Auld Lang Syne-Aretha Franklin & Billy Preston

Happy New Year, West Coast Style

Happy New Year, New York Time

I've been a huge fan of EarthCams for a number of years, now. Every New Year's Eve, I like to stream from Times Square. Especially as I get older and drunker, and find I can't stay up to midnight in my own time zone!

Now, Was That A Fair Trial, Literally?

It is truly vile to listen to George Bush anoint himself the Arbiter of Due Process and Human Rights by praising the Iraqis for giving a "fair trial" to Saddam when we are currently holding 14,000 individuals (at least) around the world in our custody --many of whom we have been holding for years and in the most inhumane conditions imaginable -- who have been desperately, and unsuccessfully, seeking some forum, any forum, in which to prove their innocence. This lawlessly imprisoned group includes journalists, political activists, and entirely innocent people.

The Bush administration has been steadfastly refusing to grant the very "fair trials" which served today as the basis for the President's pious, patronizing praise for the Iraqis (which, in reality, is intended as self-praise). The President and his followers -- including the majority of the 109th Congress, which just enacted the Military Commissions Act -- have made unmistakably clear that they do not actually believe in fair trials, literally.

My sentiments, exactly. Could not have said it any better. Read the rest.

The Dirty Deed Has Been Done

Saddam Hussein executed in Iraq. Do you feel safer, now?

Stifle It

Washington, DC — Grand Canyon National Park is not permitted to give an official estimate of the geologic age of its principal feature, due to pressure from Bush administration appointees. Despite promising a prompt review of its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood rather than by geologic forces, more than three years later no review has ever been done and the book remains on sale at the park, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

“In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.’”

It never ceases to amaze me just how ignorant the fundamentalist Christians want us to be. It distubs me that the government of and for the American people muzzle public employees for the fundies. As Archie Bunker would say, "stifle it."

"Say It Loud! I'm Black And I'm Proud!"

So many people have posted on the passing of James Brown, and put up their memories.

Mine are different from most, for I saw James Brown in concert a few times, at the Lakewood High School Friday Night Canteen, back in the 1960's. Much like the obvious high school gymnasium setting below.


Rest In Peace, James. Take us on out, now ...

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday. Mine was great, and it was very special watching my four year old grandson open up his presents. He was very reserved, and treated each present individually, carfully unwrapping them instead of ripping the paper off! I was quite impressed with his show of restraint.


The tree is dry, very dry! I won't even put the lights on anymore, that's how dry it is. It was, however, a really pretty tree, and was in front of the window for the first time ever. The configuration of the living room did not provide for it to be there before. The tree is my favorite part. I'll never own a fake tree.

Here's looking forward to a new year, and hoping 2007 begins to break the insanity in our world. I'll be uncorcking the Moet Chandon I got for Christmas.

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,


When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,



With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"




As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.


His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;


The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.


He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;


He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;


He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."



Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

One Martini, Two Martini

There is something sequoia-like about Litton. He is big — and, though bearing the marks of age, thus far unvanquished. He walks slowly, listing slightly forward, led by a generous belly. Runaway eyebrows, a thatch of white hair and a trim beard wreath his strong features.

Litton still pilots a small plane around California from his Bay Area home in the Portola Valley. He still rows his own dory through the Grand Canyon. "There's no other way."

He begins lunch and dinner with a martini. "They keep you alive."

So does the fight for what's left of the wild California he grew up with.

Very interesting article about the federal government logging in Sequoia National Park.

Having a martini before every lunch and dinner ... well, that's one way to make it to age 90!

Rosie v. the Donald

I think this is funny, and it shows how much people just simply lie at the drop of a hat.

I read this Yahoo article about Rosie O'Donnell taking exception to "the Donald's" passing morality judgments on the current Miss USA's behavior. She says, specifically:

"Left the first wife, had an affair, left the second wife, had an affair. Had kids both times, but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America," O'Donnell said to roars of audience laughter. "Donald, sit and spin, my friend."

