News Orgs Investigate Possibly Fatal McCain '64 Car Crash
October 28, 2008 09:45 AM
For the past two months, a major American magazine and an allied news service have been engaged in a legal battle with the United States Navy over records that they believe show that John McCain once was involved in an automobile accident that injured or, perhaps, killed another individual.
Vanity Fair magazine and the National Security News Service claim to have knowledge "developed from first-hand sources" of a car crash that involved then-Lt. McCain at the main gate of a Virginia naval base in 1964, according to legal filings. The incident has been largely, if not entirely, kept from the public. And in documents suing the Navy to release pertinent information, lawyers for the NS News Service allege that a cover-up may be at play.
"Plaintiffs have also obtained documents showing that law enforcement officers were ordered back to the accident scene to retrieve personal physical effects. The Navy has never publicly acknowledged this information," one document reads. "This request involves federal government activity, as it addresses what may be an attempt by the Navy to protect by concealment the involvement of a former Navy officer, sitting Senator and Presidential candidate in a serious incident involving the injury or death of another human being."
The first request for information concerning duty assignment logs to Portsmouth Naval Hospital -- where McCain was allegedly brought after the accident -- came in the form of a Freedom of Information Act request on August 28, 2008. The Navy acknowledged receipt of the request and advised that it had located the relevant information a few weeks later, only to deny the FOIA on grounds that it didn't prove an "imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual" or satisfy the criteria of "a breaking news story of general public interest."
"The patient admission record logs that you seek are exempt from release," wrote G.E. Lattin, Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General, "as information in personnel and medical files, as well as similar personal information in other files, that if disclosed to a requestor, other than the actual person in which the information is pertaining to or next of kin, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
NS News Service and Vanity Fair appealed the decision and asked for expedited treatment of the case, as the end of the presidential election loomed. But the Navy denied that request as well.
"It appears to be a deliberate refusal to provide clearly releasable information concerning assignments to Portsmouth Naval Hospital," wrote legal representatives for the two news organizations. "Allowing the Navy to extend its time to respond beyond a date when the documentary facts of this matter would be available for public consideration prior to the national election on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 would violate the spirit, as well as the provisions of the FOIA."
Staff for National Security News Service and the company's lawyer both refused to discuss the proceedings. And there are only parcels of information concerning the story that can be gleamed from the court documents.
At a minimum it seems clear that Vanity Fair and NS News Service have launched an investigation "disclosing first-hand witnesses' recollection of an automobile accident in which then Lt. John S. McCain III was involved. Those witnesses specifically recall McCain's assignment to that [hospital] facility with the other person involved in the accident." This episode in McCain's life has, it seems, not been made public, and the plaintiffs suggest that the Navy may be attempting to actively restrict information about the incident.
"The subject matter of the documents is a matter of current exigency to the American public," reads a document filed by legal representatives for the news service, "because the requester is preparing a current news report addressing whether the Navy continues to conceal the involvement of a Navy officer in a serious automobile accident in July 1964."
Maybe not, but I think it does from the perspective of; what other skeletons are hiding in the closet?
Also, was it his fault? Was he drunk?
This is a guy with a ton of baggage on his head in the form of; locked up in a Hanoi prison for 5 years while being tortured. That would fuck me up. How badly did it fuck up McCain? He has never released and psychological records, briefs or summaries from competent psychologists assuring the American people that he is psychologically stable after such a horrid life experience. Shouldn't we know that before electing him to the presidency of the United States? Now this? Either of these trauma would shake the foundations of most men, possible rendering them incapable of leading this nation.
How can we elect someone who has not proven that they are NOT standing on a crumbling foundation?
We do know that the guy has anger problems and a tendency to seek revenge on his enemies. All signs of a shaky foundation. . .
What else do we know?
News Orgs Investigate Possibly Fatal McCain '64 Car Crash
October 28, 2008 09:45 AM
For the past two months, a major American magazine and an allied news service have been engaged in a legal battle with the United States Navy over records that they believe show that John McCain once was involved in an automobile accident that injured or, perhaps, killed another individual.
Vanity Fair magazine and the National Security News Service claim to have knowledge "developed from first-hand sources" of a car crash that involved then-Lt. McCain at the main gate of a Virginia naval base in 1964, according to legal filings. The incident has been largely, if not entirely, kept from the public. And in documents suing the Navy to release pertinent information, lawyers for the NS News Service allege that a cover-up may be at play.
"Plaintiffs have also obtained documents showing that law enforcement officers were ordered back to the accident scene to retrieve personal physical effects. The Navy has never publicly acknowledged this information," one document reads. "This request involves federal government activity, as it addresses what may be an attempt by the Navy to protect by concealment the involvement of a former Navy officer, sitting Senator and Presidential candidate in a serious incident involving the injury or death of another human being."
The first request for information concerning duty assignment logs to Portsmouth Naval Hospital -- where McCain was allegedly brought after the accident -- came in the form of a Freedom of Information Act request on August 28, 2008. The Navy acknowledged receipt of the request and advised that it had located the relevant information a few weeks later, only to deny the FOIA on grounds that it didn't prove an "imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual" or satisfy the criteria of "a breaking news story of general public interest."
"The patient admission record logs that you seek are exempt from release," wrote G.E. Lattin, Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General, "as information in personnel and medical files, as well as similar personal information in other files, that if disclosed to a requestor, other than the actual person in which the information is pertaining to or next of kin, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
NS News Service and Vanity Fair appealed the decision and asked for expedited treatment of the case, as the end of the presidential election loomed. But the Navy denied that request as well.
"It appears to be a deliberate refusal to provide clearly releasable information concerning assignments to Portsmouth Naval Hospital," wrote legal representatives for the two news organizations. "Allowing the Navy to extend its time to respond beyond a date when the documentary facts of this matter would be available for public consideration prior to the national election on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 would violate the spirit, as well as the provisions of the FOIA."
Staff for National Security News Service and the company's lawyer both refused to discuss the proceedings. And there are only parcels of information concerning the story that can be gleamed from the court documents.
