September 2007 archive

Sep 17 2007

Free Advice! Come Get Your Free Blogging Advice!

Yes, more meta. I love hate meta too, but sometimes I can’t help myself.

You folks (the head honchos hereabouts) have done a good job so far in setting the stage at this blog. I have a good feeling about this place. I note with amusement that old arguments appear to have been hyper-accelerated and in relatively no time and you are facing many of the same issues that have plagued dKos, Booman, MLW and others over the years. All in the first month. Must be some kinda record.

As someone who has observed the irony of average Joe bloggers complaining about how things are handled and then making the EXACT SAME decisions themselves when they become blog proprietors, I would like to offer three pieces of advice to the powers that be and one piece of advice for the rest of us.

Sep 17 2007

So, Sir, Have You Had Anything To Drink Tonight?

I’ve been contemplating writing an essay about our drinking culture in the United States for some time now, just not knowing what specifically I wanted to address.  What is most important to me?  What would other members deem worth debate?  What about our drinking culture, history, laws and flaws do we   need to address?

As a substance abuse counselor working mostly with DUI offenders, a subject has come up on many occasion in group and in my individuals appointments with clients: Police Check Points.

Still there?  Follow me to the juicey parts…..

Sep 17 2007

Autumn Equinox ~ A Time to Remember

In the interest of time to prepare, I thought I’d post this early. Mabon, to those that follow the old ways, or more traditionally the Autumn Equinox, will be Sunday September 23. So without further ado, here are some general thoughts on traditions, and the source of those beliefs.
~~~
The Autumn Equinox or Harvest Home is also called Mabon, pronounced ‘MAY-bon’, after the Welsh god Mabon ap Modron, which means literally ‘son of mother’. The Druids call this celebration, Mea’n Fo’mhair, and honour The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to the trees. The Welsh know this time as ‘Alban Elfed’, meaning ‘light of autumn’.

Sep 17 2007

Blackwater: Throwing Out the Mercs

Appearing at The Jaundiced Eye, the Independent Bloggers’ Alliance, and My Left Wing.

Aerial View of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

The Iraqi government wants Blackwater out of Iraq, following an incident that has left at least 8 Iraqi civilians dead.

“We have revoked Blackwater’s license to operate in Iraq. As of now they are not allowed to operate anywhere in the Republic of Iraq,” Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf said Monday. “The investigation is ongoing, and all those responsible for Sunday’s killing will be referred to Iraqi justice.”

Sep 17 2007

Pony Party: Pickle’s first dharma diary

Hi folks! This is Light Emitting Pickle. I’ll be posting the Pony Party on Mondays at 9 am and 3 pm PDT.

I wasn’t really sure what to post to inspire dialogue, so I’ll leave you with the Party Pickle!

Please do not recommend a Pony Party when you see one.  There will be another along in a few hours.

Sep 17 2007

So, Sir, Have You Had Anything To Drink Tonight?

I’ve been contemplating writing an essay about our drinking culture in the United States for some time now, just not knowing what specifically I wanted to address.  What is most important to me?  What would other members deem worth debate?  What about our drinking culture, history, laws and flaws do we   need to address?

As a substance abuse counselor working mostly with DUI offenders, a subject has come up on many occasion in group and in my individuals appointments with clients: Police Check Points.

Still there?  Follow me to the juicey parts…..

Sep 17 2007

Upon Waking: My Thoughts on Meta

Human Beings are fucking INSANE.

Discuss

I am going to make some coffee and then deal with all the latest shit.

But, jeez people, IT’S ONLY A BLOG!

Sep 17 2007

Pony Party: Monday NFL Roundup

ooooh 1 aaaahh 1
Houston 34 Carolina 21
Cincinnati 45 Cleveland 51
Atlanta 7 Jacksonville 13
Green Bay 36 NY Giants 13
Buffalo 3 Pittsburgh 26
San Francisco 17 St. Louis 16
New Orleans 14 Tampa Bay 31
Indianapolis 22 Tennessee 20
Seattle 20 Arizona 23
Minnesota 17 Detroit 20
Dallas 37 Miami 20
NY Jets 13 Baltimore 20
Kansas City 10 Chicago 20
Oakland 20 Denver 23
San Diego 14 New England 38

Washington @ Philadelphia, 8:30 pm edt

Special thanks to HTMLdog for teaching me how to make the lovely table you see above.  Its my first time *blush*…..

Sep 17 2007

So Long! Farewell!

After a long time of staring at the compose essay blank screen and trying to write something cogent, I realize that this isn’t the right community for me.