She continued: "He inherited a lot of money. wait a minute, and he's been bankrupt so many times where he didn't have to pay. ... just think that this man is sort of like one of those, you know, snake oil salesmen in 'Little House on the Prairie.'"

To which, the Donald replied:

"Rosie O'Donnell is disgusting, I mean both inside and out," Trump shot back on the syndicated entertainment show "The Insider." "Take a look at her, she's a slob. She talks like a truck driver. ... Her show failed when it was a talk show, she failed on that. The ratings went very, very low and very bad and she got essentially thrown off television. Her magazine was a total catastrophe, she got sued. ...

"I never went bankrupt, but she said I went bankrupt. So probably I'll sue her because it would be fun. I'd like to take some money out of her fat-ass pockets," he said.

So I did a little research, via the Google, and came up with this little tidbit in oh, five seconds:

Trump, Donald John, 1946–, American business executive, b. New York City. After attending the Wharton business school, he joined the family real estate business. A self-promoting and flamboyant dealmaker, he was able to secure loans with minimal collateral in the free-wheeling 1980s and created an empire in real estate, casinos, sports, and transportation. By 1990, however, the effects of recession had left him unable to meet loan payments. Although he shored up his businesses with additional loans and postponed interest payments, mounting debt brought Trump to business bankruptcy and the brink of personal bankruptcy. Banks and bondholders lost hundreds of millions of dollars but opted to restructure his debt to avoid risking losing even more in a court fight. By 1994, Trump had eliminated a huge portion of his $900 million personal debt and reduced substantially his nearly $3.5 billion in business debt. Forced to relinquish the Trump Shuttle (bought in 1989), he retained Trump Tower in New York City and control of his three casinos in Atlantic City. In 1999, Trump toyed with running for president on the Reform party ticket. Crippling debt payments forced his casinos into bankruptcy again in 2004, and Trump's stake in the company was greatly reduced when it emerged from bankruptcy in 2005. Widely known as simply "the Donald," Trump stars in his own reality television show, which debuted in 2004.

Although one could split hairs by determining that his business bankruptcies do not count, he was still involved and it was his hand that directed "the businesses." By any account, that was two bankruptcies, Donald, not zero.

Rosie sure must have hit a nerve, judging by the comments he made. Interesting that Rosie attacked the Donald's character, while all he could harp on was her weight and appearance. AND, he's one to talk with that stupid, stupid out-of-touch combover!

Upside Down Flag At WTC Freedom Tower

Only in America can someone paint or hoist the flag backwards. This kind of reminds me when Jay Leno hits the streets and asks questions such as "how many moons does the Earth have," and people stumble trying to guess.

Images of fluttering American flags were plastered atop the first steel column raised for the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site.

But there was an unfortunate error -- the 50 stars were in the wrong place.

According to the U.S. Flag Code, when the flag is displayed vertically, the part of the banner called the union -- the white stars on the field of blue -- should be uppermost and to the observer's left, not right.

[snip]

"Painting the flag on backwards is kind of embarrassing," said Air National Guard Pvc. Otto Kraatz, of Huntington, who noticed the mistake in a photograph on Newsday's front page Wednesday.

In another story:

"When it's laying down, it's correct," said Bill Dolphin, 73, of Ocala, Fla. "When it gets lifted up into the air, the blue field should be on the other side."

Togo Trip

My best friend is realizing her dream come true by visiting Africa. She left on the 18th and won't be back until the end of January.



Her son (in his early 20's) joined the Peace Corps after he graduated from UCSB, and has been living in Togo for the past 18 months. His two year stint is up in June 2007, and he has already informed us that he will not return to the U.S., but will, instead, set up roots in the general area he has been living.

Situated on the west coast of Africa, Togo has land boundaries with Burkina Faso to the north, Benin to the east, Ghana to the west, and the south is bordered with the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean).

