HULK SMASHED
SO EARLY
Won't even try for a homer. It would almost be like cheating.
thanks, Avedon, it's all about the Rule of Law. WaPo's against laws.
I called sheets.
from below;
ugh. V4VA, bear up, lots of things start badly but can be resolved.
Bill Moyers' last night left me really sad, showing little children sweeping up rice with their hands to try getting a meal. This is an indictment of the world powers, they have taken care of themselves at the expense of the world's impoverishment.
Pretty much, Avedon.
Thanks for the sheets.
anyone wanna precious coupla kitties? see http://cabdrollery.blogspot.com/
I'd say this is the clincher on this argument... from the WaPo
:::Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) provides a better framework:::
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Thinking Sessions is providing a better anything is a sign that something is loose between the ears.
Morning, folks.
Tom, indeed, when I hear Sessions start speaking the 'he's lying' reaction sets in, I've heard him tell so many blatant lies.
Moe, last night's Bill Moyers' report on rice disaster was pretty scary.
Morning moe. It was so warm yesterday evening we go to sit outside and look at some very pretty trees in bloom. Cherry blossoms, I think.
It was so warm yesterday evening we go to sit outside and look at some very pretty trees in bloom
We're expecting snow tomorrow 
Good morning.
My crocus are up! I'll run out and take pictures after I get Mrs. Moe out for the day--- she's got some conference or something today.
In other news, I'm not sure what to make of this. Kind of a non-outing:
ONE OF Stephen Harper’s senior cabinet ministers is a closeted homosexual.
Because the minister’s desire to keep his or her sex life private outweighs whatever public interest there might be in letting readers know about that sex life, reporters never write about it.
Similarly, reporters in the gallery never reported on a married Liberal cabinet minister who had a much younger same-sex lover.
Politicians should be able to have whatever kind of sex they like, so long as they don’t do it in the street and scare the horses. But it is worth pointing out that there is a homosexual minister in Mr. Harper’s government, because it shows that there are gay people everywhere and also shows that Mr. Harper is not personally hostile to gays and lesbians.
He truly does not seem to be.
Although there are no openly gay Tory MPs, there are openly gay staffers — sharp libertarian veterans of the Ontario legislature.
So if some Tory MPs dislike homosexuals, they are in the same position as those who harbour anti-gay feelings in any Canadian workplace. They can think whatever they like, but at work they’d better keep their mouths shut.
Tories say Mr. Harper does not care one way or another about gay people, and his opposition to same-sex marriage was political, not personal. He certainly seemed relieved to get the issue off the table, because the Liberals used it to paint his party as intolerant.
WTF ?
"he office of Muqtada al-Sadr accused Iraqi and U.S. forces of attacking Sadr City on Friday, just hours after the Shiite cleric called for calm in the wake of the assassination of one of his top aides in the southern city of Najaf.
Witnesses and media in the heavily Shiite Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, home to the cleric's power base in the capital, reported heavy fighting between U.S.-backed Iraqi troops and al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia.
The witnesses said U.S. aircraft had been bombarding the area for hours, and media reported rockets slamming into houses and many casualties. "
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/me...main/
index.html
OK, I've got to get ready to fend off the early birds.
Yech.
Talk to you lovely batties later. Wish me many quarters!
We're expecting snow tomorrow
Good morning.
FeralLiberal | Homepage | 04.12.08 - 6:38 am
Should I say I'm sitting around in shorts and flip flops?
jeez, FeralL, we're possibly getting a freeze here tonight - but I am loving it. A cool spring and summer would so make me happy. (Will cover the sprouts in the garden)
Tories say Mr. Harper does not care one way or another about gay people, and his opposition to same-sex marriage was political, not personal. He certainly seemed relieved to get the issue off the table, because the Liberals used it to paint his party as intolerant.
Moe Szyslak, cold | Homepage | 04.12.08 - 6:39 am
Isn't that almost worse? Willing to be intolerant for political benefit? How craven is that?
Should I say I'm sitting around in shorts and flip flops?
D'oh!!!!
And after a week of cold, drenching rains my river is flooding.
But I've got crocus too, Moe. And soon squill will be carpeting the ground in electric blue.