At a minimum it seems clear that Vanity Fair and NS News Service have launched an investigation "disclosing first-hand witnesses' recollection of an automobile accident in which then Lt. John S. McCain III was involved. Those witnesses specifically recall McCain's assignment to that [hospital] facility with the other person involved in the accident." This episode in McCain's life has, it seems, not been made public, and the plaintiffs suggest that the Navy may be attempting to actively restrict information about the incident.
"The subject matter of the documents is a matter of current exigency to the American public," reads a document filed by legal representatives for the news service, "because the requester is preparing a current news report addressing whether the Navy continues to conceal the involvement of a Navy officer in a serious automobile accident in July 1964."
Friday, October 24, 2008
The horror
I hate capital punishment. It is inhumane, barbaric and simple unfathomable to me.
It's also one of those things I feel helpless against so I tend not to mention it and try to put the horror of it out of my head. MacDaddy won't let me do that so I'm going to cross post this from his site today.
Maybe it's time for those of us who would rather ignore the problem, especially those of us in non-death sentence states to speak up.
Troubling Question Surround the Troy Davis Execution
by Barry Schenk
By now, hopefully many people have heard about Troy Davis, who is set to be executed Monday in Georgia for the murder of a police officer in Savannah. Investigations conducted since his 1991 conviction have produced disturbing affidavits showing that seven of the nine key witnesses who testified against Davis now recant their trial testimony, claiming they were coerced to lie by Savannah police. Despite the seriousness of these allegations and the sheer number of recantations, Georgia courts and state officials have not only been unwilling to stay his execution, but they have even refused to hold a hearing with live, sworn testimony to assess the credibility of the recanting witnesses.
What most people don't know is why Davis can't get a full hearing on the new evidence -- and just how ridiculously far four judges of the Georgia Supreme Court have gone (there were three dissenters) to avoid reviewing post-conviction evidence of innocence.
The recantation of a witness alone does not and should not automatically result in a conviction being vacated -- recantation evidence is treated with caution by courts because, after all, the witness is saying he or she once lied under oath, so how can one be so sure they are not just lying again? Nonetheless, many wrongful convictions have been overturned because a recanting witness, testifying in person and under oath before a judge, is found to be credible and the reason for the recantation - often a claim that the original trial testimony was coerced - is found to be persuasive. But in Georgia the recanting witnesses don't get to testify because the state's courts have created an extraordinary Catch-22 rule -- the "purest fabrication" doctrine - that arbitrarily denies evidentiary hearings even when extremely persuasive recantation affidavits have been submitted.
The "purest fabrication" doctrine means that post-conviction hearings don't have to be held to evaluate the credibility of recanting witnesses unless the defendant can show, by extrinsic proof before the hearing is held, that the original testimony was absolutely false. The example cited by the Georgia Supreme Court in the Davis case is a recanting witness who testified at trial that he was an accomplice to a murder but can now show, to support his recantation, that he was incarcerated in another county at the time of the crime. Needless to say, in cases with that kind of extrinsic, objective evidence that the recanting witness gave false testimony, hearings are superfluous. In short, the "purest fabrication" doctrine allows Georgia courts to duck inexcusably the most troubling, serious, and controversial recantation cases, the ones that cry out for judges to make fair and full assessments of witness credibility and claims of police coercion, if only to buttress public confidence in the system.
What's left of the evidence against Troy Davis inspires little confidence. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. The case turned on the testimony of two jailhouse snitches, who have both recanted, and seven eyewitnesses, five of whom recanted. The steady drumbeat of DNA exonerations in recent years -- 223 people who served more than 2,500 combined years in prison for crimes they didn't commit -- shows that eyewitnesses can get it wrong and jailhouse snitches lie. More than 75% of these wrongful convictions involved eyewitness misidentification; 15% involved jailhouse snitches. Because DNA revealed the truth in those cases, they didn't rely on recanted testimony, although there were recantations in some of them. But DNA testing is an option in just 10% of all criminal cases. When DNA testing cannot be conducted, innocent prisoners rely on other evidence -- including credible witness recantations - to secure their exonerations.
The Innocence Project, which I co-founded with Peter Neufeld in 1992, advocates for legislation that improves the accuracy of the criminal justice system -- protecting the innocent and helping apprehend the guilty -- by addressing the root causes of the problem. Georgia lawmakers are currently considering reforms to eyewitness identification procedures in the state, but any reforms will come too late too late to help Troy Davis and other people who have already been convicted. We need to reform our criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions, but our courts must also be able and willing to examine new evidence of innocence when it is discovered, even when it requires making credibility judgments about recanting witnesses.
If we've learned anything from all these DNA exonerations nationwide, it's that our system makes mistakes. Georgia officials should stop Troy Davis' execution and give him a full hearing -- before carrying out a sentence they can never reverse.
It's also one of those things I feel helpless against so I tend not to mention it and try to put the horror of it out of my head. MacDaddy won't let me do that so I'm going to cross post this from his site today.
Maybe it's time for those of us who would rather ignore the problem, especially those of us in non-death sentence states to speak up.
Troubling Question Surround the Troy Davis Execution
by Barry Schenk
By now, hopefully many people have heard about Troy Davis, who is set to be executed Monday in Georgia for the murder of a police officer in Savannah. Investigations conducted since his 1991 conviction have produced disturbing affidavits showing that seven of the nine key witnesses who testified against Davis now recant their trial testimony, claiming they were coerced to lie by Savannah police. Despite the seriousness of these allegations and the sheer number of recantations, Georgia courts and state officials have not only been unwilling to stay his execution, but they have even refused to hold a hearing with live, sworn testimony to assess the credibility of the recanting witnesses.
What most people don't know is why Davis can't get a full hearing on the new evidence -- and just how ridiculously far four judges of the Georgia Supreme Court have gone (there were three dissenters) to avoid reviewing post-conviction evidence of innocence.
