But I try...

I try.

-------------

Untouched.

Nina and Ed hiked McCormick wilderness preserve this weekend in Michigan's U.P., and invite us along via some beautiful photos.

Go, hear the sound of the stream, feel the crisp air on your cheeks. Exhale. And have a good Monday.

File under "stupid, stupid, stupid"

I was going to say, maybe they should just give one daughter "back", but now I'm thinking the State should threaten to take away both. How stupid can you be?

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A lesbian couple in Australia are suing their doctor after they had twin girls from an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure when they only wanted one child. The two women are seeking more than $340,000 in damages to help pay for the cost of raising the second child, including private school fees, saying they had made it clear to their doctor that they only wanted one baby.

The twins are now 3 years old and the civil case, the first of its kind in Australia, has prompted debate about the value of children and the role of parents.

"The litigation involving twins already 3 years old undermines the importance of parenthood," conservative government Senator Guy Barnett said on Thursday.

"We seem more intent on preserving and pandering to the wishes of adults than we are in protecting the rights of children," he said.

Barnett called for banning same-sex couples and unmarried women from access to publicly funded IVF services, sparking a new moral debate ahead of national elections due within months.

The case is being heard in Canberra, where letters published in the local Canberra Times newspaper overwhelmingly criticized the legal action after the birth of two healthy children.
...
The court has heard that they signed a consent form to allow two embryos to be implanted, but specifically told their specialist they only wanted one embryo implanted.

The court was told the birth of the twins had created considerable stress within the couple's relationship, but lawyers for the doctor said that almost every couple who had a child went through similar strain.
...
"This has never been a case about whether our children are loved. They are cherished," they wrote in a handwritten statement issued to media covering the case.

Yeah, funny way of showing it, Moms.

SIDENOTE: My friend years ago conceived triplets, naturally. She already had 2 older boys when she learned of the pregnancy, and yes, she initially cried upon hearing the news, worrying about providing for them all because she and her husband were an electrician and then nursing student, respectively. Guess what? Things worked out, and they are doing fine -- a normal, happy and healthy family. Mom, Dad, now four boys and a girl.

If you don't have faith in the future, maybe you should avoid becoming a parent even to one? No guarantees in life, is the way I heard it...

File under "Means well, but not helping any."

When asked if Daniel was an Israeli spy, (his father) Moshe Sharon said "No, no, there is no chance. This boy doesn't even smoke, he doesn't drink, he's not a criminal."

Eyes wide open, to the bitter end.

And I won't break and I won't bend
But someday soon we'll sail away
To innocence, and the bitter end.

And I won't break and I won't bend
And with the last breath we ever take
We're gonna get back, to the simple life again...

I'm a patriotic American. But I also believe in justice. If it turns out these allegations are indeed true, we shouldn't try to cover them up, but should apologize, provide monetary compensation (not that money can ever compensate), and look to rectify the situations -- whether that means "retraining" Blackwater or pulling them altogether, even if that means nobody out beyond the Green Zone for the time being until another security firm can be found.

Because these are human lives we're talking about -- not something cheap -- and justice denied never goes away quietly. It's not to late to put life over country, and salvage some semblance of the American reputation abroad. Who's with me now?*

Iraq: Blackwater fired unprovoked

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in a shooting last week that left 11 people dead, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case was referred to the Iraqi judiciary.

Iraq's president, meanwhile, demanded that the Americans release an Iranian arrested this week on suspicion of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias. The demand adds new strains to U.S.-Iraqi relations only days before a meeting between President Bush and Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Iraqi authorities had completed an investigation into the Sept. 16 shooting in Nisoor Square in western Baghdad and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths.

He told The Associated Press that the conclusion was based on witness statements as well as videotape shot by cameras at the nearby headquarters of the national police command. He said eight people were killed at the scene and three of the 15 wounded died in hospitals.

Blackwater, which provides most of the security for U.S. diplomats and civilian officials in Iraq, has insisted that its guards came under fire from armed insurgents and shot back only to defend themselves.

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said Saturday that she knew nothing about the videotape and was contractually prohibited from discussing details of the shooting.

Khalaf also said the ministry was looking into six other fatal shootings involving the Moyock, N.C.-based company in which 10 Iraqis were killed and 15 wounded. Among the shootings was one Feb. 7 outside Iraqi state television in Baghdad that killed three building guards.

"These six cases will support the case against Blackwater, because they show that it has a criminal record," Khalaf said.

-----------------

*Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Remember that one? And we thought it was just a mindless practice.

Knock...knock...

MADISON, Wis. -- A partnership between a liquor company called "Death's Door Spirits" and the Madison AIDS network will continue, although some people living with HIV/AIDS call it completely "outrageous" and "offensive."

The AIDS Network teamed up with a tiny Wisconsin company called Death's Door Spirits that makes gin and vodka out of Door County crops. Death's Door Spirits is the sponsor of an AIDS Network bartender contest to come up with a new cocktail, with the winner being chosen at the Food and Wine show on Oct. 20.
...
"In hindsight, it may have been a poor choice for the agency," said Bob Power, director of the Madison AIDS Network, who noted that it has "apologized and is moving forward."

But some living with HIV/AIDS said they are outraged. They said they don't like the name or the promotion of alcohol. Mark Nowacki, a recovering addict living with AIDS, said he's survived four predictions of death since 1996.

"I've been at death's door. I've been told a number of times there's not much we can do about this," Nowacki said. "So having been there and understanding the fight that I have to go though to get to health and how hard it was, (it) seems to mock me."

Another client of the AIDS Network, who is living with HIV, said the linkage of the two entities is "outrageous."

"I guess my major objection is with the name of it: Death's Door. I mean there are literally people in this country at death's door because they can't get medications (for AIDS) because of funding not being available," said Steve Spera.

Power said that he is sorry if anyone feels offended by the sponsorship. "Our intent was to create interest in our fundraiser in November, and if in the process somebody was offended, we are sincerely sorry," Power said.

Power said the promotion is "all about helping people with HIV."

Brian Ellison with the liquor company agreed. He said Death's Door is a real, physical place -- a waterway between Washington Island and Door County -- and has nothing to do with death."

"This was, in all sincerity, moving into the holiday season and wanting to do something with a local group that would help raise awareness for both parties," Ellison said.

Ellison said his company of three employees agreed to "step back" if the Network saw problems, but after more talks, everyone said they were comfortable with it. In fact, he said, the winning cocktail at the Food and Wine show will be served at the annual AIDS Network Red Ribbon dinner, a large fundraiser.

That's disputed by Power who said the Death's Door cocktail wouldn't be attached directly to any other Network event.

Got Greenspan?

.

Do you really want to know what happened in Jena?

I've got a feeling there's a lot o' white pundit folk out there playing dumb:

"What the hell happened in Jena?" -- they ask. We just don't get it. Nevermind that a few of these are law professors (Reynolds*, Althouse**, Kerr***) or bloggers who usually have no trouble ferreting out facts and educating themselves if it fits their specific pet complaints (Sullivan****).

Such a major story about the American justice system -- Law in Action, indeed -- and none of the poor white bloggers seem to be able to wrap their heads around the essential issue: "Did a prosecutor working with a racial bias overstep his bounds?"

You hear tales of fights with previously popped-out eyeballs... and of course, with Mr. Nifong being held as an example, these pundits surely want to stay "neutral" to avoid prejudicing the case or making a wrong call or making themselves look bad. But please, don't pretend the facts are unavailable if you really wanted to learn more.

Funny how most of the black community seems to "get it".