The witnesses said U.S. aircraft had been bombarding the area for hours, and media reported rockets slamming into houses and many casualties. "
Ruth | Homepage | 04.12.08 - 6:40 am
What? Moqtada is learning that GDumbya would be so devoid of morals that he'd cut a truce and then sucker punch you?
It's our clever military tactics. Bomb civilians and declare them insurgents.
Cracks in Arctic ice shelf signal its demise
WARD HUNT ISLAND, Nunavut–New cracks in the largest remaining Arctic ice shelf suggest another polar landmark seems destined to break up and disappear.
Scientists discovered the extensive new cracks in the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf earlier this year and a patrol of Canadian Rangers got an up-close look at them last week.
"The map of Canada has changed," said Derek Mueller of Trent University, who was amazed to find how quickly the shelf has deteriorated since he discovered the first crack in 2002.
"These changes are happening in concert with other indicators of climate change."...
The Ward Hunt shelf's characteristic corrugated surface, described by Mueller "like a giant Ruffles potato chip," is now fractured by dozens of deep cracks in the 3,000-year-old, 40-metre thick ice.
Mueller found evidence of one of the new cracks in satellite images. Then he and Stern followed up with an aerial survey earlier this year.
"We were expecting to see one new crack," said Stern. "But when we flew over, all of a sudden ... there's one, there's another one...
The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, one of the last five remaining in Canada, has been shrinking since the 1930s. But after a period of stability during the '80s, that deterioration seems to picking up, said Mueller.
That suggests climate change in the area has crossed some kind of threshold, he added.
We have the bauhinia in bloom here. Trees covered in these flowers.
http://www.the-eleven.com/
~tjleg...uhinia.jpg.html
Playing around with the camera on my phone, so it's not my best shot.
Tom, those are wonderful - do they smell as good as they look?
That suggests climate change in the area has crossed some kind of threshold, he added.
Moe Szyslak, cold | Homepage | 04.12.08 - 6:48 am
Living on a small island, the concept of rising sea levels isn't always the most comforting.
Believe I read that, if all the Great Lakes were drained - it could cover the entire continental United States with 3' of water.
Oh, and morning.
Tom, those are wonderful - do they smell as good as they look?
Ruth | Homepage | 04.12.08 - 6:51 am
They don't really smell at all. This tree has a night-blooming jasmine and an osmanthus maybe 5 yards from it, so the good smell department is taken care of.
Hi, Barndog, 3', that's okay, my house is on stilts. 
Hey Barndog - could it get any wetter?
Hey Barndog - could it get any wetter?
Oh yeah I'm sure of it. However, my idea of floating the rivers doesn't include drowning.
my idea of floating the rivers doesn't include drowning.
Wise decision
Wise decision
I'm not nearly as stupid as I appear.
Oh gag a maggot...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/.../12/
bae.defence
Collusion between Labour leaders and the Conservatives to ensure that corruption can be done without oversight.
The judges
:::In their ruling, the judges said: "We fear for the reputation of the administration of justice if it can be perverted by a threat ... No one, whether within this country or outside, is entitled to interfere with the course of our justice. The rule of law is nothing if it fails to constrain overweening power.":::
versus the politicians
:::This means he will be backing in principle the constitutional renewal bill which gives Lady Scotland, the attorney general, the right to block inquiries that threaten the national interest, thereby ensuring the government can get the measure through the Commons this year.:::
national security, like patriotism, is the refuge of crooks and scoundrels.
OK, a quick blogwhore before I have to take this server down which is why I'm at work on a Sat morning
I've started my next series at Correntewire, this one on seed starting.
Weather service says it's only going to rain twice this week, once for three days and once for four days.
Weather service says it's only going to rain twice this week, once for three days and once for four days
With partial clearing on Thursday for about 20 minutes.
The rule of law is nothing if it fails to constrain overweening power.
hear, hear.
Ralphie, if your roof isn't in danger, you don't need to worry about all the rain, right? ...floors, huh?
With partial clearing on Thursday for about 20 minutes.
I don't think we'll get that on this side of the pond. On a lighter note, it snowed pretty heavily up north.
On a lighter note, it snowed pretty heavily up north.
Yes. I think of my Marine and best Bro - who returned from Florida last week (after 6 months there).