The recantation of a witness alone does not and should not automatically result in a conviction being vacated -- recantation evidence is treated with caution by courts because, after all, the witness is saying he or she once lied under oath, so how can one be so sure they are not just lying again? Nonetheless, many wrongful convictions have been overturned because a recanting witness, testifying in person and under oath before a judge, is found to be credible and the reason for the recantation - often a claim that the original trial testimony was coerced - is found to be persuasive. But in Georgia the recanting witnesses don't get to testify because the state's courts have created an extraordinary Catch-22 rule -- the "purest fabrication" doctrine - that arbitrarily denies evidentiary hearings even when extremely persuasive recantation affidavits have been submitted.
The "purest fabrication" doctrine means that post-conviction hearings don't have to be held to evaluate the credibility of recanting witnesses unless the defendant can show, by extrinsic proof before the hearing is held, that the original testimony was absolutely false. The example cited by the Georgia Supreme Court in the Davis case is a recanting witness who testified at trial that he was an accomplice to a murder but can now show, to support his recantation, that he was incarcerated in another county at the time of the crime. Needless to say, in cases with that kind of extrinsic, objective evidence that the recanting witness gave false testimony, hearings are superfluous. In short, the "purest fabrication" doctrine allows Georgia courts to duck inexcusably the most troubling, serious, and controversial recantation cases, the ones that cry out for judges to make fair and full assessments of witness credibility and claims of police coercion, if only to buttress public confidence in the system.
What's left of the evidence against Troy Davis inspires little confidence. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. The case turned on the testimony of two jailhouse snitches, who have both recanted, and seven eyewitnesses, five of whom recanted. The steady drumbeat of DNA exonerations in recent years -- 223 people who served more than 2,500 combined years in prison for crimes they didn't commit -- shows that eyewitnesses can get it wrong and jailhouse snitches lie. More than 75% of these wrongful convictions involved eyewitness misidentification; 15% involved jailhouse snitches. Because DNA revealed the truth in those cases, they didn't rely on recanted testimony, although there were recantations in some of them. But DNA testing is an option in just 10% of all criminal cases. When DNA testing cannot be conducted, innocent prisoners rely on other evidence -- including credible witness recantations - to secure their exonerations.
The Innocence Project, which I co-founded with Peter Neufeld in 1992, advocates for legislation that improves the accuracy of the criminal justice system -- protecting the innocent and helping apprehend the guilty -- by addressing the root causes of the problem. Georgia lawmakers are currently considering reforms to eyewitness identification procedures in the state, but any reforms will come too late too late to help Troy Davis and other people who have already been convicted. We need to reform our criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions, but our courts must also be able and willing to examine new evidence of innocence when it is discovered, even when it requires making credibility judgments about recanting witnesses.
If we've learned anything from all these DNA exonerations nationwide, it's that our system makes mistakes. Georgia officials should stop Troy Davis' execution and give him a full hearing -- before carrying out a sentence they can never reverse.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Delusion: A false belief strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence
Puffy McBush said today:
“We’re doing fine. We have a lot of enthusiasm out there. We’re working hard and enjoying the rallies and having fun. I’m very confident,” he said. “I think we’re behind, but it’s within the margin of error and we’re coming up. All the indicators are that we’re coming up.”
FOX - 10/20-21 40-49 Obama (yes, that's FOX)
CNN - 10/17-18 46-51 Obama
Pew Research - 10/16-19 39-53 Obama
CBS/NYT - 10/10-13 39-53 Obama
Numerous others show that Obama is polling ABOVE 50%. That means that no matter how the undecideds vote, Obama is showing a win.
But the good thing is, the undecideds are falling toward Obama at a more than 25% advantage in most polling.
This is shaping up to be a blow out if these polls hold and the Bradlet effect doesn't kick in big time.
So Puffy, exactly what do you base "it’s within the margin of error and we’re coming up."
What a sad joke Puffy McBush and his pitiful choice for VP have become.
Delusional, at best.
“We’re doing fine. We have a lot of enthusiasm out there. We’re working hard and enjoying the rallies and having fun. I’m very confident,” he said. “I think we’re behind, but it’s within the margin of error and we’re coming up. All the indicators are that we’re coming up.”
FOX - 10/20-21 40-49 Obama (yes, that's FOX)
CNN - 10/17-18 46-51 Obama
Pew Research - 10/16-19 39-53 Obama
CBS/NYT - 10/10-13 39-53 Obama
Numerous others show that Obama is polling ABOVE 50%. That means that no matter how the undecideds vote, Obama is showing a win.
But the good thing is, the undecideds are falling toward Obama at a more than 25% advantage in most polling.
This is shaping up to be a blow out if these polls hold and the Bradlet effect doesn't kick in big time.
So Puffy, exactly what do you base "it’s within the margin of error and we’re coming up."
What a sad joke Puffy McBush and his pitiful choice for VP have become.
Delusional, at best.
Potential voter fraud and lack of concern in WV
Maybe I'm making too big a deal of all this. Perhaps the potential loss of democratic votes and those votes being registered as republican votes (or if the opposite were true) just isn't a big deal to most people.
Well, it is to me. If one person losses their vote I believe the whole electoral process has been corrupted. I don't believe a single person should stand and defend, trivialize or remain silent about what has apparently happened in Jackson County and Putnam County, WV.
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?
WHERE ARE THE WEST VIRGINIA BLOGGERS WHO SHOULD BE RESPONDING TO THIS?
Probably too busy promoting the same old WV republicrat agenda while brushing anything progressive or different under the rug. Welcome to West Virginia; business as usual.
Not much has changed since the days of a slap on the back and a pint of whiskey on the way out the door.
Good thing Obama doesn't need WV, but sadly, once again, WV will be a backwater of modern society. 50 years from now, when people look at the map of who put perhaps the greatest president in office and the first African-American in the White House they'll look at WV and say, "well of course."
Well, it is to me. If one person losses their vote I believe the whole electoral process has been corrupted. I don't believe a single person should stand and defend, trivialize or remain silent about what has apparently happened in Jackson County and Putnam County, WV.
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?
WHERE ARE THE WEST VIRGINIA BLOGGERS WHO SHOULD BE RESPONDING TO THIS?