Let me help you out, folks. Maybe Stebbins Jefferson's column today recounting events will help you have a better grasp on facts, what has outraged the black community across the country, and maybe -- just maybe -- some of you will be able to figure what it's all about. Your ears must be getting sandy with your head buried down there.

Here, read the whole thing:

Constitution doesn't apply in Jena

By Stebbins Jefferson
Palm Beach Post Columnist
Saturday, September 22, 2007

The perception that there are two Americas, separate and unequal, supposedly was ended by the civil rights movement of the 1960s and replaced with renewed commitment to equal justice for all without regard to race or ethnicity. The disparate prosecution of the Jena Six in Louisiana is proof that constitutional promise is yet to be realized.

Consequently, while Americans die fighting to deliver democracy to the Iraqi people, here at home, far too many citizens of good conscience are in denial that blatant, racial discrimination continues in our justice system.

Last year, during an assembly at Jena High School, a black student asked whether blacks could sit under the shade tree in the school courtyard. Local traditions notwithstanding, a school administrator answered no school rules prohibit any student from sitting there. The next morning, three nooses were found hanging from the tree.

The principal wanted to expel the three white students responsible, but he was overruled by the superintendent. Calling the incident a "prank," a district official suspended the culprits for three days. In a state where the Tuskegee Institute documented 335 black lynchings from 1882 to 1968, such a cavalier response to a hate crime defies rational understanding.

Subsequently, racial tensions escalated with fights between white and black students on and off campus. In two such instances, white participants were charged with misdemeanor offenses or not at all. Black participants were charged with felonies.

Late in November, the central wing of the high school was burned. Then, on Monday, Dec. 6, according to witnesses, six black boys - all members of the football team - attacked white schoolmate Justin Barker outside the gym, knocking him to the ground, where Mychal Bell (the alleged instigator) and five others kicked the prone white boy as he lay unconscious. Justin Barker was taken to the local hospital, treated and released after three hours. That evening, with bruises on his head and face, he drove himself to the school to attend a ring ceremony. The six black boys were arrested on charges of attempted second-degree murder, their tennis shoes identified as lethal weapons.

In response to public outcry, LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters reduced the charges to aggravated battery, with all but one of the black boys (Jesse Beard, 15) to be tried as adults. Mychal Bell was the first to be tried. On June 28, an all-white jury found him guilty. Facing up to 30 years in prison, he was to have been sentenced Thursday, but a Louisiana appellate court voided the verdict, ruling Bell should not have been tried as an adult. He remains in jail.

There the matter stood Thursday, when 15,000 to 20,000 demonstrators from across America descended on Jena. They had been called into action by black bloggers and radio hosts to address a grave miscarriage of justice that until recently had been either ignored or downplayed by the mainstream media.

Belatedly, the NAACP, Jesse Jackson and PUSH, Rev. Al Sharpton and other organizations got involved to confront the ugly reality that our justice system selectively applies equal protection under the law.

Jena, La., is not a racist aberration. Instead, it is typical of many other towns across our nation where traditions of prejudice have been allowed to continue unabated. The Jena Six played on the football team and sports enthusiasts hailed Mychal Bell in tandem with Carwyn Jones, 18, (another member of the Six) as double trouble on the football field. But the idea of blacks sharing the shade of a courtyard tree was abhorrent to many who assume absolute power to restrict the extent to which blacks' equal rights are to be respected.

A half-century after government-sanctioned segregation was outlawed, racial discrimination continues to thrive in our legal system. So, whatever schoolyard rivalries or petty jealousies provoked the brawl that triggered the legal battle now going on, the critical issue is the integrity of the justice system in these United States.

Townspeople who resent the interference of "outside agitators" must be made to understand that unequal punishment for the black boys is attempted murder of American democracy.

--------------------
*Here's Tennessee blogger and law professor Glenn Reynolds on the subject:
THE JENA SIX: "Okay, the fact that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are involved doesn't prove that there's no actual injustice, but it was enough to make me email Radley Balko -- I've gotten a lot of email on the case, but most of it seems to assume that I already know what's going on. Radley's lengthy reply is below: click "read more" to read it. As always, it's constructive to ask how people would act if the races were reversed."

** Wisconsin/Brooklyn Law Professor Ann Althouse:
"I keep reading the news stories and intending to blog, but each time I end up searching in vain for the facts I need to understand it enough to begin to write about it. The reporting on this story is atrocious. It's all updates with no background. So, I'm wondering not only what happened in Jena, but why is the press reporting it this way?"


*** Law professor Orin Kerr:
"I'm with Glenn Reynolds on this. I'd really like to blog about the case, and I spent about 30 minutes this morning trying to research it, but I couldn't get a good enough sense of what the facts are or what the precise cause of the protest is to really know what to make of it."

**** Blogger Andrew Sullivan:
"I haven't commented because, frankly, I am still unsure of all the details of the case, some of which may never be known. "

Maybe if the young men hadn't played football at Jena, but lacrosse... ? :-)

R.I.P.

Too soon... too soon...

RICE LAKE, Wis. — A piece of metal shot from a brush cutter killed the Rice Lake parks superintendent, who was overseeing the clearing of lots where the city plans a lumbering hall of fame.

Dale Hanson, 44, died Wednesday night at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire. He had been superintendent of parks, recreation and cemeteries for about six years.

"He was one of the nicest individuals you could ever meet,'' Fire Chief Jim Resac said. "Just a super nice guy. We enjoyed working with him down here. It's a quiet day in the city.''

A statement from the city said a metal object thrown from a brush cutter struck Hanson in the head the morning of Sept. 12. He was flown to the hospital, where he spent the past week.

Resac's department responded to the accident. He said Hanson was a "good distance away'' from the brush cutter when a piece of metal from a chain link fence struck him.

Lunch Update.

Remember this?

"Part of the reason why there's not this instant democracy in Iraq is because people are still recovering from Saddam Hussein's brutal rule," Bush said. "Sort of an interesting comment, I heard somebody say, `Where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas."

The head-slapping laugh, in case some of you missed it, is that the President has now resorted to blaming lack of progress on a dead man*. Get it? Don't he understand how stupid that makes him sound?

Everything would be just fine for those purple-finger wavers -- "Mission Accomplished!" -- if only the country's savior hadn't been already killed, is the new excuse.

Or perhaps:
it's because there have been no democratic traditions in that region, that you can't promote democracy by gunpoint in chaos where so many residents have daily security worries. That no matter how you hope and wish and think and believe you can remake a place in your own image, you have to be realistic and work with what's there.

Prediction:
eventual partitioning of the three peoples -- Kurds, Shiites, Sunnis. They managed to live together under Saddam, it seems, because the minority Sunnis held power and the majority Shiites were the majority. And the Kurds had no other choice if they wanted to live. Dictatorships can work like that.

It's not any country's place though to destabilize another, and foment a revolution. That was our mistake -- which yes, there were many who foresaw -- from Day One. The Iraqi people didn't call for this, doing the work themselves and calling on Americans to provide support. That would have been akin to the early Americans calling on Hessian troops for support.

No, we went in because our leaders were convinced they knew best. They made promises, and can't deliver.

You'd think our national leader, of all people, wouldn't be so simplistic. For most of us, hoping/wishing/dreaming for a pony just doesn't bring one. It's great the promises we heard: independence for the women, American style participatory democracy, people overthrowing shackles, and leaders just springing up in the peaceful democratic traditions to persuade and lead. Not happening though.

I wonder what the excuse will be next year?
--------------
*Saddam Hussein, in case I do have to spell it out.

I wonder...

if Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama do both lose, how will they respond?

