Jul 23 2008
No le gusta caminar. No puede montar a caballo
(She doesn’t like to walk, she can’t ride a horse)
Como se puede bailar? Es un escandolo
(But the way she dances, it’s a scandal)
~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~ ~♥~ Pony Party is an Open Thread. Please don’t wRECk the pony. ~♥~ ~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~
Jul 23 2008
Every few days over the next several months I will be posting installments of a novel about life, death, war and politics in America since 9/11. Through the Darkest of Nights is a story of hope, reflection, determination, and redemption. It is a testament to the progressive values we all believe in, have always defended, and always will defend no matter how long this darkness lasts. But most of all, it is a search for identity and meaning in an empty world.
Naked and alone we came into exile. In her dark womb, we did not know our mother’s face; from the prison of her flesh have we come into the unspeakable and incommunicable prison of this earth. Which of us has known his brother? Which of us has looked into his father’s heart? Which of us has not remained prison-pent? Which of us is not forever a stranger and alone? ~Thomas Wolfe
All installments are available for reading here on Docudharma’s Series page, and also here on Docudharma’s Fiction Page, where refuge from politicians, blogging overload, and one BushCo outrage after another can always be found.
Jul 23 2008
The deep pain that is felt at the death of every friendly soul arises from the feeling that there is in every individual something which is inexpressible, peculiar to him alone, and is, therefore, absolutely and irretrievably lost.
~Arthur Schopenhauer
For Michael.
Jul 23 2008
Posted at dKos: Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 05:18:37 PM EDT
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States has operated as Global Cop. I believe that this is a noble job for a country to take on, and had we pursued it in ernest, it might have been a good path for the United States to take.
Unfortunately, the old addage: Absolute power corrupts absolutely, also applies to the United States, and our global police efforts have been more concerned with self interest than the interests of the people we, as Global Cop are protecting and serving.
Think about it… What is worse than a dirty cop? A cop who looks to pad his pockets at the expense of the people he serves is one of the most lowly characters in the realm of story telling. That is who we are today.
Jul 22 2008
Special guest host? Nah, It’s just me.
Special edition? You bet. We’re in Central time now, folks.
Welcome to the Four at Four, at Five (Four Central).
While Iran and the US wrestle over nuclear power, India’s parliament voted to go ahead with a US-India nuclear deal, in which the US will provide nuclear technology and fuel to India so they can build power plants. However, the entire process has been marred with scandal.
The Indian government’s joy at its victory was tempered by a bribery scandal, after opposition lawmakers interrupted the debate to wave wads of cash to protest against what they said were bribes offered by the government to abstain.
The furor was described as one of the lowest points in parliamentary history, and led to fresh demands for Singh to resign, and catcalls preventing him from delivering his concluding remarks after the two-day debate.
Although an agreement has been made between the recently re-elected President of Zimbabwe and his former adversary, all is still not well in Zimbabwe, and many people even doubt the sincerity of the settlement, which isn’t expected to be final for two weeks.
With inflation at more than 2.2m%, unemployment at 80%, and basic food commodities vanishing from shelves, locals have been finding things tough, with millions forced into neighbouring countries.
The Congressional Budget office has determined that the federal government’s rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will cost the government about $25 billion, and admitted that there was a slim chance that the total cost might reach $100 billion.
CBO’s $25 billion cost estimate is an average based on “the path of housing prices in the next several months.” They considered three scenarios: prices stabilize, grow modestly or decline steeply.
…
[Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson requested that the Treasury be allowed to offer Fannie and Freddie an unlimited line of credit for 18 months and be given authority to buy stock in the companies if necessary.
Anyone else find it ironic that mortgage companies are borrowing money?
A study on the effects of Viagra in women (yes, women) has found that Viagra may help women reach orgasm if antidepressants have reduced their libidos.
The study, the first objective research to show a role for Viagra in boosting female sexual function, found that almost three times as many women taking the impotence pill had orgasms compared with those given a placebo.