This is my fond farewell.

I dipped my toes in the water here, and I really enjoy the excitement that people bring to it.

But what I came in search of doesn’t seem to be here.  I am seeking a community of progressive policy wonks.  People who want to write about and discuss policy over campaigns; programs over partisan politics; common good over political sway.

While there are occasional essays touching on policy, and I appreciate them, overall, that doesn’t seem to be the overarching focus of the “serious” content component of the site.

And that’s what I crave.

I’d like to thank buhdy and the admins for creating such a neat site. And buhdy’s “Be excellent to each other” dictum is one I hope is honored. Thanks, too, for the folks who provided commentary and feedback for my essays. That helps me, and I appreciate it.

So bon voyage, safe trip, and have a great time!

I wish you all the best here, and I hope you all enjoy your ponies, pooties and other precious creatures.

Sep 17 2007

Move On: Misunderstanding The Moment

I have never been a fan of George Lakoff. I imagine he may be an effective academic. I believe he is clueless when it comes to politics. For example this:

MoveOn’s “General Betray Us?” ad has raised vital questions that need a thorough and open discussion. The ad worked brilliantly to reveal, via its framing, an essential but previously hidden truth: the Bush Administration and its active supporters have betrayed the trust of the troops and the American people.

MoveOn hit a nerve. In the face of truth, the right-wing has been forced to change the subject — away from the administration’s betrayal of trust and the escalating tragedy of the occupation to of all things, an ad! To take the focus off maiming and death and the breaking of our military, they talk about etiquette. The truth has reduced them to whining: MoveOn was impolite. Rather than face the truth, they use character assassination against an organization whose three million members stand for the highest patriotic principles of this country, the first of which is a commitment to truth.

(Emphaiss supplied.) This has to be the dumbest thing I have read yet in defense of the Move On ad. I’ll just focus on the two bolded statements:

In the face of truth, the right-wing has been forced to change the subject — away from the administration’s betrayal of trust and the escalating tragedy of the occupation to of all things, an ad!

I would change a few words, “in the face of the truth, the right wing has been forced to WAS ABLE TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT — away from the administration’s betrayal of trust and the escalating tragedy of the oupation to of all things, an ad!” And Lakoff calls this ad brilliant? IS he joking? The Move On ad enabled the REFRAMING of “the truth” about Iraq. It allowed the Iraq Debacle to be overwhelmed by the stupidity of an ad, and Lakoff says Yay! He calls that good framing. Lakoff is perhaps the worst political strategist I have ever seen in my life.

More.

Sep 17 2007

The Morning News

The Morning News is an Open Thread.

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Greenspan reportedly warns on rate cuts
By Mark Felsenthal, Reuters
1 hour, 48 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said his successors at the U.S. central bank should be cautious about cutting interest rates because of inflation risks, and he forecast home prices will drop further, according to interviews published on Sunday.

Greenspan, whose memoirs hit book shelves on Monday, said the Fed should be careful not to cut rates too aggressively because the risk of an “inflationary resurgence” is greater now than when he was chairman, the Financial Times reported.

The U.S. central bank meets on Tuesday and is widely expected to cut benchmark federal funds rate — currently at 5.25 percent — by at least a quarter of a percent age point to help the economy weather a housing downturn and a credit crunch.

Sep 17 2007

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

The muses are ancient.  The inspirations for our stories were said to be born from them.  Muses of song and dance, or poetry and prose, of comedy and tragedy, of the inward and the outward.  In one version they are Calliope, Euterpe and Terpsichore, Erato and Clio, Thalia and Melpomene, Polyhymnia and Urania.

It has also been traditional to name a tenth muse.  Plato declared Sappho to be the tenth muse, the muse of women poets.  Others have been suggested throughout the centuries.  I don’t have a name for one, but I do think there should be a muse for the graphical arts.  And maybe there should be many more.

Please join us inside to celebrate our various muses…

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