Will they return to the Senate and put their energies into fighting like hell for what they can accomplish in their senatorial roles, working to re-establish the legitimate power and reputation of that body?

It's like a hockey game with no real checking out there, right now, politics is. What fun is that? And unlike the women's game, we're not seeing any compensating with excellent passing, precision, and teamwork either.

Reason the polls are almost down to single digits approval ratings (are we there yet?) is the public perception, quite right in many instances, that all Congressmen are necessarily bought and paid for because of the difficulties of running floating an independent ship these days.

Hmm... maybe we need more independent-minded, rich folks in politics. (And no. Never thought I'd be saying that either. Desperate times, desperate measures and all that.) And it wouldn't hurt if those newcomers could immediately lace up and start throwing some efficient body blocks either. Just no hard checking from behind, please. Those penalties really can kill you, and every now and then can cripple your opponent too. Play fair, but play hard. Every minute you're on the ice.

If I were more a quitter, maybe I'd just consider investing in a cable plan with a good hockey package here. Tune in, turn off to the unpleasant "saddening" and all that. Won't happen here though -- we'll be watching to the bitter end, eyes wide open, you can count on that.

"Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas."

Oh good gravy!!
Does this man not have anyone reading his speeches? [Nevermind -- seems he was up there answering questions, and apparently winging it at that: GWB Unplugged]

Somebody pinch me, because I swear I'm dreaming this stuff up:

Bush acknowledged Baghdad would not meet the goal he set last January for Iraq to take over security in all of its 18 provinces by November.

"Achieving those goals have been slower than we thought," Bush said. But he said the goals were still worth pursuing.

"Part of the reason why there's not this instant democracy in Iraq is because people are still recovering from Saddam Hussein's brutal rule," Bush said. "Sort of an interesting comment, I heard somebody say, `Where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas."

It was a reference to the charismatic former leader of South Africa who helped reconcile his country after decades of racial division. Mandela is still alive.

The Hussein as Hitler meme might have worked to convince enough good-hearted but short-sighted people to originally support the invasion, but please. Stop it, already, Mr. President.
-----------------
"You know, I'm saddened."

Saddened, huh? Well, you know, over there, it sounds like, you know, they're starting to get rather ... how shall we say this in drawl-speak ... maddened:

President Bush on Thursday refused to criticize a U.S. security company in Iraq accused in a shooting that left 11 civilians dead, saying investigators need to determine if the guards violated rules governing their operations.

Bush said he expected Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would raise the shooting by agents of Blackwater USA when they meet next week at the U.N. General Assembly.

Al-Maliki has urged the U.S. Embassy to find another security firm to protect its diplomats, saying he cannot tolerate "the killing of our citizens in cold blood." He called the shootings a "crime" and said they had generated "widespread anger and hatred."

"Obviously, to the extent innocent life was lost, you know, I'm saddened," the president said at a wide-ranging news conference. "Our objective is to protect innocent life. And we've got a lot of brave souls in the theater working hard to protect innocent life."
...
In a telephone conversation on Monday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked al-Maliki to delay any initial action to the shooting and that any permanent measures be held up until all the facts were known, a senior State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details of the private discussion.

Maliki, however, insisted on taking a stronger line and warned that continued use of the contractors would further inflame tensions, the official said.

----------------
"You know, fairness."

Bush spoke out for the first time about the case in Jena, La., in which six black teenagers were initially charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white classmate. He wouldn't comment on legal specifics. The case has attracted nationwide attention.

"The events in Louisiana have saddened* me," the president said. "I understand the emotions." He said the FBI is monitoring the situation, adding: "All of us in America want there to be, you know, fairness when it comes to justice."

Bush repeatedly refused to comment on reports that Israeli planes guided by ground forces attacked an installation — believed to be the beginnings of a nuclear project — in northern Syria on Sept. 6. Asked about whether North Korea was providing nuclear assistance to Syria, Bush said: "We expect them not to."

Please, please: just stock up on 15 months worth of provisions and get back in that bunker, Mr. President? It'll be easier for you, and less painful for the rest of us, and the late-night comedians surely can just work up their own original material, eh?
-----------------
* There's that "saddened" again. Do you think he's trying to tell us, you know, something along the lines of, "I share your pain?" Think anybody out there's still biting?

I'm starting to realize why so many, you know, former war enthusiasts -- cheerleader types even -- are suddenly turning to "reality" tv and following their sports more vividly.

Sometimes it's easier to just turn the channel and escape, than have to deal with the consequences of your actions and consider exactly what scenarios might play out in the future, and how we can adapt today.

Just Remember: that pricetag "goes up uP UP" every day that passes. And we thought the mortgage crisis has long-reaching tentacles... The poor kids coming up.

Ok, now I'm saddened.

Theatre troupe: "Suck it, Kathy Griffin!"

The Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee spent $90,440 on a full-page advertisement in USA Today that ran nationally Monday, proclaiming "enough is enough."

In accepting the Emmy for her Bravo reality show, "My Life on the D-List," Griffin said that "a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."

She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ ("Can you believe this shit? Hell has frozen over. Suck it, Jesus!") and proclaim, "This award is my god now!"

"We at The Miracle Theater consider it an honor to stand for Jesus today," the ad said. "We may never win a national award. We may never be household names. We may never be seen in Hollywood. Although others may choose to use their national platform to slander our God, we are honored as professional entertainers to stand for Christ."
...
Griffin, whose standup comedy shows often focus on mocking and dishing on celebrities, issued a statement through her publicist in response to the Catholic League's criticisms, indicating her statements were meant as a joke.

"Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humor?" she said in the statement.
...
Russ Hollingsworth, general manager of The Miracle Theater, said, "When word reached our cast that a Hollywood celebrity had stood before TV cameras and said such vulgar things about Christ, they were incensed," he said.

"It's just not OK anymore to mock Christians and Jesus with impunity."

Griffin was fired in 2005 from her job as an E! Channel red-carpet commentator after joking at the Golden Globe Awards that child actress Dakota Fanning had checked into rehab.

Oh Canada! ...

Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar traded equal to the U.S. currency for the first time in three decades, capping a five-year run on the back of booming demand for the nation's commodities.

The Canadian dollar rose as high as $1.0008, before retreating to 99.87 U.S. cents at 4:16 p.m. in New York. It has soared 62 percent from a record low of 61.76 U.S. cents in 2002. The U.S. dollar fell as low as 99.93 Canadian cents today. The Canadian currency last closed above $1 on Nov. 25, 1976, when Pierre Trudeau was Canada's prime minister.

The move to parity marks a milestone for a currency dubbed the loonie for the bird that adorns the nation's one-dollar coin. Parity also symbolizes Canada's emerging clout in a world economy increasingly short of the energy, grains and metals the country produces.

"It's a long time since those heady days,'' said Frank McKenna, 59, deputy chairman of Toronto-Dominion Bank, the country's third-biggest lender, and a former ambassador to the U.S. ``Canadians should understand that this is a badge of confidence in our country."

Canada, the world's eighth-biggest economy, has benefited from rising demand for copper, gold, wheat and oil from neighboring U.S. and emerging economies such as India and China. The country is the world's largest producer of uranium, the second-biggest exporter of natural gas, and sits on the largest pool of oil reserves outside the Middle East. Canada is also the world's second-largest exporter of wheat, which rose to a record this month.

Sidenote: I just realized how much the Minnesota state quarter resembles the "loonie".

Floyd Landis loses.