More on this as I am kept abreast of my friend's visit. I collect shot glasses. Hopefully, the airport in Nairobi has the typical tourist crap, i.e., key chains, license plates and SHOT GLASSES! Apparently that's where her general air travel ends, and she has to get to Togo by African airline travel. She was "vague" on her secondary air carrier name, but I am sure that was just because she was unfamiliar with them (as opposed to knowing you're taking American to JFK and transferring to BA to say Heathrow).

Wolfgang's Vault

I found this really cool music site, Wolfgang's Vault, by accident. The owner of the site purchased certain assets of Billy Graham, the concert promoter, and has been streaming audio from the concert venues. I read about the lawsuit that these artists have filed against him, and it made me curious.

With the advent of YouTube, there is a plethora of old music to view. But, sometimes when working, the "viewing" part is difficult, and all you really want to do is "listen" to the music. This site is awesome, if you are looking for lots of vintage rock concert audio. Registration is free, and the eclectc mix of music is great when you need a break from YahooMusic or AOL Music or Sirius or whatever.

Just Legalize It, You Know You Want To!

SACRAMENTO — For years, activists in the marijuana legalization movement have claimed that cannabis is America's biggest cash crop. Now they're citing government statistics to prove it.

A report released today by a marijuana public policy analyst contends that the market value of pot produced in the U.S. exceeds $35 billion — far more than the crop value of such heartland staples as corn, soybeans and hay, which are the top three legal cash crops.

As a consumer for over 25 years, and a dealer for more than half of that time, I can tell you for a fact this is not going away. Pot, unlike tobacco, won't kill you, and unlike liquor, won't destroy your liver. It's time we get with the program, and legalize the damn drug.

In The Holiday Spirit

I've been busy with the holidays, with the office party planning and getting my gifts in the mail to my buds in Canada. I actually found a post office right near me that is open seven days a week, until 7:30 p.m. at night. How cool is that?
I've also had some wierd malware messing up my computer, making it difficult to blog. It kept booting me out of the browser (IE) such that I had to actually use AOL for a few days. I loathe to blog using AOL, so I just took a short vacation.


I've got pretty much all of my Christmas shopping done. Only a few items to get, and they are local. I hope all of you are not waiting until Christmas Eve to buy your loved ones gifts!

History Or Not, Absolutely The Worst President Ever

WASHINGTON — History's view of George W. Bush will be harsh, Americans predict.

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, a 54% majority says Bush will be judged as a below-average or poor president, more than double the negative rating given any of his five most recent predecessors.

Duh. But GWB doesn't give a rat's ass, because as he said earlier, HE'LL BE DEAD WHEN HISTORY GETS IT RIGHT!

Of course, GWB believes that history will "vindicate" him as the greatest president ever, but that's just typical of delusional people not in touch with reality. The majority of Americans want out of Iraq; the majority of Americans want a change in foreign policy matters; the majority of Americans voted the damn Republicans OUT OF OFFICE and EXPECT a change. So, what does this president do? Extends his favorite fickle finger of fate to the Americans and says "screw you."

A Saudi Warning To America

Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.

Interesting. The hijackers that flew the planes into the twin towers and the pentagon were Saudi. This administration flew out all the Saudis, including bin Laden family members from 9/11 to 9/15 2001, when there was a ban on air travel as well. And now the Saudis are telling the Americans that they will openly support the Sunnis (the minority in Iraq) if we make a move to withdraw the troops from Iraq any time soon.

So ... you tell me just who it is, exactly, that is dictating this foreign policy in Iraq?

Pass The Soy Milk, Please :)

Time for my Soy Milk! (tee hee)

Impractical And Unrealistic

Administration officials say their preliminary review of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group’s recommendations has concluded that many of its key proposals are impractical or unrealistic, and a small group inside the National Security Council is now racing to come up with alternatives to the panel’s ideas.

[snip]

“You saw that the president used the word ‘victory’ again the next day,” said one of Mr. Bush’s aides. “Believe me, that was no accident.”

Well, there you have it. "Impractical" or "unrealisitc?" Those are words that better describe Bush's foreign policy.

