Was that the weekend?

Zoom, it's gone!  And it was a three-day "weekend!"

Friday eaten up taking care of post-surgical family members....

Rain Saturday, durnit.  No Art Fair.  

But we did watch a movie (on the DVR): Julia Sweeney's one-person movie, "Letting Go of God."  It's quite good.  Any "reformed" Catholics out there "struggling" with your faith?  See this movie.

More work on the house...

A long visit to Home Depot and CostCo .... and Randall's.  

Some incredible dinners .... blackened salmon over a bed of our home-grown grilled greens ... yes, it's officially the change of seasons ... we cut all of the kale and chard ...

... and emptied out their pots ...

... and got quite a haul ...

... and the wife sauteed them .... mmm ... and grilled asparagus, broccoli, baked chicken breasts.  Damn, the wife is a hellacious cook.  I should have taken a picture.

But it all went by so fast .... and now it's late Sunday night and we're facing another five-day week!  Yech!

Dumbest Quotes

The Dumbest Quotes of 2010, so far.  And we're only in the 4th month!  It's already been a banner year for stupidity.

  

''I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived. I saw it all growing up.''

—Ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in an interview with 'Esquire' magazine

 

''They are kooks, so I agree with Rush Limbaugh. Rush Limbaugh was using satire ... I didn't hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with 'f-ing retards,' and we did know that Rahm Emanuel, as has been reported, did say that. There is a big difference there.''

—Sarah Palin, attempting to rationalize why it's okay for Limbaugh to use the word ''retards'' but not Emanuel, FOX News Sunday interview, Feb. 7, 2010

''Our political correct society is acting like some giant insult's taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards...There's going to be a retard summit at the White House.''

—Rush Limbaugh, on his Feb. 3, 2010 radio show, referring to Chief of Staff Rham Emanuel's remark calling the idea of liberal groups running health care-related ads against Democratic lawmakers ''f**king retarded''. Sarah Palin called on Emanuel to resign over the comment.

 

''They intend to vote on the Sabbath, during Lent, to take away the liberty that we have right from God. This is an affront to God.''

—Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), on Congress voting on the health care bill, interview with Glenn Beck, March 18, 2010

''I could give a flying crap about the political process ... We're an entertainment company.''

—FOX News Channel's Glen Beck, Forbes interview; April, 2010

 

''We had no domestic attacks under Bush; we've had one under Obama.''

—Rudy Giuliani, Mr. 9/11, forgetting 9/11, Jan. 8, 2010

 

''Baby Killer!''

—Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), shouting at Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) as he spoke on the House floor during the health care vote. Stupak had led a group of pro-life Democrats who fought to change language in the bill to prevent federal funds from being used for abortions, but ended opposition after reaching a last-minute deal with President Obama

 

''It may be a blessing in disguise. ... Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. Haitians were originally under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon the third, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you will get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it's a deal. Ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other.''

—Pat Robertson, on the earthquake in Haiti that destroyed the capital and killed tens of thousands of people, Jan. 13, 2010

''His mom lived in Long Island for ten years or so. God rest her soul. And- although, she's- wait- your mom's still- your mom's still alive. Your dad passed. God bless her soul.''

—Joe Biden, on the mother of Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who is very much alive, Washington, D.C., March 17, 2010

 

Sarah Palin, on writing notes on her hand during her Tea Party convention speech: ''I didn't really had a good answer, as so often -- is me. But then somebody sent me the other day, Isaiah 49:16, and you need to go home and look it up. Before you look it up, I'll tell you what it says though. It says, hey, if it was good enough for God, scribbling on the palm of his hand, it's good enough for me, for us. He says, in that passage, 'I wrote your name on the palm of my hand to remember you,' and I'm like, 'Okay, I'm in good company.''' (March 5, 2010)

''We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax.''

—Rush Limbaugh, discouraging donations to relief efforts in Haiti after the devastating earthquake, Jan. 13, 2010

''We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada. And I think now, isn't that ironic?''

—Sarah Palin, admitting that her family used to get treatment in Canada's single-payer health care system, despite having demonized such government-run programs as socialized medicine that will lead to death-panel-like rationing, March 6, 2010

 

''In case anyone's wondering out there, yes, they're both available. ... Only kidding. Only kidding. Arianna is definitely not. But Ayla is.''

—Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), pimping out his daughters in his election night victory speech, Jan. 20, 2010

 

''If ObamaCare passes, that free insurance card that's in people's pockets is gonna be as worthless as a Confederate dollar after the war between the states -- the Great War of Yankee Aggression.''

—Rep. Paul Broun (R- Ga.), March 18, 2010

Former House Republican leader Tom DeLay: ''There is an argument to be made that these extensions, the unemployment benefits, keep people from going and finding job. In fact there are some studies that have been done that show people stay on unemployment compensation and they don't look for a job until two or three weeks before they know the benefits are going to run out.''

CNN's Candy Crowley: ''People are unemployed because they want to be?''

DeLay: ''Well, it is the truth. And people in the real world know it.''

 

''Now, they're saying I groped a male staffer. Yes, I did. Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn't breathe and four guys jumped on top of me. It was my 50th birthday.''

—Ex-Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY), talking to Glenn Beck after resigning amid allegations that he sexually harassed his aides

 

''I'm a huge supporter of women. What I'm not is a supporter of liberalism. Feminism is what I oppose. Feminism has led women astray. I love the women's movement -- especially when walking behind it.''

—Rush Limbaugh, responding to criticism that he is sexist and defending his selection as one of the judges at the 2010 Miss America Pageant, ''Fox News' Fox & Friends,'' February 3, 2010

''My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.''

—Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) expressing concern during a congressional hearing that the presence of a large number of American soldiers might upend the island of Guam

''This will play right into Obama's hands. He's humanitarian, compassionate. They'll use this to burnish their, shall we say, 'credibility' with the black community -- in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It's made-to-order for them. That's why he couldn't wait to get out there, could not wait to get out there.''

—Rush Limbaugh, on Haiti earthquake relief, Jan. 13, 2010

10 Things You Can Do

And none of them are hard.

Ten Things You Can Do to Help Progressive Journalism

What's wrong with this picture? Air America vanishes into the ether, while Glenn Beck indoctrinates 2.7 million daily viewers with his histrionic brand of right-wing lunacy. Independent news agencies must continuously solicit donations from readers to stay afloat, while hate-filled shock jock Rush Limbaugh makes $50 million a year.


On the other hand, there's still a lot of great progressive media on the airwaves, including Democracy Now!, which airs on more than 800 TV and radio stations worldwide, along with radio shows by Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller. The Nation and TheNation.com are part of a progressive journalistic community that is challenging the right in every medium. ZP Heller, a writer (HuffPo, OpenLeft, AlterNet) who is working on a novel lampooning corporate media, lists ten steps you can take to help keep progressive journalism alive:
 
 1. Check it. Media Matters and Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) have been dogged in holding Fox News accountable for spewing gross misinformation on a near daily basis. Get the facts about how Fox's right-wing agenda still oozes on the air, even when Beck, O'Reilly and Hannity aren't on-screen. Go to mediamatters.org and fair.org.


 2. Read it. AlterNet just underwent a major overhaul, with renewed emphasis on hard-hitting content and investigative reporting. The site also features a Progressive News Wire, which sifts through more than two dozen sources. And AlterNet encourages readers to play a more active role, either by contributing to SoapBox, user-generated blogs that post directly to the homepage, or in its Take Action section.


 3. Watch it. Former Air America host and current Nation contributor Laura Flanders brings the heat with her free daily show, GRITtv, as does Cenk Uygur on The Young Turks. And Brave New Films just released the groundbreaking documentary Rethink Afghanistan. Get a DVD and host a screening for people in your community.

 4. Post it. Facebook just passed Google as the most visited US website, which means friends' recommendations can be a huge force in effecting social change. So use your Facebook and Twitter accounts to post that riveting article you just finished and spark dialogue and action on the issues.

 5. Click it. Even when you can't make a financial donation to your favorite site, you can still help it thrive by posting or voting for a story on Digg, StumbleUpon, Mixx, Reddit, BuzzFlash and Delicious. Not only will helping a story go viral garner attention for a progressive issue; it will also improve the odds of a news outlet successfully approaching larger donors. Go here for an explanation of how they work.

 6. Sign it. After you're done reading and clicking, take action by signing petitions, which have become an effective means of rallying support for good causes. Many progressive sites, like ColorOfChange.org encourage readers to take easy steps like this because online petitions have become an effective means of rallying support for good causes..

 7. Tweet it. With Act.ly you can use Twitter to take action. This viral tool, developed by activists Jim Gilliam and Jesse Haff, enables users to create and sign petitions by tweeting. Unlike with other online petitions, the target of your Act.ly petition will see the signatures pile up in real time via Twitter, which makes them difficult to ignore. These petitions have already prompted replies from such big names as Microsoft's Bing, Google and Rick Warren. Some of the petitions currently on fire were created by American Rights at Work, Governor Mike Huckabee, and PETA.


 8. Change it. Firedoglake is using its influence in the blogosphere to fire up readers. In its inaugural round of voting, FDL selected Representatives Dennis Kucinich, Alan Grayson and Anthony Weiner as its top three Fire Dogs, for whom the site is raising $10,000 and identifying 500 voters apiece for GOTV activities.

 9. Say it in español. Brave New Foundation recently launched Cuéntame, a bilingual Facebook project dedicated to discussing and raising awareness on issues affecting the Latino community. Watch the introductory video and join the bilingual discussion on Facebook.

10. Enjoy it. After reading, posting, clicking and signing, kick back with The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. These endlessly entertaining shows have their fingers on the pulse of the progressive community, and unlike the hosts of other news shows, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert aren't afraid to confront politicians and corporate media alike.

CONCEIVED by WALTER MOSLEY with research by Rae Gomes.

You can find the original here.

What are we doing?

After nine years, our involvement in Afghanistan has gone on long enough.  The War Machine has been overfed.  Apparently, we learned nothing from Vietnam or the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.  It truly appears that the War Machine trumps all other considerations.  Period. 

Read this column by Tom Englehardt and think about why we are over there....

Surya and Roscoe

This is just too cute.  And it looks just like our old dog Jazz!  (Go ahead and click on the "Read More")

Easter Sunday

At home on Sunday morning, April 4, 2010, I gazed out the front windows and saw that we had two beautiful irises suddenly in full bloom.  Scattered around them were five or six more, with a peek of white showing at the tip, indicating they would also soon be blooming.

I called the wife over and when she saw them she kind of gasped, "Those are your father's irises!  They were your mother's favorite flower!  Oh, they're so beautiful!"

I went downstairs into the front yard and snipped the two irises that were in full bloom.   Up close, they were magnificent.  

I decided to snip a few roses too, also suddenly in full bloom and brought them upstairs, to make a bouquet of our own grown flowers.

 

 

It sure is nice to be able to add a little beauty to the world, however fleeting it may be. 

There are over 250 documented species of irises, and a search on the intertubes did not produce a flower that looks exactly like ours.  

 

The closest I can get is the iris palaestina, but ours have a gorgeous purple streak not found in the pictures of palaestina.  

They do remind me of my mother, may she rest in peace.

Oh, was Easter Sunday some kind of religious holiday or something?  You guys kill me with your superstitions.