The decision comes more than a year after Landis' stunning comeback in Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour, one that many people said couldn't be done without some kind of outside help. Flying to the lead near the start of a grueling Alpine stage, Landis regained nearly eight minutes against the leader, and went on to win the three-week race.

"Well, all I can say is that justice has been done, and that this is what the UCI felt was correct all along," Pat McQuaid, leader of cycling's world governing body, told The Associated Press by telephone. "We now await and see if he does appeal to CAS.

"It's not a great surprise considering how events have evolved. He got a highly qualified legal team who tried to baffle everybody with science and public relations. And in the end the facts stood up."

Establishment Candidate ...

or a man who could lead his party in from the wilderness it's been roaming in these past years?

WASHINGTON - Recognizing political change as the hot new commodity, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is launching a television ad this week in New Hampshire and Iowa casting himself as the Republican best able to reclaim a wayward party and lead it in a new direction.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, lays out a tough bill of particulars against his party, portraying Republicans as ethically challenged big spenders and delivering a veiled slap at President Bush and two of his main rivals on the subject of immigration.

"If we're going to change Washington, Republicans have to put our own house in order," Romney says, speaking directly to the camera. "We can't be like Democrats a party of big spending. We can't pretend our borders are secure from illegal immigration. We can't have ethical standards that are a punch line for Jay Leno."

With the Cheney daughter working for his campaign, and so many political pundits throwing him their support, Fred Thompson will be the "more of the same" Republican candidate, set to carry on the current administration's work. It appears he's been hand selected -- just drop the actor into the slot and hope the South goes for it...

Say what you will about Mitt Romney, he's his own man. And an honest conservative. He may be too flexible for many tastes, doing what it takes to get the job done, but nowadays, plenty of points just for that. Getting a job done, successfully: His business work. The Olympics. Running Massachusetts. Keeping a family together, over the long run.

If we have to have a Republican again, I'd take Romney. He might just be flexible enough to alter direction, to do the dirty work of what's necessary to get a job done. If he's wealthy enough on his own to make independent decisions not beholden to special interests, there's a good chance the man will act independently to achieve what's in our country's best interests.

Contrast Fred Thompson: more of the same. With a hawt wife (that seems to be an over proportionally discussed asset of Mr. Thompson -- the guys really dig his wife. Not a reason to nominate the man president though.)

Romney has been methodically using ads to build his case for voters, starting early this year with biographical sketches. He then promoted himself as a leader — the Republican who had governed the liberal state of Massachusetts, the skilled manager who fixed the financially troubled Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and the successful private entrepreneur.

With this new ad, titled "Change begins with us," Romney adds yet another layer to his message. He also seizes on a public hunger for change that Democrats like Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have been eager to exploit.

Romney attempts to turn the tables on Democrats, however, while at the same time stressing that Republicans have lost their way. The message is likely to resonate with conservatives, who fault President Bush for a failure to control spending. The ad is all the more topical, coming in the wake of former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's new book, which skewers Bush and the Republican Congress for increasing budget deficits.

His call for tougher borders not only distances him from President Bush who failed in his goal of overhauling immigration laws, it also serves to distinguish him from Republican presidential contenders John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, who hold more moderate views on the subject.

In citing ethics lapses, Romney confronts head on one of the main reasons voters gave last November for voting Republicans out of office and switching control of Congress to Democrats. Romney casts that behavior as an aberration more suited to Democrats.

"When Republicans act like Democrats, America loses," he says. "It's time for Republicans to start acting like Republicans. It's time for a change and change begins with us.

Why not elect a conservative after all these years, and put the scandals, secrecy and selfishness to rest here in America, even if it's just for 4 or 8 years. The country really could use a break from all this divisivness (so much for United We Stand), and who is better proven at leading a diverse constituency successfully?

He's not a lip conservative, he's a life conservative. If you don't like that, fine. But something tells me a lot of people out here do -- that family values meme has not fallen to the wayside just yet, and people are still eager to have mature leaders. Not cowboys with excuses as long as my arm for why nothing ever gets done properly around here anymore.

Meanwhile... back in Iraq:

"Blackwater has a reputation. If you want over-over-the-top, gun-toting security with high profile and all the bells and whistles, Blackwater are the people you are going to go with," said James Sammons, a former Australian Special Air Service commander who now works for British-based AKE Group that also provides security in Iraq.

He said any civilian killings by security contractors tarnish the reputations of all of them.

"We get lumped in with that and it makes the job harder for the rest of us," said Sammons, who is AKE's Asia-Pacific regional director, based in Sydney, Australia.
...
The New York Times reported that a preliminary review by the Interior Ministry found that Blackwater security guards fired at a car when it did not heed a policeman's call to stop, killing a couple and their infant.

The report said Blackwater helicopters also had fired - a finding the company denies. The Defense Ministry said 20 Iraqis were killed, considerably higher than the 11 dead reported before.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the shooting was "the seventh of its kind" involving Blackwater "and these violations should be dealt with."

"We will not tolerate the killing of our citizens in cold blood," al-Maliki said. "The work of this company has been stopped in order to know the reasons."

Al-Maliki said Blackwater's version of the events "is not accurate" and that U.S. diplomats could use the services of other security companies.

"Our information is that there was a violation,'" he said. "We moved to form a committee to reveal to the world whether those killed were armed or innocent."
...
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne E. Tyrrell said in a statement late Monday that "Blackwater's independent contractors acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack in Baghdad on Sunday."

"The `civilians' reportedly fired upon by Blackwater professionals were in fact armed enemies and Blackwater personnel returned defensive fire," she said. "Blackwater regrets any loss of life but this convoy was violently attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job to defend human life."

Well you got to admit, if it turns out, indeed, they had no other choice than to kill an Iraqi couple with their infant -- that's a pretty wacky way of "defending human life."

Brown baby or not, a baby is a baby is a baby. And no matter your religion or political preferences, nobody wants to see more dead babies ... right?

Our Stupid Ally is at it again.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Security Cabinet declared the Gaza Strip an "enemy entity" on Wednesday in order to cut off power and fuel supplies to the coastal strip, a move likely to cloud Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit on a peacemaking mission.

The group of top Israeli political and defense ministers did not set a date for a cutoff. A statement from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said Israel did not intend to provoke a humanitarian crisis.

Lots o' things Israel never considers or "intends". Why must the world continue to pay for their short-sightedness? If they enjoy living like this, let them. But America is not permanently bound to providing security for Israel, lest we forget.

It's about time, isn't it, that Israel begins thinking a few steps ahead, as in -- "How will such a move affect the successful future we all profess to want?" Seems to me they have failed, over and over and over again, through their actions thus far at building any kind of permanent foundation. The Lebanon War, getting Hamas elected, retaliating rather than pursuing justice...

The wise man builds his house upon the rock.
The stupid tries to tranform shifting sands, by force, and wonders why they continue losing and losing. Starve the puppies Israel and cut off their power and light. When you've given up on these people genetically, then by all means do your damnest to their sons and daughters -- and justify it in the end. But there won't be trumpet blowing, come the judgment day, on the bloody morning after ... one tin soldier rides away.

Ba-bup-bup-ba
ba-bup-bup-ba
Ba bup Ba Ba Bup.

Protected Speech.

Have you seen the UF police-tasing video?

Again I ask: are we so reliant upon technology that it takes electric shock to remove unarmed protestors, a rather skinny one even?

The campus security police appeared to have adequate numbers and advance notice of this man: why the need to Tase here? The security officers don't look endangered or collectively lacking any beef -- haven't they been better trained to respond to potential threats, or is it a case of overreliance on the technology?