Brooklyn Jazz Underground Festival

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Given the shifting tides of the recording industry, breaking in as a jazz bandleader poses increasing challenges, not only in raising one's profile but also in rustling up the funds to pay the support musicians.

With these hurdles in mind, 10 New York-based artists have formed the Brooklyn Jazz Underground, a collective of 10 bandleaders who are pooling their resources to forge increased awareness of their individual projects. The BJU will launch its improvised music project next month with four nights of shows at New York club Smalls.

Billed as the first Brooklyn Jazz Underground Festival, the January 11-14 event will roughly coincide with the annual International Assn. for Jazz Education conference (January 10- 3), which will attract thousands of jazz fans to New York. Three members of the collective will also be on the IAJE panel "The Artists Collective in Jazz: Unity and Diversity in the New York Scene" January 11 at the Sheraton Hotel.

"New York is a big city with a constant influx of musicians each month," says classically trained viola/violin player Tanya Kalmanovitch, a founding member of BJU and the leader or co-leader of several bands, including Hut Five, which plays the fest January 11. "It's a constant challenge for those living here to present our music, to make phone calls just to get a door gig. An individual sending out a press release about a show doesn't go far. But a collective event sounds a different note. None of us alone can afford a publicist, but as a collective we pooled our money and hired one."

Give your support if you are in the area.

Another Disastrous Trade Pact Passes In The House

The House tonight caved to K Street and passed the Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. I received a copy of the New Democrats’ press release trumpeting the passage. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) claims that the deal “will help American workers and our economy by opening up a huge market for American industrial and agricultural goods and services.” Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY)said he voted for the deal because “Vietnam will further open its market to our banking, insurance, telecom and delivery industries, creating more opportunities for both our nations.”

Oh yes, I’m sure the push for the bill had nothing to do with how,
according to Businessweek, Corporate America is desperate to open up Vietnam’s market to exploit its dirt poor workers who have no basic rights:

A big reason for the change is rock-bottom wages. As labor shortages in some regions of China drive up costs, factory hands in parts of the mainland can earn more than five times the $55 per month that Vietnamese workers in foreign-owned factories are paid. That differential is a big reason why Sparton Corp. (SPA ) of Jackson, Mich., chose Vietnam over China last year when it made its first investment outside North America. It sank $8 million into a 50,000-square-foot plant to produce chemical diagnostic equipment. “I think productivity and quality will far exceed the U.S.,” says Jason Craft, managing director of Sparton subsidiary Spartronics Vietnam Co.

Yes, I’m sure Congress’s support has nothing to do with companies wanting greater trade preferences so they can move to eliminate American jobs and open up factories to exploit cheap labor oppressed by a dictatorial government:

In the technology space, global corporations like chipmaker Intel have given Vietnam their vote of confidence. In October this year, Intel and a U.S. investment group announced plans to pump US$36.5 million in FPT Corporation, Vietnam’s largest IT company…The number of companies with offices in Vietnam jumped from 21 to 26 this year.

Yes, we’re all just expected to believe that this deal is about “helping American workers” and not about helping the Big Money interests who buy lawmakers like Tauscher and Crowley and get them to provide the key votes for preferential trade pacts with countries whose workers are most ripe for exploitation.

I couldn't have said it any better than David Sirota. Sigh. Just when I thought things might be turning around, it's still business as usual.

Anyone Speak Arabic Here?

Out of 1000 employees at the US embassy in Baghdad, only 6 are fluent in Arabic and only 33 know the language at all. If Iraq really was the central front in the "war on terror," and if the Bush administration really was fighting extremist "ideologies" (typically expressed in language and culture), then wouldn't you expect US officials there to know the language? I don't mean to take anything away from the foreign service professionals serving our country under dangerous circumstances. I just can't imagine what their superiors are thinking.

Nor can I. Competence was never a hallmark of this administration.

H/T to Juan Cole.

