Afghanistan: America's Eternal "War On Drugs" Meets It's Eternal Occupation

With our killer drones and our DEA we'll have their hearts and minds in no time...well, maybe a few decades anyway. Let's ask Russia again how this all worked out for them.

DEA agents among 14 Americans dead in Afghanistan

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Video | Rachael Maddow Show, The Kentucky "Coal" Dorm

If you read the sports pages, especially in Kentucky, you've heard of the millionaire who wants to give $7 million to the University of Kentucky for a Men's sports dormitory.
Condition is; He wants the word "coal" in the name. Rachel Maddow had Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation on to tell us more reasons why it's a bad idea. I'm a KY sports fan and I agree. Here's the clip:



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Video | Harry Reid Brings Public Option To Senate

Damn, who woulda thunk it? Harry Reid pulls out the Public Option. With an "opt-out" provision, but still.
Obviously the progressive side of the aisle, and those public opinion polls have had a big affect. Here's Harry:



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U2, Live From The Rose Bowl On YouTube

Looks good:
Details here, watch here. Watch it Live, or watch the rebroadcast later.

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Sen. Russ Feingold On Face The Nation

Senator Feingold was on Face The Nation talking about Afghanistan, Iraq and National Health care:



Feingold on the Public option being the Liberal preference:
"What Liberals want is a single payer system, Medicare for everybody. So the idea of a Public Option is really a very moderate idea."

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Late Night Poetry Sampling

Tom Clark - Shadow Play

Click Memory, unwanted, unexpected
Images Display; pasts come flooding in, slow,
Flicking yellow glow on endarkened wall. Hello
Interior landscape we've always
Traveled, Dear One, by a Lake of Dreams -- looking
For that light-in-window fleeting house
Now a cottage haunted by passing strangers
Who were never there. The night's cold,
Bells do not toll here at midnight any more.

Barnes & Noble's "Nook" Looks Good

The new Nook looks SHWEEET but is a bit pricey at $259.00.


Oh, and the new Windows 7 is looking pretty good.

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Do These LED's Make My Eyes Look Bigger?

Interesting to see where this goes. LED eyelashes by Soomi Park:



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Video | Sen. Al Franken Mops Floor With Insurance Lobbyist

Sen. Al Franken kicks ass in hearing:



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Rep. Alan Grayson Vs.Hapless Rep. Broun On Constitution

Rep. Alan Grayson being cool as a cucumber in a constitutional debate with a floundering Rep. Paul Broun about a bill:




"Will the gentleman yield?"
"No."

Note: I'm afraid to hope but it looks as if Blogger may have fixed their "labels limit" bug.

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Video of The Day | Raconteurs, "Broken Boy Soldier"

From a Beautiful Wednesday, In Unemployed Land....
Beautiful Fall day here in Central KY. The kind of day you just want to sit in the sun and soak it up for the coming Winter. I didn't though(much). I've gotten quite a lot done outside today instead. Built a bird feeder onto the deck, got the rest of the landscape plants put in, etc, etc...Anyone need a good carpenter, Landscape/yard man. Hmmmm?
Between the house and outside, I'm often working harder unemployed than when working the office job. I just sat down at the computer about half an hour ago..pitiful, right?
Anyhooo..Going to read some email and quick news. Then being a Renaissance man I'm gonna go fix dinner(Imperial Chicken).
Thanks to Rob Thomas here's my video of the day:



Bad time for job seekers. I'd seen an ad in the paper looking for job applicants for a factory in Nicholasville, from 1:00pm ~ 4:00pm today. A friend of my daughter said he went by there and they(applicants) were lined up outside and around the parking lot.

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Obama Ends Fed Medical Marijuana Raids

Finally, the right thing to do.
Thank you President Obama for showing some sanity, common sense and compassion concerning marijuana.
















Photo here.

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The "Balloon Boy", Richard Heene, And Media Obsessions

Our "News" media are like children distracted by loud and/or shiny things. I didn't see much of "balloon boy" coverage because, well.. just because I don't get much of my news from cable.
This is probably the only post I'll EVER put up about this manufactured story. I found it interesting for the somewhat strange story of Richard Heene and the family trivia. What the hell, you even get to meet our "Reptilian" overlords:

Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax

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A Glorious Dawn | Cosmos Remixed, With Carl Sagan..

..And Stephen Hawking:



"We are made of star stuff"

Excellent.

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New Camera Captures Life...But First You Should Have A Life

Worth capturing:

New camera promises to capture your whole life

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Evening Vids | Tull's, "Skating Away" and Joni M's, "Urge For Going"

Two similar moods(to me anyway). Jethro Tull's "Skating Away":



And Joni Mitchell's "Urge For Going"(Thanks for the memory Anne):


Autumn is here once again, and I've always loved the feeling of this song..

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Video | Alan Grayson On Real Time

Evening Commuters. Hope you're having a Great weekend. Mine's okay. The usual "no job" worries. I apply for jobs and then just try to forget it for a while.
But hey, here's a treat from yesterday. Alan Grayson(D, Fla.) shows you what a Democrat with a spine looks like.



