March 18, 2010 archive

As I said before- do you see ‘meta’ in this?

Well, there’s a reason they call this March Madness.

It’s been insanely complicated to even set up this table which is organized by viewing time for your convenience.  Over 20 hours it took me, I hope you appreciate it.

There is only one channel, CBS, which means they are going to jump around from game to game in a random manner dictated by the Sports Director (thus the name).  I’m not even going to attempt to live blog it except for the random comment or 60.

Slackers.

I’ll attempt to update the results as they come in, and the second half of the round of 64 comes tomorrow.  This weekend is the round of 32 and it’s going to take me just as much time to prepare and I’m not going to be around Saturday night (hopefully) because I’m going to be visiting a dog that bites my shoes and talking about Science Fiction.

After that I may have more interest if any of my favorite teams (Syracuse and Michigan State) emerge un-upset though I’m not predicting anything except early exits for either of them.  I’ll keep rooting for The Big East (the best conference in Basketball!) until they all lose (which is sure to come).

Kansas v. Duke in the final.  Kansas wins.  Yawn.

Or you could go with Armando’s brackets.

There are many, many valid grievances, but  some issues really stand out:

The world’s five biggest AAA-rated states are all at risk of soaring debt costs and will have to implement austerity plans that threaten “social cohesion”, according to a report on sovereign debt by Moody’s. The US rating agency said the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain are walking a tightrope as they try to bring public finances under control without nipping recovery in the bud. It warned of “substantial execution risk” in withdrawal of stimulus.

That would be the tight-rope without a net.  Tanking economies and “social cohesion” swamp all else.  

Open Thread

We lost on HCR.  Plain and simple.  The only mistake is to think the bill couldn’t have been worse.  We could have co-ops and triggers, you know.

But I don’t really care.  Political loss is no stranger to the left here in the US of A.

This weekend, I will witness what we won, only one of the jewel treasures won for ALL Americans from the left.

People whose only wish is to become citizens of the United States of America will be gathering in Washington D.C. on March 21.

And their idea of the spirit of being American is not of Thomas Jefferson or George Washington, not of Anita Bryant or John Wayne or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Mr. Roberts.

Their inspiration is Harvey Milk and gay liberation.

It is now a fact that Harvey Milk was a great gay American, and the American story of the continuing fight for liberation by GLBT citizens is so firmly planted in our culture that immigration groups can use this American struggle as an inspiration that embodies the best and highest values of our society.

To me, that is a win.

From the Dream Act Portal:

March 15 marks the beginning of the United We Dream Network’s “National Coming Out of the Shadows Week.” This campaign draws inspiration from the struggle for equal rights by the gay and lesbian community. On the homepage of dreamactivist.org, the online hub for the United we Dream Network, the following quote from famed activist Harvey Milk is prominently displayed to encourage undocumented students to disclosure their status to advocate for equal rights and the passage of the Dream Act:

Brothers and Sisters, you must come out! come out to your parents, come out to your friends, if indeed they are your friends, come out to your neighbors, come out to your fellow workers. Once and for all, let’s break down the myth and destroy the lies and distortions. For your sake, for their sake. For the sake of all the youngsters who’ve been scared by the votes from Dade to Eugene. On the Statue of Liberty it says “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.” In the Declaration of Independence it is written, “All men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights.” For Mr. Briggs and Mrs. Bryant and all the bigots out there, no matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words from the Declaration of Independence! No matter how hard you try you can never chip those words from the base of the Statue of Liberty! That is where America is!

Approximately 3.2 million undocumented immigrant children and young adults live in the shadows. It has been almost ten years since Congress promised them the American Dream. The wait has become increasingly insufferable.

And luck o’ the Irish to y’all!

I am going to attempt to make colcannon for dinner.  If anyone has any experience with that, or a good recipe to share, please post it here!  Otherwise, I’m winging it.