He and his wife are up by Houghton-Hancock, where they got drilled with snow.
Inside I'm laughing my ass off.
My roof needs replacing, about $8,000. For the first time since I've lived here I have some moisture in the basement. Damp wall. Sump pump is working overtime.
My younger brother is in Baraga County. Plenty of snow there, too.
My roof needs replacing, about $8,000
Yikes! I'd get another bid, or 3 Ralphie.
We were supposed to get hammered by rain yesterday & today but it skipped right over DE. May have rained overnight, but I was asleep.
When one server is down, switch to the other...
My younger brother is in Baraga County
Yah, his wife used to work at Baraga Max prison as an RN.
Sounds dampish, indeed, Ralphie. Insurance is a good thing. I replace the roof here on occasion, hail damage usually.
Yikes! I'd get another bid, or 3 Ralphie.
Big building, 3 unit apartment building. Needs a complete tearoff. $8,000 was the medium bid of 3.
Morning, kids.
I'm going into work in a few minutes too, Feral. If that helps any. Losing 2 weekends in a row means I'm waaaaaaay behind on grading. But I'm working on a blog post.
Oh, I forgot about the 10 minute hailstorm yesterday afternoon.
Took out a guy's windshield right next to me. Golf ball and smaller size - mini hail.
$8K is actually pretty cheap for a roof with complete tearoff. We paid $11K three years ago.
But I'm working on a blog post.
Hi Molly - that's a never ending task...
CSpan callers about Obama being uppity. I swear, that exact word. how un/American his PA spiel was! hey, what about calling some one 'uppity'? Like he's beneath you. wow.
I gotta guy coming to look at my roof this week. I found lots of roof tiles out in the yard when the snow melted. But no leaks. I also have a guy comig to rework my gutters, and a third guy coming to take a limb off my oak. The joys of home ownership!
C-SPAN steam is not working today.
Moe - those clay tiles on the roof you're missing?
That can get expensive to replace.
Moe, got rain bareels off those gutters?
Feral - I ran into the strangest bird/fowl/etc this week camping.
I'll have to d/l the pics and show you. I couldn't get close enough to get a good shot of them (must have been mating).
Molly, those lost weekends add up indeed. just had to take off a week after getting flu, thk chulu I don't have a job to worry about anymore.
morning, kids..
CSpan callers about Obama being uppity.
a quick scan of the papers -- wapo, latimes, chicago trib -- this a.m. and it's 'is obama too elite for regular americans' theme..
Dear Nancy...
Citing unnamed sources, ABC News reported on Wednesday that the National Security Council’s Principals Committee met in 2002 and 2003 to review the interrogation of several alleged Al Qaeda members held by the CIA.
ABC reported, “The high-level discussions about these ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ were so detailed, these sources said, some of these interrogation sessions were almost choreographed—down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic.” Among the “enhanced interrogation techniques”—a euphemism for torture—was waterboarding, a notorious method that involves the near drowning of the prisoner.
The Principals Committee at that time was chaired by then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. It included Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, CIA Director George Tenet, and Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Several measures taken by administration officials make it apparent that they were acutely aware that what they were approving violated international and domestic law. All of those participating could be subject to war crimes prosecution, in the US or in other countries.
The AP reports, “The officials also took care to insulate President Bush” from the meetings. That is, there was an attempt to give the president plausible deniability in the event that the discussions were made public.
Nonetheless, Bush defended the meetings and the torture decisions in an interview with ABC News Friday. “Well, we started to connect the dots, in order to protect the American people,” he told ABC News White House correspondent Martha Raddatz. “And, yes, I’m aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved.”
The meetings coincided with the drafting of at least two memoranda designed to give a legal fig leaf for torture, one dated August 2002 and another March 2003. The memos argued for unconstrained power of the president to authorize torture and commit other illegal acts, citing the “war on terror” as justification.
Those involved in drafting the memos included John Yoo, a lawyer at the Justice Department; David Addington, Cheney’s legal counsel; and Alberto Gonzales, then-White House Counsel.
The hands-on involvement of the White House in organizing torture also made some of the principals nervous, including Ashcroft. According to an official cited by ABC News, Ashcroft asked at one meeting, “Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly.” ABC said that Ashcroft supported the general interrogation program by the CIA, but thought it unseemly for the White House to micromanage the techniques employed.