My materal grandfather was a Chicago police officer (retired well before 1968, I always add.) He was a beat cop, in the morning rustling the homeless off the merchants' stoops and in general, keeping the peace. We still have his wooden billy club, held in reserve in case he encountered a bigger man or danger on the job.

He was a mounted patrolman, even appeared in a national Newsday photo "The Last Roundup" that showed him in uniform, head down, leading his horse in when they were initially retired and the unit went to motorcycle policing*.

Early Chicago policemen walked their beats and after 1880 were reinforced by police-driven, horse-drawn patrol wagons. As the Loop area became more congested, a mounted patrol composed of forty men and horses was established in 1906. When the Traffic Division was reorganized in 1948, the mounted patrol was eliminated and the forty-one horses in the police stables at 262 East Illinois Street were auctioned off. Horses were reintroduced to the police department in July, 1974, when demand for increased police surveillance in the parks could be most easily satisfied by a mounted patrol.

He bought Charlie at the auction, and put him out to pasture in fields south of the city owned by a farming cousin. Amazingly enough, my grandfather got cards and letters from that national photo, sent to the precinct from around the country. One man out West even spent a good deal of time stitching my grandfather's profile leading the horse -- copied from the picture -- into a good-sized leather billfold, with a nicely commiserative note accompanying the gift. We still have that too. Americans!

Sometimes technology leads to the atrophying of other skills; you don't learn when it's necessary to use force, and when you can better avoid it, to accomplish your aims. Tasers are a great tool -- if they're used properly in dangerous situations. What was the physical danger here? Straining a muscle physically subduing and removing the smaller guy who was resisting? Doesn't matter whether you think he deserved it or not: you aren't trained to use Tasers punitively because somebody "had it coming".

Here's my take on a very similar incident that took place last fall at UCLA, not UF. Still, like with the Virginia Tech tragedy, you have to wonder at the passivity of our young people today and consider whether all this advanced technology helped lead us to that too**:

Monday, November 20
"Dudes, where are you?"

At first take, it appears to be UCLA police continually tasering a student on the ground. The student was disobeying orders to "get up", when he was shocked on the ground.

I cannot believe the number of fellow students in the library -- even if they have been trained as a generation to be submissive to authority -- that stood for so long and watched, and did nothing to surround the man on the ground to shield him, or lift him up to physically remove him from the situation.

Nevermind that the UCLA police -- 2 or 3 of them -- thought using their Tasers to subdue a man on the ground was necessary. "Get up, get up". Doesn't UCLA have any type of physical requirements for security; don't they carry handcuffs?

This is a shame for any university. I'm sure it will get spun so the authority comes out clean, but this did not appear to be a drug-addled man out-of-control. The only orders were to "get up! get up!"

Maybe the magnificent echoes, as they continued to taze the student through UCLA's grand library hallway, will wake up some young Americans. "Get up! Get up!"

Your country once stood for something more than making a buck.
Stand up. You have the numbers to make things work differently.

Added: I wish the student on the ground would have, at one point, yelled, "Help Me." I am curious to see if his fellow students then would have become more actively involved.

posted by Mary at 10:13 AM

--------------------
* Later, of course, police departments realized the benefit of using horses in crowd control, a benefit in some situations that couldn't be replicated by improved technology of the motorbike.

**Though often I lay equal blame on the liberal PC movement that has infected us in recent years. So many think their speech is "protected" in that they lay out their pet theories and supporting stories, yet try to silence anybody else who has a different take. Particularly if the take can be labeled as "anti-PC". Think of a bully spouting off. In years past, he'd have to take responsibility for his words, but nowadays he is more likely to passively cower behind PC protections. Without facing any real world consequences for his words or actions (ie/ drunk college boors), it takes something more powerful to stop them.

Better to start accepting more unkind words in dissent -- and fighting back with words -- than to try and silence them by force or other cowardly means? Sometimes it's best to experience a few verbal scraps in defending your ideas before you go pulling out all the stops to protect your speech by artificial means. Makes you stronger in the long run.

It's the most wonderful time...

of the year!

September/October mornings and afternoons: highly under-rated, but much appreciated nonetheless. Are you happy with what you're harvesting these days, and if not, what would you do differently next planting season?

OK to answer in your head. This blog isn't one to solicit comments only to score points, or be reassured of the greatness of one's personal harvest. Seems to me, if you do it right, that comes through in the writing or the work product. No need to hype or holler; the results are self evident.

Now that makes sense...

Ties are abandoned and British medical doctors adopt a "bare below the elbows" dress code to cut down on bacteria transfer:

"Ties are rarely laundered but worn daily," the Department of Health said in a statement. "They perform no beneficial function in patient care and have been shown to be colonized by pathogens."

The new regulations would mean an end to doctors' traditional long-sleeved white coats, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said. Fake nails, jewelry and watches, which the department warned could harbor germs, are also out.

Johnson said the "bare below the elbows" dress code would help prevent the spread of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, the deadly bacteria resistant to nearly every available antibiotic.

Popularly known as a "superbug," MRSA accounts for more than 40 percent of in-hospital blood infections in Britain. Because the bacteria is so hard to kill, health care workers have instead focused on containing its spread through improvements to hospital hygiene.

Monday morning musings.

America likes winners and if they like you, and you win, they forgive.

Exhibit 1: Bill Belichick.
------
On Randy Moss: He was beautiful with the Vikings, lithe and efficient, and he's had a special spot in my heart since the media attention overplay of "hitting" that meter maid in Minnesota. Now he's older, stronger, and more disciplined. He's a winner.
------
Another good weekend in the long beautiful Midwestern afternoons. Best time of year outdoors. Have a positive day. Yes you can.

In fact...

Why not bid out that story, same location even, to somebody more experienced: a good writer with a bit more know-how? I bet even in Brooklyn they could come in halfway under $11,000 with a more engaging tale. Even throw in the tornado, where you no doubt could have responded differently if prepared, and better taken up the challenge.

That's what people want to read as they grow further and further from self-sufficiency. Stories where they learn something in the adventure, where they walk away thinking if push came to shove, they could ... regress back to America's more Renaissance man days, before we all began to specialize and forget the basics, and got in this race collecting so many things.

A rooster crows in Brooklyn...

and gets slaughtered and ate.

Here's an example of slop journalism that turns the tummy. You pay an urbanite to grow and eat locally what he produces.

It's a laff piece essentially, and of course, you get the requisite lesson-learned! ending:

Financially the farm was perhaps unsustainable. The costs rose to $11,000 -- or more than $120 per meal for the month.

But now his family has a greater appreciation for the business of food and the people who grow it, he said. And the toil made the food rewarding to eat, even if his kids didn't eat everything he grew.

"I don't know if anyone else liked the chickens I ate, but I just loved them," he said.

Yeah, just try buying free-range then, buddy. What turns me off to these pieces is the presentation. Either it's a joke from the start (the 4-year-old is telling you which birds to ... harvest?) or it's not.

But readers walk away with the impression that nobody can pursue this particular course of self sufficiency without being ... reduced or bumblef*ck somewhat. Not true.

It was hard on his family, too. His two kids grew bored with him because he rarely left the farm. His wife grew distant, even more so after seeing the carnage left by a rabbit that had panicked and killed her newborns.*

Howard said she only began to see his side of things after she banged her head in a dark corner of their basement on a slaughtered Flemish Giant rabbit.