Probably too busy promoting the same old WV republicrat agenda while brushing anything progressive or different under the rug. Welcome to West Virginia; business as usual.
Not much has changed since the days of a slap on the back and a pint of whiskey on the way out the door.
Good thing Obama doesn't need WV, but sadly, once again, WV will be a backwater of modern society. 50 years from now, when people look at the map of who put perhaps the greatest president in office and the first African-American in the White House they'll look at WV and say, "well of course."
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Not good for the WV voter!
WV Journal, Oct 21.
[WV Secretary of State Betty] Ireland says the machines have been repeatedly tested, and are reliable. She said some could have lost their calibration when they were moved from storage and set up. She also echoed the Putnam and Jackson county clerks, who have said that the complaining voters may have touched the wrong part of the screen.
Charleston Gazette, Oct. 20.
"Election Systems and Software, a company based in Omaha, Neb., has faced problems and controversies in other states.
In California, for example, Secretary of State Debra Brown issued a legal order on Aug. 3, 2007, banning the use of ES&S machines in any future California election. . . ."
Newsvine.com
Once again, the country's largest voting machine vendor, Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S) has failed in yet another state certification process, The BRAD BLOG has learned.
In a letter faxed to the company yesterday, Colorado's Secretary of State Mike Coffman informed the Omaha, Nebraska company that the state has suspended the certification process of ES&S' voting systems due to a failure to provide required documentation and other materials needed to complete testing. That, after several previous deadline extensions had been granted.
"[T]here is a history of coordination issues with your company," Coffman wrote to ES&S' Vice President of Certification, Steve Pearson in the two-page letter, before detailing a litany of problems they've had with the company throughout the testing period.
California Review of the ES&S AutoMARK and M100
Election Systems and Software (ES&S)
By Dan Wallach, Rice University
March 26, 2008
This article was posted on Ed Felten's Freedom to Tinker Blog and is reposted here with permission of the author.
California’s Secretary of State has been busy. It appears that ES&S (manufacturers of the Ink-a-Vote voting system, used in Los Angeles, as well as the iVotronic systems that made news in Sarasota, Florida in 2006) submitted its latest and greatest “Unity 3.0.1.1" system for California certification. ES&S systems were also considered by Ohio’s study last year, which found a variety of security problems.
California already analyzed the Ink-a-Vote. This time, ES&S submitted their AutoMARK ballot marking device, which has generated some prior fame for being more accessible than other electronic voting solutions, as well has having generated some prior infamy for having gone through various hardware changes without being resubmitted for certification. ES&S also submitted its M100 precinct-based tabulation systems, which would work in conjunction with the AutoMARK devices. (Most voters would vote with pen on a bubble sheet. The AutoMARK presents a fancy computer interface but really does nothing more than mark the bubble sheet on behalf of the voter.) ES&S apparently did not submit its iVotronic systems.
The results? Certification denied.
California's Testing Cracks ES&S E-Voting System Wide Open
Election Systems and Software (ES&S)
By Ryan Paul, ars technica
December 05, 2007
Earlier this year, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen established strict new standards for electronic voting machines, requiring independent code audits, Red Team security testing, and support for paper records. The Red Team testing process primarily involves subjecting the machines to review by security experts who attempt to hack the software and bypass the physical security mechanisms. Recent Red Team tests of ES&S voting machines have uncovered serious security flaws.
Previous Red Team tests commissioned by the state of California revealed significant vulnerabilities in devices sold by Diebold and Sequoia. At the time, ES&S declined to participate in the testing, citing lack of preparedness. The tests on the ES&S machines were finally conducted in October, and the results, which were recently published (PDF), show that products from ES&S are as insecure as the rest.
The first round of tests focused on the physical security of the Polling Ballot Counter (PBC), which the Red Team researchers were able to circumvent with little effort. "In the physical security testing, the wire- and tamper-proof paper seals were easily removed without damage to the seals using simple household chemicals and tools and could be replaced without detection," the report says. "Once the seals are bypassed, simple tools or easy modifications to simple tools could be used to access the computer and its components. The key lock for the Transfer Device was unlocked using a common office item without the special 'key' and the seal removed."
[WV Secretary of State Betty] Ireland says the machines have been repeatedly tested, and are reliable. She said some could have lost their calibration when they were moved from storage and set up. She also echoed the Putnam and Jackson county clerks, who have said that the complaining voters may have touched the wrong part of the screen.
Charleston Gazette, Oct. 20.
"Election Systems and Software, a company based in Omaha, Neb., has faced problems and controversies in other states.
In California, for example, Secretary of State Debra Brown issued a legal order on Aug. 3, 2007, banning the use of ES&S machines in any future California election. . . ."
Newsvine.com
Once again, the country's largest voting machine vendor, Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S) has failed in yet another state certification process, The BRAD BLOG has learned.
In a letter faxed to the company yesterday, Colorado's Secretary of State Mike Coffman informed the Omaha, Nebraska company that the state has suspended the certification process of ES&S' voting systems due to a failure to provide required documentation and other materials needed to complete testing. That, after several previous deadline extensions had been granted.
"[T]here is a history of coordination issues with your company," Coffman wrote to ES&S' Vice President of Certification, Steve Pearson in the two-page letter, before detailing a litany of problems they've had with the company throughout the testing period.
California Review of the ES&S AutoMARK and M100
Election Systems and Software (ES&S)
By Dan Wallach, Rice University
March 26, 2008
This article was posted on Ed Felten's Freedom to Tinker Blog and is reposted here with permission of the author.
California’s Secretary of State has been busy. It appears that ES&S (manufacturers of the Ink-a-Vote voting system, used in Los Angeles, as well as the iVotronic systems that made news in Sarasota, Florida in 2006) submitted its latest and greatest “Unity 3.0.1.1" system for California certification. ES&S systems were also considered by Ohio’s study last year, which found a variety of security problems.