“Clearly this was criminal activity at the time they committed it. At the very least, it violated the Geneva Conventions, the Convention Against Torture, the War Crimes Act, and the federal anti-torture statutes. Clearly these would be impeachable offenses.”
Also, I could have taken pictures of a couple mink along the river.
See - it's not all about fishing you know...
Moe, Facebook tells me you have a birthday coming up! Mazel tov!
gimlet, see "The Principal" at http://cabdrollery.blogspot.com/...little-
jab.html
Here I thought Moe was ageless - like a fine wine.
Moe - those clay tiles on the roof you're missing?
Nah, just the traditional, er, whatever they're made of. They just need to nail some new ones on. I don't think it'll cost more than a couple of hundred bucks.
Moe, got rain bareels off those gutters?
The existing system is *terrible*-- the downspouts actually run into the sewer pipe on one side of the house. I'm going to rework it so they feed into barrels that I can use for watering the garden, on those three days of the year when it doesn't rain.
See - it's not all about fishing you know...
Oh yeah, being on the water is an interesting and pleasant place to be. Going to Missouri next weekend and hope to get the jon boat out on my lake. Looking forward to dipping a line there.
'is obama too elite for regular americans' theme..
I actually heard the "bitter" thing as gendered. But that's just me.
You know how those women nurse their slights.
Dear Gimlet
In view of this, I am asking the House Monday to take up a resolution condemning ABC News for its reporting on this matter.
Rainwater is what I use, Moe,for all my plants, and have rainbarrels, rainbuckets, rainjars, etc everywhere it runs down.
I was ready to agree you, Avedon, before I read what this was about. Then I read it.
I think you are far too kind to the WaPo. And I am so glad to hear Feingold is taking this step. Mandatory, pre-dispute arbitration clauses are anathema. They are fucking un-American.
Moe, Facebook tells me you have a birthday coming up! Mazel tov!
Molly Ivors
Oui! I wrote something about it at the tavern last week. Let me see if I can find it...
Outside of seeing a couple bald eagles, and the mink, I think the rain held the majority of the wildlife in check.
Ruth, seriously-- I think I had to water maybe ten days last year, total. The strawberries I watered more, just to get them going. But they're established now.
It rains a lot here. I may have mentioned.
Diane posting about the LA cops being converted to ICE - just the thing to make sure the immigrant community won't tell you anything, ever. at http://cabdrollery.blogspot.com
Apparently, what I wrote was so incoherent they didn't post it on our website. I think it's on my computer, tho...
Moe, you're lucky. In tx we treasure every drop.
Mandatory, pre-dispute arbitration clauses are anathema. They are fucking un-American.
Snow (D-SC)
'xactly. And make 'save time and money' above considerations of law, says WaPo
Morning, rational people.
Ruth, it's uncanny how you speak the name and she appears
Sheets. Apparently.
And make 'save time and money' above considerations of law, says WaPo
The longest case I was ever involved in was a mandatory arbitration and the defendant filed bankruptcy after the US Supreme Court ruled against it.
Ruth, it's uncanny how you speak the name and she appears
FeralLiberal
ommmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Oddly, Sessions' bill sounds fairly progressive (although I think he doesn't realize that). Under Sessions' bill, if you want arbitration, it will be near the consumer, negating any forum selection. Quite frankly, the forum selection clause is what the businesses want more than the arbitration clause. Forum selections deter disputes just as much / more than arbitration clauses.
"Russ Feingold isn't man enough to go to Piercing Pagoda or run an upskirt bathroom cam website"-David Broder and Fred Hiatt
No, it's not enough.
Settle on that idea and we all turn into dittoheads.
Not mentioned is that the largest percentage of consumer/credit card contracts today specify that the choice of arbiter is made by the contract issuer, and the consumer has no choice in the matter. Even if a convenient venue is chosen for both, the deck is already stacked against the consumer.
Beyond that, forced arbitration is a denial of a right expressly written into the Constitution--that any citizen may seek relief in the civil courts, via the Seventh Amendment. Many contracts today simply force the citizen, in his role of consumer, to waive that right in order to obtain a contract necessary for continued livelihood.
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