Nancy Wilson - Guess Who I Saw Today (1987)


Can I fix you a quick martini?

Goose bumps, as always.

War Is Over, If You Want It

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven,
it's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
above us only sky,
Imagine all the people,
living for today.

Imagine there's no countries,
it isn't hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
and no religion too,
Imagine all the people,
living life in peace.

You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope someday you'll join us,
and the world will be as one.

Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
a brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people,
sharing all the world.

You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope someday you'll join us,
and the world will live as one.

Always thinking of you, John.

A Progressive, Populist Party

But anybody that runs for the president will have to go through Ohio, literally and figuratively. The Democrats need to nominate somebody that will be an economic populist, that will stand up for the middle class, that doesn't just want to increase the minimum wage but somebody that will work to put the government on the side of working families. And that means different trade policy, standing up to the drug industry, taking on the oil industry. It means showing that the Democratic Party is a progressive, populist party.

Now that's what I want to hear. Progressive, populist party. (From an interview in Mother Jones of Sherrod Brown).

I've Got A New Attitude

Brand New Ideas ...
As a matter of fact.

Only The Rich Need Apply

It’s one thing for pundits to say such things - but it is an entirely different thing when it becomes an official declaration from the highest election official in the land. Instead of using his platform to, say, talk about the need to publicly finance elections so that the system could be accessible to more candidates, the chairman of the FEC is telling the media that no one other than those who can raise $100 million should even consider trying.

Again, I realize that he’s not necessarily inaccurate - presidential candidates need a lot of money. But the top government official overseeing our elections should not be issuing declarations that the candidates should only be “taken seriously” if they can raise the amount of cash reserved for the very few who know how to shakedown Big Money. Why? First, the top election official has no business making an official declaration that America should not “take seriously” non-Establishment candidates who may be very legitimate candidates, but may not be able to reach his totally arbitrary and absurd threshold.

Second, and perhaps even more importantly, he has no business making an official delcaration that the government’s view is that the number one qualification to be “taken seriously” for the highest office in the land is an ability to shake down Big Money interests for cash. It’s not someone’s public service, commitment to the country, or anything else - it’s just being able to get enough rich people to give you $100 million. That may ultimately be true, but it shouldn’t be a matter of government policy or even official government opinion.

I doubt this country will have "true" representation of the people until we do away with this "million dollar" attitude about candidates. I hope that this new congress will make some progress with campaign finance reform.

"'We’ll call it The Death Hour.' Funny punch line back in 1976. Sadly, in 2006, we call it 'The Nancy Grace Show.'"

The oft-noted prescience of the infinitely quotable Paddy Chayefsky screenplay goes much deeper than merely prophesizing the onslaught of news-as-entertainment (and its evil spawn, "reality" television)-it’s a blueprint for our age. In the opening scene, drunken buddies Peter Finch (as Howard Beale, respected news anchor soon to suffer a complete mental breakdown and morph into "the mad prophet of the airwaves")and William Holden (as Max Shumacher, head of news division for the fictional "UBS" network) riff cynically on an imaginary pitch for a surefire news rating booster-"Real live suicides, murders, executions-we’ll call it The Death Hour." Funny punch line back in 1976. Sadly, in 2006, we call it "The Nancy Grace Show".

This is a must read from Digby

Rosemary Clooney - Mangos


Mangos, or my coconuts?

nat king cole - the christmas song


'Tis the season.

The Blame Game

But really, how can the president blame anything on a powerless minority in Congress and not indict himself as the weakest and most pitiful chief executive the republic has ever had?

Read the rest of the post. It's worth it.

What Is The Fuss All About?

So What? She's just the Y2K version of Madonna. World, get a grip.

And, as to panties ... I never wore them from the 1970's through 2003. What was the point? Until the 80's when Victoria Secret elevated women's underwear (AFTER Madonna made it acceptable as outerwear), I never wore a bra or panties.

After VS made them popular in the 1980's, I had a slew of bras and panties from VS I wore when sex was on the horizon.