California already analyzed the Ink-a-Vote. This time, ES&S submitted their AutoMARK ballot marking device, which has generated some prior fame for being more accessible than other electronic voting solutions, as well has having generated some prior infamy for having gone through various hardware changes without being resubmitted for certification. ES&S also submitted its M100 precinct-based tabulation systems, which would work in conjunction with the AutoMARK devices. (Most voters would vote with pen on a bubble sheet. The AutoMARK presents a fancy computer interface but really does nothing more than mark the bubble sheet on behalf of the voter.) ES&S apparently did not submit its iVotronic systems.
The results? Certification denied.
California's Testing Cracks ES&S E-Voting System Wide Open
Election Systems and Software (ES&S)
By Ryan Paul, ars technica
December 05, 2007
Earlier this year, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen established strict new standards for electronic voting machines, requiring independent code audits, Red Team security testing, and support for paper records. The Red Team testing process primarily involves subjecting the machines to review by security experts who attempt to hack the software and bypass the physical security mechanisms. Recent Red Team tests of ES&S voting machines have uncovered serious security flaws.
Previous Red Team tests commissioned by the state of California revealed significant vulnerabilities in devices sold by Diebold and Sequoia. At the time, ES&S declined to participate in the testing, citing lack of preparedness. The tests on the ES&S machines were finally conducted in October, and the results, which were recently published (PDF), show that products from ES&S are as insecure as the rest.
The first round of tests focused on the physical security of the Polling Ballot Counter (PBC), which the Red Team researchers were able to circumvent with little effort. "In the physical security testing, the wire- and tamper-proof paper seals were easily removed without damage to the seals using simple household chemicals and tools and could be replaced without detection," the report says. "Once the seals are bypassed, simple tools or easy modifications to simple tools could be used to access the computer and its components. The key lock for the Transfer Device was unlocked using a common office item without the special 'key' and the seal removed."
Defeat Rep. Robin Hayes (R) NC
http://www.larrykissell.com
This is the guy running against Robin Hayes in NC.
Check him out, contribute, tell your friends and family, especially those in NC.
This guy is a former textile worker (27yrs) and now a HS Social Studies teacher.
Hayes is a rich kid who's family owns Cannon textile mills. He's never worked a day in his life even though he says "liberals hate real Americans that[sic] work and achieve. . . "
This is the guy running against Robin Hayes in NC.
Check him out, contribute, tell your friends and family, especially those in NC.
This guy is a former textile worker (27yrs) and now a HS Social Studies teacher.
Hayes is a rich kid who's family owns Cannon textile mills. He's never worked a day in his life even though he says "liberals hate real Americans that[sic] work and achieve. . . "
Monday, October 20, 2008
Not looking good for the red team
Puffy McBush campaign is getting desperate and a sad movement it is indeed.
As the Obama campaign opens up a double digit lead in the polls, the right has had to resort to really low pitiful attacks. . .
Mel Martinez, a republican congressman from southern FL decided that the best way to steer the Latino vote was to call Obama a communist and compare his policy to that of Castro's Cuba. Yea, a US Congressman said that.
Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachman from Minnesota has gotten up on national TV and said that the media should investigate the democrats in the congress for having "anti American views," Obama has "anti American views" and she also said that liberals in general were "anti American."
Puffy himself is accusing Obama of being a socialist. . . Oooooooo, the "socialist" boogey man raises it's ugly head. Please, I wanna hear one of them say "better dead than red." (I remember feeling guilty for thinking when I was a kid "fuck that, I'd rather be red.")
Sarah Palin, the genius from Alaska was asked by a school child what the vice president does, her response: the VP is in charge of the US Senate. Yes folks, Ms. PAlin doesn't even know what the VP's job is. No clue. Do you think a person running for the #2 position in the nation should know what the job entails and might want to read the Constitution of the United States and familiarize herself with what IT says the VP's job is? Astounding.
"Liberals hate real American's that [sic] work achieve and believe in god."
Congressman Robin Hayes, (R)NC in a warm-up speech at a Palin rally.
I'm getting kinda tired of these right wing pricks telling us that this or that part of America is or isn't the real America and that you've got to be a right wing republican conservative to be a patriot, etc. What a bunch of dick headed fucktards.
How dare these shallow minded misfits declare me less American that they are. Would you like to discuss American history? How about the finer points of the Constitution of the United States? Wanna see my pedigree? Let's have a show down mother fucker.
Sarah Palin believes that keeping gay couples from marrying will keep her marriage stronger.
She must know some things about her he-man Todd that we don't.
Palin breaks with McCain on gay marriage amendment
NEW YORK – Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin says she supports a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a break with John McCain who has said he believes states should be left to define what marriage is. In an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network, the Alaska governor said she had voted in 1998 for a state amendment banning same sex marriage and hoped to see a federal ban on such unions.
"I have voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote to amend our Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish on a federal level that's where we would go. I don't support gay marriage," Palin said. She said she believed traditional marriage is the foundation for strong families.
Tell us about the 'destruction of the fabric of our democracy' Puffy. Isn't that what you said ACORN was doing to Amurkkka? I'm confused Puffy. . . where you comin from?
Huffington Post. . .
McCain Employing GOP Operative Accused Of Voter Registration Fraud
John McCain's campaign has directed $175,000 to the firm of a Republican operative accused of massive voter registration fraud in several states.
A joint committee of the McCain-Palin campaign, the RNC and the the California GOP made a $175,000 payment to the group Lincoln Strategy in June for purposes of "registering voters." The managing partner of that firm is Nathan Sproul, a renowned GOP operative who has been investigated for suppressing Democratic voter turnout, throwing away registration forms and spearheading efforts to get Ralph Nader on ballots to hinder the Democratic ticket.
"Lincoln Group" I hope they're from Lincoln, NE because using Abraham Lincoln's name for a group that suppresses voters is just SOOOOOOOO fucking wrong.
As the Obama campaign opens up a double digit lead in the polls, the right has had to resort to really low pitiful attacks. . .
Mel Martinez, a republican congressman from southern FL decided that the best way to steer the Latino vote was to call Obama a communist and compare his policy to that of Castro's Cuba. Yea, a US Congressman said that.
Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachman from Minnesota has gotten up on national TV and said that the media should investigate the democrats in the congress for having "anti American views," Obama has "anti American views" and she also said that liberals in general were "anti American."