Go here for HD.

I just backed up the computer. It took over three hours and 10 disks!

Note: I see that Blogger in their infinite wisdom STILL haven't fixed the "2000 labels" limit. Crazy.. 1st chance I get I'm going to look at other hosts..if there are any...

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He's Back...Out of the Mountains..With Pics! Clay County, South Fork KY River

Helloooo Blog! I'm back from the "Mountains"!
Blogger is STILL not letting me use labels! I've tried to add more to the Post titles. That may at least help me find them when/if I need to search. Is there a good alternative to Blogger that I could switch over to?
The fall foliage wasn't as good yet as I hoped it would be. Give it another week before that scenic autumn drive in the mountains. I still took a lot of pics, as always. A few are posted below. It's always nice to get home just to be able to see the photos on the p.c. monitor and not just that little camera screen. Anyway, a few sample shots:

South Fork KY River, Clay County - Small Mouth bass heaven:


South Fork, looking upstream(yes, that's "kudzu" at the bottom of the pic):


And a few closeups:




A few of the dumbest things I saw all weekend came from the editers of The Manchester Enterprise. I read the paper version while at my sister's house but they have an online presense, enjoy: I swear it's the cable Fox News of local papers. One story involved a headline of "Manchester Going Green, 50 Jobs Coming to Clay". Reading further you find out that it's a company which "may be" coming to Manchester and which manufactures "fuel cubes" from trash, plastics & tires and are used as an additional fuel to burn with "dirty coal". REALLY sounds "green" doesn't it.
Another winner(I couldn't find it online) of journamalistic accords was a photo of a fat cop cutting a few scrawny looking pot plants, with what I swear looked like a pair of scissors. They were maybe 4 feet tall. The photo's label stated that it was officer "so & so" who was cutting marijuana plants turned in by an "anonymous" source. The kicker of course was the information that there was a total of 4 of these anemic looking little plants and the police wizards had placed their "street value" at $100,000.00! Yes, I reread it 3-4 times to be sure. They were saying each of the little pot plants were worth $25,000.00 on the street! BWAHAHAHAHA!

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Video | Al Franken Gets A Good Thing Done

Lastly before I go tonight. Al Franken does some good already. 30 Republicans sided with rapists and other evil doers. How do these people sleep at night?:

Al Franken passes law denying fed contracts to companies that support rape of
employees.



Night all. I'm going to try and go to the "mountains" this Saturday and spend the night. I have some plants I want to put on my parent's gravesite down there and a few other things. Even may try to forget the employment(or lack thereof) situation and have a decent time..maybe..Should be back before then though.

Question: Is anyone at Blogger trying to fix the "no labels for posts" problem?

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Video \ Trailer For "Stop Making Sense"

It's 25 years now:



Boingboing.

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Video | Barney Frank vs. Paul Ryan

Can't help liking Barney Frank. He doesn't suffer fools gladly(understatement). Ryan admits Republicans wasted YEARS:



Blogger's not letting me enter ANY labels for posts, that's a big problem..

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Thursday Video, REM; "Rockville" | Blogger's Givin' Me Fits

An EXTREMELY young REM('85) with, "Don't Go Back to Rockville":



And Blogger keeps stopping me and telling me I can't use more than "2000 labels"..ARGH!

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Unemployment And Ben Chandler Updates, Nothing Either Way

Unemployment search News: Job search still going nowhere. Obviously I didn't get the job I interviewed for last week which I SO HOPED I'd get, haven't heard anything. It would have been a GREAT job. Even made all that I've gone through(and my family) worth it. Not for the likes of me I guess(sob).. Took an exam today for a Water Plant job in Danville...$8.50 hr., about half what i was making before, at twice the drive away(SIGH). If I was religious I'd say pray for me..but I'm not, so I'll say, think of me and wish me just a little bit of good luck(for a change). The last year has been the worst(by far) of my life. We lost Daisy, I got shingles & then Neuralgia, and to top it off lost my job of 23 years, and just can't seem to get another... Unemployed is horror, with humiliation and anger thrown in. What can I do, I keep plugging away and hoping, and hoping. I'm not a stupid guy there just seems to be no jobs for me. Dammit, make 55 the new retirement age. I'm even trapped with ads on my page(Geoff Davis, R, Never?) that never pay me anything.
Oooon a lighter note, I FINALLY got a new computer installed(just the processor), probably shouldn't have gotten it since I paid out of my dwindling 401k money. But I HAD to replace the antique.
OH, more news! I Finally got a reply from my congressman, "invisible" Ben Chandler. Well, it actually appears to be a "form" email that some underling there pasted my name at the top of. It has about 5-6 chapters and ends up taking NO stand on anything. Not my "public option" questions, my out of work questions, not my bailout funds questions...nothing..doesn't even address most of them. Oh, and my questions to him were perfectly somber and courteous, I even said I'd Blog his answers if he wanted. Nothing, nada, vanilla invisible...That's Ben..It's so NICE his wife got that new job with the state, funny how that works isn't it..?
Anyway here's invisible man's mail to me, the whole glorious, insipid, spineless drivel:

Dear Mr. Dean:
Thank you for contacting me about healthcare reform. Due to the enormous volume of phone calls, emails and letters on this subject, I am unable to respond to each individually. However, it is important that you know that your opinions have not gone unheard. I have been traveling throughout the district during the August recess and have been meeting with constituents of all ages and walks of life who have different viewpoints and concerns on this important issue. I have been listening to my constituents and having meaningful dialogue with people both for and against current proposals for healthcare reform. I review the comments from people who call and read the emails and letters you send me. These outlets continue to be a good way for me to be aware of your concerns.

There are many sides to the healthcare debate. While I have yet to vote on any such legislation in the House, I will continue to carefully review the legislation and get input from my constituents. It is important to me that any proposed legislation maintains and enhances quality health care for the people of Central Kentucky. It is also important that any reform proposal retains the benefits of our current system, supports rural healthcare, protects our small businesses, and continues to allow patients to keep their coverage and choose their doctors.

There is no question our healthcare system needs to be fixed-the cost of the system is already too high for our nation and our citizens to bear. Premiums have been skyrocketing for years, patients are having coverage denied once they get sick, and many folks are just one job loss away from losing coverage entirely.

There are no easy answers to America's healthcare problem. We need to find the balance between expanding coverage, securing consumer choice, maintaining quality care, and controlling costs. Thank you again for expressing your opinions about this very important issue.

Sincerely, Ben Chandler
Member of Congress

Oh, and he says he's been "traveling about the district". I keep up with the news fairly well, if "gentle Ben" has been appearing much at all around Central KY it's been a pretty big secret.

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Republican's Health Care Plan Receives Backing From Undertakers

"Undertakers, embalmers and hearse drivers across the country, gave the GOP plan a big thumbs up, saying in a press release, "Finally, a health care plan that works for us."

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Saturday Video | "The Killing Of Georgie"

Hanging out on a Saturday night. Rod Stewart with the classic ode to a gay friend "Georgie":



Note: There is an extended interview at the end that has nothing to do with the song as far as I can tell. It's like someone taped over a previous recording, so if u like skip that.

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Video | Alan Grayson: My Hero Of The Week

Now here's a Democrat with a spine AND balls. Congressman Alan Grayson from Florida. IMO he went over the top with the "holocaust" word. He's right though in his figures over 44,000 Americans dying EVERY year due to lack of health care. Meanwhile Congress has EXCELLENT health care themselves, why does no one in these corporate news interviews ask them about that? Oh, wait...never mind..



Donate to Alan Grayson.
A breath of fresh air, and my Democrat of the week. As opposed to the stench of my own congress critter Ben "invisible" Chandler and other more National stinkers,; Baucus, Lincoln, Nelson, etc. Peee-Yuuuh!

Naomi Klein Interview: Michael Moore

Naomi Klein interviews Michael Moore during the build-up to his new film 'Capitalism: A Love Story'. Listen to the complete Podcast here:

"NK: Do you see that as the main driving force for the tea parties?

MM: I think it's one of the forces--but I think there's a number of agendas at work here. The other agenda is the corporate agenda. The healthcare companies and other corporate concerns are helping to pull together what seems like a spontaneous outpouring of citizen anger.

But the third part of this is--and this is what I really have always admired about the right wing: they are organized, they are dedicated, they are up at the crack of dawn fighting their fight. And on our side, I don't really see that kind of commitment.

When they were showing up at the town-hall meetings in August--those meetings are open to everyone. So where are the people from our side? And then I thought, Wow, it's August. You ever try to organize anything on the left in August?

NK: Wasn't part of it also, though, that the left, or progressives, or whatever you want to call them, have been in something of a state of disarray with regard to the Obama administration--that most people favor universal healthcare, but they couldn't rally behind it because it wasn't on the table?

MM: Yes. And that's why Obama keeps turning around and looking for the millions behind him, supporting him, and there's nobody even standing there, because he chose to take a half measure instead of the full measure that needed to happen. Had he taken the full measure--true single-payer, universal healthcare--I think he'd have millions out there backing him up.

NK: Now that the Baucus plan is going down in flames, do you think there's another window to put universal healthcare on the table?

MM: Yes. And we need people to articulate the message and get out in front of this and lead it. You know, there's close to a hundred Democrats in Congress who had already signed on as co-signers to John Conyers's bill.

Obama, I think, realizes now that whatever he thought he was trying to do with bipartisanship or holding up the olive branch, that the other side has no interest in anything other than the total destruction of anything he has stood for or was going to try and do. So if [New York Congressman Anthony] Weiner or any of the other members of Congress want to step forward, now would be the time. And I certainly would be out there. I am out there. I mean, I would use this time right now to really rally people, because I think the majority of the country wants this."

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