"She asked me if she had hit her head on a dead chicken. When I told her it was a 20 pound (9 kg) freshly-skinned rabbit, I broke down and wept," he said. "I think that's when she realized I wasn't getting off on all the blood and gore, and it was beginning to wear me down." **

It's the same objection I have to the publishing industry. Too limited. Too stereotype. Is working-class alcoholic memoir a genre these days? Do you have to make a deal with the devil, like the rurals who "get out" and establish credentials, to portray a former lifestyle in the cheap comedy vein? No thanks. I'd like to see the book on the black professional who walked away from the corporate world not out of failure, but out of pursuit of a more positive lifestyle. (Not chicken-tending either.) I'd like to see the not-romantic, but not-victimized stories of non-urban/non-suburban youth. I'd like to read about communities out there -- small All-American towns that do still exist, where the spirit is still alive and adapting to new faces and technologies. You know, in a positive way.

Betcha the magazine knew in paying for the piece what take on the results they'd be getting.

The costs rose to $11,000 -- or more than $120 per meal for the month.

Even in Brooklyn... Oy!
--------------------------
*Often it's not the animal, but the owner's care at fault for unnatural illness or behavior. From previously in the article:

Howard wanted to use duck fat for cooking, but ran into a problem. "You can kill chickens, but don't kill any ducks," his 4-year-old daughter told him. He compromised on olive oil.

The ducks were the only lucky ones. He learned how to kill and pluck roosters -- several got their heads chopped off after neighbors complaints about the crowing. And some of the rabbits died from maggot infestations.

** And in my re-read: would you believe I thought it was the wife breaking down and crying after hitting her head that made him second think his great experiment? No. It was him; he was referring to himself, not her, here! omg You big dummy, leave a rabbit hanging where someone could hit their head on it... she should be crying to you! I don't think many rural men who stay are raised that inconsiderate for others like that, or so self absorbed to find a self-pity rather than embarrassment message in the rabbit-hanging lesson. Pride in your work, respect for the feminine sex and all.

Sure, 'tis like a morn in Spring...

Nick Coleman on Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Hessian:

"When anyone dies, we want our families around us," he told me a few years ago, after celebrating his 50th anniversary of his ordination in 1953.

"But when you have an 18-year-old kid, thousands of miles from home and he'd like to see his mother but there's nobody. ... I tried to be the local parish priest for those kids. Their eyes are just pleading with you: 'Help me, help me.' It was awful."

"But I had to be there."
...
Hessian rose through the ranks of Army and church, becoming a monsignor and a major general. From 1982 to 1986, when he retired, he was the Army's chief of chaplains.

"We just revered him," said one of his subordinate chaplains, Howie Krienke, a retired colonel who is associate pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Hopkins. "Hessian was plain and ordinary in the way he acted, but he was an icon. We stood in awe of him. He didn't care if you were Lutheran or a rabbi or Muslim. He treated us all fairly, and honored and respected our traditions."

"He looked the part," said Brig. Gen. Douglas Lee, an Army chaplain of the Presbyterian persuasion who also served under Hessian and attended his funeral. "He was handsome and tall and looked distinguished. More than that, he kept the faith and kept the focus on spirituality, especially in times of chaos and war. He brought the soldiers to God, and God to the soldiers."

Hessian's authority over 3,000 chaplains of all faiths was hard to explain when he met with the top officer in his other line of command, Pope John Paul II. They had a private audience at the Vatican in 1986 and discovered they had something in common: Each had been wounded (the pope was shot in an assassination attempt). After swapping their stories, the pope asked the chaplain how a priest could be the boss of Protestants and Jews.

Hessian reminded the pope of the story of the Roman centurion in Matthew: "I, too, am a man of authority with soldiers under me."

Then, tapping the stars on his uniform, he said, "You see these two stars? That means I'm in charge."Here I am, a guy from Minnesota, quoting scripture to the pope," he told me once. "I really enjoyed that."

Yesterday, as they carried Monsignor and Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Hessian out of Our Lady of the Prairie, they stopped to cover his plain pine coffin in an American flag in front of a statue of St. Patrick.

The statue came from Belle Plaine's old Irish Church, Sacred Heart, which was razed when the Irish and German congregations combined. Hessian grew up in Sacred Heart parish, and remained close to Belle Plaine. Thursday, it was noted that his funeral was scheduled at his regular Thursday tee time at Belle Plaine's Valley View Golf Club: 11 a.m.

This "Hessian," by the way, was as Irish as a Murphy or O'Halloran. As they carried him out of the church, the organist struck up a familiar tune: "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling."

I think the toughest kid on West Seventh would've really enjoyed that.

Whale away...whale away...whale away...

"Listen, I am anxious to talk about my record as governor," (Mark) Warner said. "Some of these national folks coming in with these attacks — it's classic Washington. An hour into the campaign and they're already whaling away."

Shouldn't that be "wailing away" as in "to pummel as with hands, fists, or words" ?

You gotta jump, jive, and then you wail away!

G'morning World...

"You show them better than you can tell them."

By JOHN WAWROW
AP Sports Writer

"I can't even explain it to you, he's like a miracle," Patricia Dugas said, her voice breaking in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Everett's mother spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday, one day after doctors reversed Everett's grim prognosis when he voluntarily moved his arms and legs.

"That's right. They're surprised themselves," Dugas said. "They don't know Kevin Everett. Oh, man, I always told him when he was a little boy, 'You show them better than you can tell them.' He's going to be fine. I really believe it."

R.I.P., and Never Forget the Prices Being Paid and Who's Really Doing the Paying:

Two of the soldiers who wrote of their pessimism about the war, in an Op-Ed article that appeared in The New York Times on Aug. 19, were killed in Baghdad on Monday. They were not killed in combat, nor on a daring mission. They died when the five-ton cargo truck they were riding in overturned.

The victims, Staff Sgt. Yance T. Gray, 26, and Sgt. Omar Mora, 28, were among the authors of “The War as We Saw It,” in which they expressed doubts about reports of progress.

“As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day,” the soldiers wrote.

“My son was a soldier in his heart from the age of 5,” Sergeant Gray’s mother, Karen Gray, said by telephone today from Ismay, Mont., where Yance grew up. “He loved what he was doing.”

“But he wasn’t any mindless robot,” said the sergeant’s father, Richard Gray. Sergeant Gray leaves a wife, Jessica, and a daughter, Ava, born in April. He is also survived by a brother and sister.

Sergeant Mora’s mother, Olga Capetillo of Texas City, Tex., told The Daily News in Galveston that her son had grown increasingly gloomy about Iraq. “I told him God is going to take care of him and take him home,” she said.

A native of Ecuador, Sergeant Mora had recently become an American citizen. “He was proud of this country, and he wanted to go over and help,” his stepfather, Robert Capetillo, told The Houston Chronicle. Sergeant Mora leaves a wife, Christa, and a daughter, Jordan, who is 5. Survivors also include a brother and sister.

While the seven soldiers were composing their article, one of them, Staff Sgt. Jeremy A. Murphy, was shot in the head. He was flown to a military hospital in the United States and is expected to survive.

Here's a bit of what the soldiers wrote about their mission:

At the same time, the most important front in the counterinsurgency, improving basic social and economic conditions, is the one on which we have failed most miserably. Two million Iraqis are in refugee camps in bordering countries. Close to two million more are internally displaced and now fill many urban slums. Cities lack regular electricity, telephone services and sanitation. “Lucky” Iraqis live in gated communities barricaded with concrete blast walls that provide them with a sense of communal claustrophobia rather than any sense of security we would consider normal.

In a lawless environment where men with guns rule the streets, engaging in the banalities of life has become a death-defying act. Four years into our occupation, we have failed on every promise, while we have substituted Baath Party tyranny with a tyranny of Islamist, militia and criminal violence. When the primary preoccupation of average Iraqis is when and how they are likely to be killed, we can hardly feel smug as we hand out care packages. As an Iraqi man told us a few days ago with deep resignation, “We need security, not free food.”