Puffy himself is accusing Obama of being a socialist. . . Oooooooo, the "socialist" boogey man raises it's ugly head. Please, I wanna hear one of them say "better dead than red." (I remember feeling guilty for thinking when I was a kid "fuck that, I'd rather be red.")
Sarah Palin, the genius from Alaska was asked by a school child what the vice president does, her response: the VP is in charge of the US Senate. Yes folks, Ms. PAlin doesn't even know what the VP's job is. No clue. Do you think a person running for the #2 position in the nation should know what the job entails and might want to read the Constitution of the United States and familiarize herself with what IT says the VP's job is? Astounding.
"Liberals hate real American's that [sic] work achieve and believe in god."
Congressman Robin Hayes, (R)NC in a warm-up speech at a Palin rally.
I'm getting kinda tired of these right wing pricks telling us that this or that part of America is or isn't the real America and that you've got to be a right wing republican conservative to be a patriot, etc. What a bunch of dick headed fucktards.
How dare these shallow minded misfits declare me less American that they are. Would you like to discuss American history? How about the finer points of the Constitution of the United States? Wanna see my pedigree? Let's have a show down mother fucker.
Sarah Palin believes that keeping gay couples from marrying will keep her marriage stronger.
She must know some things about her he-man Todd that we don't.
Palin breaks with McCain on gay marriage amendment
NEW YORK – Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin says she supports a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a break with John McCain who has said he believes states should be left to define what marriage is. In an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network, the Alaska governor said she had voted in 1998 for a state amendment banning same sex marriage and hoped to see a federal ban on such unions.
"I have voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote to amend our Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish on a federal level that's where we would go. I don't support gay marriage," Palin said. She said she believed traditional marriage is the foundation for strong families.
Tell us about the 'destruction of the fabric of our democracy' Puffy. Isn't that what you said ACORN was doing to Amurkkka? I'm confused Puffy. . . where you comin from?
Huffington Post. . .
McCain Employing GOP Operative Accused Of Voter Registration Fraud
John McCain's campaign has directed $175,000 to the firm of a Republican operative accused of massive voter registration fraud in several states.
A joint committee of the McCain-Palin campaign, the RNC and the the California GOP made a $175,000 payment to the group Lincoln Strategy in June for purposes of "registering voters." The managing partner of that firm is Nathan Sproul, a renowned GOP operative who has been investigated for suppressing Democratic voter turnout, throwing away registration forms and spearheading efforts to get Ralph Nader on ballots to hinder the Democratic ticket.
"Lincoln Group" I hope they're from Lincoln, NE because using Abraham Lincoln's name for a group that suppresses voters is just SOOOOOOOO fucking wrong.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Possible Voter Fraud and Vote Rigging In West Virginia
Oct. 21
Still more people in Putnam County reporting problems voting.
Charleston Gazette:
Early-voting problems in Putnam
By Paul J. Nyden
Staff writer
WINFIELD, W.Va. - Two more Putnam County voters - Martha Louise Harrington and Michael K. Koon - have come forward about problems they experienced on early-voting electronic machines at the Winfield courthouse. . .
Deputy Secretary of State Sarah Bailey said 21,194 West Virginians had already cast early votes by Friday.
"Early voting becomes more popular every year," she said. "All the voting systems [in West Virginia] are manufactured by ES&S."
Election Systems and Software, a company based in Omaha, Neb., has faced problems and controversies in other states.
In California, for example, Secretary of State Debra Brown issued a legal order on Aug. 3, 2007, banning the use of ES&S machines in any future California election. . . .
"Touch screens in Putnam County have a certain delay. If your 'x' does not pop up, and you punch it again, it goes away. There is a delay from the time you punch it to the time when your vote is recorded," Casey said.
Where's the national press? Where is the Obama Campaign? Where is the US Justice Dept?
Oct. 20
Call and e-mail these people. Tell them you are concerned about your vote and the integrity of the voting process in WV!!!
PLEASE, do it now.
WV Secretary of State Office - (304) 558-6000
e-mail - Secretary - wvsos@wvsos.com
Elections - elections@wvsos.com
WV Attorney General's Office - (304) 558-2021
Governor's Office - 1-888-438-2731
Ed. Note:
I made calls this morning to both the Secretary of State's office and the Attorney Generals office.
The attorney generals office put me in touch with the AG's chief of staff. She assured me that the AG was busy looking into the problem as we spoke and that they were very concerned with any irregularities and especially the coincidence that in both counties the mistakes strongly favored the republican side.
I hung up satisfied that they were pursuing all their options.
My call to the SOS office was a different matter. I voiced my concerns to two people who both passed me off until finally I was given a Mr. Jason Williams. Mr. Williams continued to tell me that it was only a calibration problem and that I wasn't aware of this and that and how things were done. He also let me know that the voters who registered complaint might not have known what they were doing. As I tried to calmly and logically explain to him that voters should not have to have skills to vote and that it seemed strange that the irregularities were one sided and that these development shake the foundation of people's confidence in the voting process and that I was familiar with the mechanics of touch screen machines and computer programming he continued to give me very canned answers while dismissing my comments. He then told me that they had other issues to deal with and if I had further comments I could e-mail them. click. Yup, he just hung-up on me. I was not belligerent, rude or in any way disrespectful. I simply presented myself as a voter who was concerned and scared that my vote might not count and looking for some assurances that our processes were safe. Yes, he hung up on me.
Did I mention that the Secretary of State of the State of West Virginia is a republican?
And it gets even better. I called the governor's office and asked if the governor's office was looking into the voting irregularities occurring in Jackson and Putnam Counties. The lady said "just a minute," and transferred me to another line. It rung and rung and rung and finally a voice mail message came on.
Would you feel confident voting in West Virginia?
U.S. Department of Justice and the West Virginia State Attorney Generals Office and the Secretary of States Office; please be advised that we have a serious problem here in West Virginia.
In two of West Virginia's most republican counties, voters are reporting that when they use touch screen voting machines and vote for the democratic candidate, the machine registers the republican candidate.