…
Researchers in the study looked at 98 women on antidepressants whose average age was 37. The women in the study didn’t have any sexual problems before beginning on antidepressants, [researcher Harry] Croft said.
The participants, randomly assigned Viagra or a placebo, were told to take the pill one to two hours before sexual activity for eight weeks. The women on Viagra were more likely to say they had an increase in orgasms and partner satisfaction compared with those taking the placebo. Overall, Viagra didn’t increase their sexual drive or desire for sex, Croft said.
Jul 22 2008
In some ways, much of Kathy Kelly’s adult life has been a walk against war. So it was completely in character for her to be walking through Milwaukee Monday, on a 450-mile trek to St. Paul and the Republican national convention.
Kelly, (left) a high school and community college teacher, has repeatedly risked her life and her freedom as an advocate for non-violence. She is now affiliated with Voices for Creative Nonviolence, based in her hometown of Chicago, which organized Witness Against War now making its way across Wisconsin.
A three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work , Kelly is a longtime pacifist who refuses to pay war taxes. She’s served prison time for planting corn on nuclear missile silo sites and for crossing the line as part of an ongoing effort to close the School of the Americas, an Army military combat training school at Fort Benning, GA.
She helped initiate Voices in the Wilderness, a campaign which brought medicine and toys to Iraq in open violation of UN/US sanctions against Iraq. Voices in the Wilderness organized 70 delegations to visit Iraq in the period between 1996 and the beginning of “Shock and Awe” warfare in 2003. Kelly has been to Iraq 24 times since January 1996, when the campaign began.
In October 2002, Voices in the Wilderness declared their intent to remain in Baghdad, alongside Iraqi civilians, throughout a war they still hoped they could prevent. Kelly and the team stayed in Baghdad throughout the bombardment and invasion and maintained a household in Baghdad until March, 2004. During 2007, she spent five months in Amman, Jordan, living amongst Iraqis who’ve fled their homes and are seeking resettlement.
Jul 22 2008
I flew United, Milwaukee>Ohare>Austin for the Netroots Nation bloggers convention last week.
Landing, 2 bags out of 66 passengers were not on the carousel, mine and agnostic’s, another raucous Dailykos poster. We were told they’d been mistakenly sent to Scranton, would be delivered to out hotel around midnight. Actually arrived 4:00 the next afternoon, with 2 pieces of tape, one from TSA, and another from Homeland Security. Missing, my hairbrush, and Ms. Agnostic’s scarf.
As I connect the dots, when our dossiers were run, an alert HSA drone noticed empty datafields for our DNA. No longer empty.
Jul 22 2008
Jul 22 2008
Recently publisher here and crossposted here.
I wanted to try and generate some discussion on a subject that will continue to resonate regardless of who wins in November: the pathological coupling between fundamentalism, flag worship, and what can be called, for lack of a better term, “warrior worship.” Join me below the fold, won’t you?
Jul 22 2008
Cross-posted from The Wild, Wild Left
Were I not a recovering Catholic, I would surely believe I burned off many a purgatory hour yesterday, far exceeding the actual 7 hours spent in the merry go round of hell called “taking mother in law to her doctor’s appointment.”
Yes, yes, someone with life-long dementia and ever increasing short-term memory loss cannot help thinking perhaps three things all day and repeating them, not unlike the child I used to sit who has autism. She fixates. Repeats. And repeats. I can live with that.
I could live with the inevitable 2 hour wait that her appointments, no matter when they are, involve.
What really fucked up the day was the white-trash big mouth in the waiting room parroting winger-speak and racist code talk; looking for agreement from me.
Jul 22 2008
I have here three clips from a wonderful little film called My Dinner with Andre, wherein the main characters discuss the breakdown of human society.
Jul 22 2008
By Anthony Arnove via socialistworker.org: Decoding Obama on Iraq