In the end, we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that it has also robbed them of their self-respect. They will soon realize that the best way to regain dignity is to call us what we are — an army of occupation — and force our withdrawal.

Until that happens, it would be prudent for us to increasingly let Iraqis take center stage in all matters, to come up with a nuanced policy in which we assist them from the margins but let them resolve their differences as they see fit. This suggestion is not meant to be defeatist, but rather to highlight our pursuit of incompatible policies to absurd ends without recognizing the incongruities.

Rosh Hashana, Ramadan share holiday kickoff.

Let's hope it's a good one... without any tears.

By SEAN GAFFNEY, Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 12, 12:21 PM ET

"I don't think you'll find any Israel who's optimistic," said Ari Bouderhem, 47, owner of the Emil coffee shop. "It's not in our nature."

Bourderhem said holiday business was better than last year, which was marred by an inconclusive summer war with the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. But he said he saw rough times ahead and "maybe a war."

Jewish families celebrate Rosh Hashana by eating apples and honey and other traditional foods symbolizing sweetness and prosperity. The holiday this year falls on the same day as the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, so as Jews sit down for festive family dinners, Muslim families will also gather for a special meal ahead of their month of sunrise-to-sunset fasting.
...
Israelis also expressed concern about Syrian accusations that their nation's warplanes struck deep into Syrian territory last week. The wall-to-wall silence on the reports from the normally voluble Israeli government has fueled worries about possible war as Israelis struggle to figure out what the planes were doing in Syria.
...
The Jewish year of 5768 also marks a year of agricultural sabbatical, known in Hebrew as "shmita." The commandment requires Jewish farmers in Israel to let their fields rest every seventh year, just as Jews are required to rest every seventh day.

In the past, the sabbatical prodded the Jewish state into strange arrangements with Palestinian farmers, and forced Jewish farmers and rabbis to devise creative loopholes that allow fieldwork to continue without violating the letter of the law.

Colin Powell in the October GQ.

Here's an appropriate quotation today, highlighted by S.V. Date in The Florida Politics Blog:

On the sixth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, comes a fascinating take on terrorism from one of the most respected military men (and a Republican) in America, former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

In the October issue of GQ, Powell — who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the first Iraq War in 1991 — says this:

“What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it’s terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves.”

.

Rainy days and Mondays...

to me, is an orchestral piece circa 1981, band camp at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington. We even cut a record at the end-of-the-week concert. Not too much percussion in that one though...

Number nine...

number nine...

Valhalla - ah!

We come from the land of the ice and snow
from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow...

Led Zeppelin to reunite?

Oh darling darlin darlin
walk a while with me...
Ooh, you've got so much.

Many times I loved,
many times been bitten.
Many times I've gazed
along the open road.

Many times I've lied.
Many times I've listened.
Many times I've wondered
how much there is to know...

Many dreams come true,
and some have silver linings
I live for my dreams
and a pocketful of gold.

Mellow is the man
who knows what he's been missing
Many, many men
can't see the open road...

Well there you go:

SEPTEMBER RAIN
Music by Billy Strayhorn
Lyrics by Lorraine Feather
Nothing dusty here this particular September, but how's the weather where you're at?

Are you ready...

for some football?

Find 100 Ways...

It's early September, the weather here is turning. I'm working off a checklist today. Yesterday was double coupon day at the store, and there were a lot of new students -- so young looking! -- cooling off at the Copp's on Park. Remember when shopping for yourself when you were out on your own was such a treat. It's cute how the couples compare and question each other on the products -- "Should we get this?"

Of course, the weather helps. It was about 86 degrees at 8 p.m. yesterday; come March or April, they'll just be grabbing and stuffing things in the cart, more grumbling if they're still shopping together. Early September to late October: these are the golden days, and everybody's working on their lists.

What's on yours?

"I did not have sex with that policeman..."

You know who I feel sorry for?
Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota.
Senator who?

Sure you remember him. The mass feeding frenzy that took place when he was stricken suddenly with a brain injury. The then endless speculation of if he went, how would that affect the Senate balance. Oh sure, they recognized -- some acknowledged -- the fetidness of it all. Wait until the body is cold to go counting up your hand, some of us believe. And don't speak ill of the dead unnecessarily is another. Hey they're dead.

But Senator Johnson foiled the speculations. He fought back hard, he's still alive, and he's heading back into work at a measured pace. Good job Senator, keep it up.

Now this other one...
and again folks, your ugliness is showing. I happen to think Nick Coleman got it right:

If Craig weren't now convicted by cable TV as being a Likely Gay Person, or LGP, or if he had been caught with a woman instead of playing patty-fingers with a guy, there might be sympathy for him when he complains he was entrapped by a loitering lawman with a killer "come-hither" look. But he pleaded guilty after he fell for the cop's promise that it would just be their little secret. Until it all came out.

When it did, Craig had to resign. The one thing conservatives hate more than Hollywood and Hillary is a Republican who might be gay.

A lot of Democrats seem to think they won something from this spectacle, but a lot of Democrats are dopes. Hypocrisy knows no party, and human beings are pretty much the same.

You know who is losing here, again?
Gay people.

In their delight to cackle over this man, bloggers of a certain age -- ok, brought up in the majority boom times -- trip over themselves in glee. Here's Susan Estrich, a mother, so fearful she is worried about sending her teenage son in alone to the mens rooms. Nice defying the stereotypes Susan; is there a two-fer there?

And today the newlywed Andrew Sullivan points out that the senator's children, who are standing behind their dad, are adopted. Because it's somehow relevant to the man's sexuality, you know.

Then we've got two South Florida funsters tossing around all the gay stereotypes fit to print: Carl Hiaasen of the Florida corruption comedy genre, and Frank Cerabino, another parent columnist all-around funny family guy.

Nevermind counting all the armchair psych doctors who have the senator diagnosed and labeled all from his previous rumored actions.

Let me in on this one, from a perspective a few years younger? Y'all should be ashamed of yourselves. Do you really think this is helping the gay rights movement, young gay people today, politics, or do you not care? Please, enough copy already, let it go.

This senator is a person, first and foremost. He grew up in an ugly age, where if you chose to be true to yourself, you paid the price in terms of family, community, career, maybe longevity due to lifestyle. He made a choice, maybe consciously and maybe not. His life, his choice.

Hey ugly Andrew: Maybe he wanted to be a parent. Not much chance of that back then, eh? Suddenly adopted children are "lessers" now, their voice somehow affected because he's not the natural father? I'm happy you're self-satisfied with your work, Mr. Sullivan. Elitist gay marriage is now available in select regions, and your premature push, many would say, has the rest of us living under state constitutional bans. Why couldn't you just work outside the system, like so many lesbian families and longstanding gay partners did, without pushing your needs on the entire country and bringing about such a swift and condemning backlash? You are always down on the Human Rights Campaign, but surely they have raised awareness in American families and communities and in trying to organize the fight to serve the greatest numbers of gay people in the greatest numbers of states, eh? Instead, you wanted it all ... and you may have gotten it for yourself (the barebacking period when younger, now societal recognition of the primacy of your current union), but what of the rest of us?

Did you know, like Mr. Pitts and Mr. Hiaasen surely do, that if the senator were an out man in their state he would not have been allowed to adopt? Do you care? Can you respect someone's personal choice -- making the best decision for themselves under their circumstances even if you don't share their desire for a family that includes children?