According to local news reports:
Shelba Ketchum, a 69-year-old nurse retired from Thomas Memorial Hospital, described what happened Friday at the Putnam County Courthouse in Winfield.
"I pushed buttons and they all came up Republican," she said. "I hit Obama and it switched to McCain. I am really concerned about that. . . .
"I asked them for a printout of my votes," Ketchum said. "But they said it was in the machine and I could not get it. I did not feel right when I left the courthouse. My son felt the same way.
WTF? Asked for a paper printout and they wouldn't give it to her?! I thought that was mandatory?
Yea, I'd feel very uncomfortable too! You walk out thinking thatmaybe your vote not only didn't count, but got registered to the candidate you oppose?!?!
Where is the outrage!
"I heard from some other people they also had trouble. But no one in there knew how to fix it," said Ketchum, who is not related to Menis Ketchum, a Democratic Supreme Court candidate.
Ketchum's son, Chris, said he had the same problem. And Bobbi Oates of Scott Depot said her vote for incumbent Democratic Sen. John D. Rockefeller was switched to GOP opponent Jay Wolfe.
"I touched the one I wanted, Rockefeller, and the machine put a checkmark on the Republican instead," Oates said of her experience Thursday.
She said she caught the mistake, called over a worker in the county clerk's office and was able to correct her vote. But she worries other voters may not catch such a mistake.
How many other voters had the same thing happen but didn't notice? How in the fuck could this be going on without the federal government and the state government coming down on them like buzzards on a shit wagon?
Putnam County Clerk Brian Wood said on Saturday that he is upset there are "so many negative stories out there and not enough positive ones. We want people to vote. People need to know the facts.
"But we haven't had any major issues. We try to explain to voters how the machines work then they come in," Wood said.
Excuse me moron republican clerk mother fucker, but you have machines registering the wrong candidate when people vote and you don't think that's a "major problem?"
Wood said some voters might not realize that touch-screen voting machines may take a few seconds to record their choices.
"The reaction time [on the machines] may be different. And when you hit the screen a second time, it cancels your vote," Wood said. "When you get in a hurry, if you go to fast and hit it again, you can cancel what you just did.
Ok MonkeyBoy, so it's the voters fault? Are these machines so fucking difficult to use that it requires a skilled operator? Is that what you're tell us? I don't think a person voting should have to have any skill other than being able to indicate what candidate they want to vote for. This shouldn't be something that requires dexterity or precision otherwise you give your vote to the other party.
Last week, three Jackson County residents said they experienced similar problems when they cast early ballots at the county courthouse in Ripley.
Virginia Matheney, one of those voters, said Friday, "When I touched the screen for Barack Obama, the check mark moved from his box to the box indicating a vote for John McCain."
Retired factory worker Calvin Thomas of Ripley said he experienced the same problem.
"When I pushed Obama, it jumped to McCain. When I went down to governor's office and punched [Gov. Joe] Manchin, it went to the other dude.
"After I finished, my daughter voted. When she pushed Obama, it went to McCain. It happened to her the same way it happened to me," Thomas said.
Jackson County Clerk Jeff Waybright, a Republican, said 400 other people voted without reporting any problems.
So what you little dismissive prick. Does that make it OK? How many of those 400 didn't notice that the piece of shit or rigged voting machines fucked up their vote?
You should be asking that question instead of categorically denying any problem.
Wood said, "Voting machines are very reliable. I hate the fact that stories like this are printed. It makes everybody get scared.
Same goes for you, you little right wing republican lackey. You're damn right people get scared. They're going to get REAL scared. In fact, I'm having to give careful consideration as to where and when I'm going to vote.
So please, will some gov't agency PLEASE come here to Putnam and Jackson Counties and figure out what's going on here? PLEASE!!!!
We need fair elections. We need to be sure our voting machines are not rigged and will accurately record EVERY SINGLE VOTE CAST.
Is this going on anywhere else in the country?
Still more people in Putnam County reporting problems voting.
Charleston Gazette:
Early-voting problems in Putnam
By Paul J. Nyden
Staff writer
WINFIELD, W.Va. - Two more Putnam County voters - Martha Louise Harrington and Michael K. Koon - have come forward about problems they experienced on early-voting electronic machines at the Winfield courthouse. . .
Deputy Secretary of State Sarah Bailey said 21,194 West Virginians had already cast early votes by Friday.
"Early voting becomes more popular every year," she said. "All the voting systems [in West Virginia] are manufactured by ES&S."
Election Systems and Software, a company based in Omaha, Neb., has faced problems and controversies in other states.
In California, for example, Secretary of State Debra Brown issued a legal order on Aug. 3, 2007, banning the use of ES&S machines in any future California election. . . .
"Touch screens in Putnam County have a certain delay. If your 'x' does not pop up, and you punch it again, it goes away. There is a delay from the time you punch it to the time when your vote is recorded," Casey said.
Where's the national press? Where is the Obama Campaign? Where is the US Justice Dept?
Oct. 20
Call and e-mail these people. Tell them you are concerned about your vote and the integrity of the voting process in WV!!!
PLEASE, do it now.
WV Secretary of State Office - (304) 558-6000
e-mail - Secretary - wvsos@wvsos.com
Elections - elections@wvsos.com
WV Attorney General's Office - (304) 558-2021
Governor's Office - 1-888-438-2731
Ed. Note:
I made calls this morning to both the Secretary of State's office and the Attorney Generals office.
The attorney generals office put me in touch with the AG's chief of staff. She assured me that the AG was busy looking into the problem as we spoke and that they were very concerned with any irregularities and especially the coincidence that in both counties the mistakes strongly favored the republican side.
I hung up satisfied that they were pursuing all their options.
My call to the SOS office was a different matter. I voiced my concerns to two people who both passed me off until finally I was given a Mr. Jason Williams. Mr. Williams continued to tell me that it was only a calibration problem and that I wasn't aware of this and that and how things were done. He also let me know that the voters who registered complaint might not have known what they were doing. As I tried to calmly and logically explain to him that voters should not have to have skills to vote and that it seemed strange that the irregularities were one sided and that these development shake the foundation of people's confidence in the voting process and that I was familiar with the mechanics of touch screen machines and computer programming he continued to give me very canned answers while dismissing my comments. He then told me that they had other issues to deal with and if I had further comments I could e-mail them. click. Yup, he just hung-up on me. I was not belligerent, rude or in any way disrespectful. I simply presented myself as a voter who was concerned and scared that my vote might not count and looking for some assurances that our processes were safe. Yes, he hung up on me.
Did I mention that the Secretary of State of the State of West Virginia is a republican?
And it gets even better. I called the governor's office and asked if the governor's office was looking into the voting irregularities occurring in Jackson and Putnam Counties. The lady said "just a minute," and transferred me to another line. It rung and rung and rung and finally a voice mail message came on.
Would you feel confident voting in West Virginia?
U.S. Department of Justice and the West Virginia State Attorney Generals Office and the Secretary of States Office; please be advised that we have a serious problem here in West Virginia.
In two of West Virginia's most republican counties, voters are reporting that when they use touch screen voting machines and vote for the democratic candidate, the machine registers the republican candidate.
According to local news reports:
Shelba Ketchum, a 69-year-old nurse retired from Thomas Memorial Hospital, described what happened Friday at the Putnam County Courthouse in Winfield.
"I pushed buttons and they all came up Republican," she said. "I hit Obama and it switched to McCain. I am really concerned about that. . . .
"I asked them for a printout of my votes," Ketchum said. "But they said it was in the machine and I could not get it. I did not feel right when I left the courthouse. My son felt the same way.
WTF? Asked for a paper printout and they wouldn't give it to her?! I thought that was mandatory?
Yea, I'd feel very uncomfortable too! You walk out thinking thatmaybe your vote not only didn't count, but got registered to the candidate you oppose?!?!
Where is the outrage!
"I heard from some other people they also had trouble. But no one in there knew how to fix it," said Ketchum, who is not related to Menis Ketchum, a Democratic Supreme Court candidate.
Ketchum's son, Chris, said he had the same problem. And Bobbi Oates of Scott Depot said her vote for incumbent Democratic Sen. John D. Rockefeller was switched to GOP opponent Jay Wolfe.
"I touched the one I wanted, Rockefeller, and the machine put a checkmark on the Republican instead," Oates said of her experience Thursday.
She said she caught the mistake, called over a worker in the county clerk's office and was able to correct her vote. But she worries other voters may not catch such a mistake.
How many other voters had the same thing happen but didn't notice? How in the fuck could this be going on without the federal government and the state government coming down on them like buzzards on a shit wagon?
Putnam County Clerk Brian Wood said on Saturday that he is upset there are "so many negative stories out there and not enough positive ones. We want people to vote. People need to know the facts.
"But we haven't had any major issues. We try to explain to voters how the machines work then they come in," Wood said.
Excuse me moron republican clerk mother fucker, but you have machines registering the wrong candidate when people vote and you don't think that's a "major problem?"
Wood said some voters might not realize that touch-screen voting machines may take a few seconds to record their choices.
"The reaction time [on the machines] may be different. And when you hit the screen a second time, it cancels your vote," Wood said. "When you get in a hurry, if you go to fast and hit it again, you can cancel what you just did.
Ok MonkeyBoy, so it's the voters fault? Are these machines so fucking difficult to use that it requires a skilled operator? Is that what you're tell us? I don't think a person voting should have to have any skill other than being able to indicate what candidate they want to vote for. This shouldn't be something that requires dexterity or precision otherwise you give your vote to the other party.
Last week, three Jackson County residents said they experienced similar problems when they cast early ballots at the county courthouse in Ripley.
Virginia Matheney, one of those voters, said Friday, "When I touched the screen for Barack Obama, the check mark moved from his box to the box indicating a vote for John McCain."
Retired factory worker Calvin Thomas of Ripley said he experienced the same problem.
"When I pushed Obama, it jumped to McCain. When I went down to governor's office and punched [Gov. Joe] Manchin, it went to the other dude.
"After I finished, my daughter voted. When she pushed Obama, it went to McCain. It happened to her the same way it happened to me," Thomas said.
Jackson County Clerk Jeff Waybright, a Republican, said 400 other people voted without reporting any problems.
So what you little dismissive prick. Does that make it OK? How many of those 400 didn't notice that the piece of shit or rigged voting machines fucked up their vote?
You should be asking that question instead of categorically denying any problem.
Wood said, "Voting machines are very reliable. I hate the fact that stories like this are printed. It makes everybody get scared.
Same goes for you, you little right wing republican lackey. You're damn right people get scared. They're going to get REAL scared. In fact, I'm having to give careful consideration as to where and when I'm going to vote.
So please, will some gov't agency PLEASE come here to Putnam and Jackson Counties and figure out what's going on here? PLEASE!!!!
We need fair elections. We need to be sure our voting machines are not rigged and will accurately record EVERY SINGLE VOTE CAST.
Is this going on anywhere else in the country?
U.S. General Colin Powell
General Powell, This was your opportunity. After years of pandering to the right, this was your opportunity to show yourself to be the true American patriot that we always suspected you were.
Yea, you lied, lied like a desperate republican lackey before the United Nations about "yellow cake" uranium, which was probably your lowest hour, but even then you tossed in the towel and resigned. No, some of us will never forget that you lied hundreds of times in the lead-up to the Iraq fiasco, but we've always had some glimmer of hope when we watched you General Powell. Hope that you would be the guy who would step up to the plate and do the right thing.
But oh those military protocols and codes of honor. They have kept you at bay from opening up and spilling the beans on so many issues and entities. I guess I can forgive you on some level for being loyal to the commander and chief, but you were so complicit.
Today you had the opportunity to stand up and do what was right and endorse the best candidate for president of the United States we've seen in decades.
Thank you General Powell. You finally came through. You've done what was right and added your support to this noble cause. You are a decent man and one of the few to emerge in the past 20 years from the right.
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