You know who wins?
Not the gays. Nope. In a good majority of minds now, bathroom sex is what gay people do. They're afraid for their children what the homosexual sex drive will do. You think I'm kidding, I'm not. You know this outcry for family values? In the cynic world, it's not real. But in so many circles, it is. Who's attractive now? Mitt Romney. He's real. He's a family man, with biological children -- always important. Mostly sons too. Successful business background -- not into this permissive culture where anything goes anywhere. And he seems to be a "mind your own business" kind of guy.

Is that what y'all want? Mitt Romney America?
Please, keep it up then. Because in concentrating our attentions on that senator -- in piling on his problems because you think you're racking up points with overall America -- we lose track of the hard work people like Senator Johnson put in physically to reach his goals. And I'm sure it was painful, undignified, and wearying to try to gain control of your body again like that. Please be careful pundits. I don't think the Democrats exactly have a lock on the future just yet.

Instead, we got another hot game going of Smear the Queer, a game where identifying your target to others was enough. Funny to see it's still so popular. Jerry Lewis, sure I could see that from the man's times and experiences. The rest of you? Shame on you for not broadening your column topics and settling for thrice-raked over comedy, fears, and stereotypes. Maybe where you're at gay people are set and don't have to make such choices today between parenting (can you afford the sperm implantation and single parenthood; do you marry a friend with honesty and respect for both families all the way around?) and living the gay lifestyle. Maybe in your circles, coming out and being public about your gayness advances your career. Other places, maybe not.

Pro-choice.
As much as possible, putting the life choices and consequences of an individual upon that individual, who surely knows his or her environment and circumstances best, right? Dignity and mercy, as much as possible. That too can survive in the gay lifestyle, right?

If you didn't think then President Clinton should resign for the choices and immediate denials he made, why do the sexual circumstances of what the senator allegedly did in any way affect his job performance? If the gay rights movement was built on bullying closet politicians for their support via the threat of outing them in exchange for those votes, my that's a mighty shaky foundation you'd have us all crawl into.

Be careful your tactics today.
No matter what you choose, you have to accept the consequences for your actions tomorrow. You know what? Accepting consequences -- that's exactly what the senator here appears to be trying to do.

Politically, the Democrats have been in a lot of "can't lose" situations before, and they lost. Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, Kennedy. Now Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama. Surely one of these senators, surely a Dem will be our next president, right? Sorry, but that's a losing track record, and some folks feel the losses more than others. Just take care is all I'm saying, understand how your words are being taken by real-life voters. And for God's sake people, get out there and generate your own copy. This thrice-told samey-same nonsense makes me wonder about all the stories out there you're missing in playing silly games.

Grand Inquisitor In Deed.

If there were any doubts, this is why Leonard Pitts Jr. won that Pulitzer, standing out amongst his column-writing peers. Here's his take on Mother Teresa:

I was sitting on the deck in a chaise lounge. God was floating on His back in the pool.

I pointed to the night sky, a white disk of moon rising magisterially into an infinity of black. "Nice work," I said. God didn't answer.

"And hey, thanks for the weather today," I said. "75 degrees, low humidity, a nice breeze. Well done."

Still no answer. He gets in these quiet moods sometimes.

"Now I know how Mother Teresa felt," I groused, laughing to show Him I was just kidding. Might as well have been laughing at the moon.

...

"...I am told that God loves me," she wrote in an undated letter, " -- and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul."

"You know," I said, `"you could have given her a sign. Would that have killed you?"

Nothing.

"Answer me when I'm talking to you!" I was mortified to hear myself yelling at Him, but I couldn't make myself stop. "Do you have any idea how much easier you make it for atheists when you act like this? It makes their argument so much simpler. If a woman who had given her very life over to this 'God' couldn't get a word out of Him for years, isn't the logical conclusion that He does not exist? Is that really what you want people to think?" God drifted in the pool, silent.

"Is this a faith thing?" I asked. "Is that it? Even though she had doubt, she continued to minister to people in one of the poorest places on Earth. Is that your point? Have faith?"

The sound of a breeze playing among the trees drew me around sharply. '"Was that You?" I said.

Silence. I said, "You know you're making me crazy here, right? I feel like the conflicted priest from that TV show, Nothing Sacred. There was this one episode where he gave a homily and asked, `Which man is crazy, the one who hears thunder and thinks it's the voice of God, or the one who hears the voice of God and thinks it's only thunder?' "

I sighed my frustration. For a moment, the only sound was the water lapping in the pool. Then I said softly, "You know, sometimes, I think atheists have a point. When you see nothing, when you feel nothing, isn't it logical to conclude it's because there is nothing?" I couldn't bear to look at Him as I said this.

"I think the only reason I don't go with them," I whispered, "is because of all those other times when you do see . . . something. When you feel connected to something so vast it defies comprehension. It fills you. It settles you. It gives you peace. And you say to yourself, `Lord, where did that come from? It couldn't be my imagination, because I couldn't imagine anything so . . . perfect.' "

Still He was silent.

I looked up.

"You know, this mysterious ways thing gets a little..."

I froze. God wasn't there. God was gone. Sitting alone under the blind white cataract of the moon, I shivered. Then I saw Him. He had climbed out of the pool and was drying himself with a towel. He had been there all along.

"Thank God," I breathed.

"I used to like that show," He said thoughtfully.

"Huh? What show?"

"That Nothing Sacred. That was a good show. I hated when they canceled it."

God finished drying Himself and went into the house. It started to rain.

Books Editor Scott Eyman on
On the Road* at 50 years of age:

Stylistically, what Kerouac was doing - whether intentionally or not - was shifting the component part of the American novel as he understood it from the individual sentence to the overall emotional impact. In point of fact, there are very few sentences in On the Road that could be pointed out as well-formed or beautiful, which is undoubtedly what Capote and a lot of critics found objectionable.

Every once in a while, Kerouac rises to the occasion: "On rails we leaned and looked at the great brown father of waters rolling down from mid-America like the torrent of broken souls - bearing Montana logs and Dakota muds and Iowa vales and things that had drowned in Three Forks, where the secret began in ice."

But the book matchlessly captures a time and people occupying themselves with frenetic trips back and forth across America, in perpetual pursuit of sex, beauty, jazz and drugs. Or, to put it another way, life.

It's a culturally inclusive novel - you can hear bongos and Brubeck and Miles Davis in some of it, but other times, notably the ending, it's pure Joyce: "the evening star must be drooping and shedding her sparkler dims on the prairie, which is just before the coming of complete night that blesses the earth, darkens all rivers, cups the peaks and folds the final shore in, and nobody, nobody knows what's going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old, I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of old Dean Moriarty the father we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty."

Yes, she said, yes, yes.

That's the case for the defense.

The prosecution might argue that On the Road prefigures a particular kind of writing that's proliferated since the computer became the instrument of choice rather than the pencil or the typewriter - that shapeless, never-ending slop that makes you want to break Dave Eggers' fingers, and that was much harder to accomplish when writing was a form of manual labor.

But after 50 years, it's clear that Kerouac has triumphed. Despite the deceptive façade of logorrhea, he's actually very focused and perpetually modern in his desire for something more than what he's already got. He's a weird prefiguring of a one-of-a-kind shape-shifting blogger, constantly taking the emotional temperature of the room and breathlessly reporting on it.

---------------------
* 50 years since the 9/5/57 publication,
but the writing was complete by early 1951.

Which makes it even fresher in capturing the immediate post-War restlessness. The phrase is cheapened these days but really, Read the Whole Thing.