More politics

I thought that htis was going to be a very short post because although several significant events happened today, I wasn't happy about them and I didn't have a lot to say about them. First, John Roberts was confirmed as the 17th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. As I have said before, while he is too conservative for my taste, as he is replacing William Rehnquist, another conservative, he probably will not move the court so I was not outraged about it. I do have to say however, that I didn't like the fact that he awaited confirmation in the company of Mr. Bush in the White House. That seems just a little too friendly to a person that I really don't like. I can accept the fact that the judges had lunch with the President before the confirmation, that is just ceremony. The Judicial Branch should not be friendly with members of the other branches. That could too easily lead to conflicts of interest. Its difficult to rule against someone with whom you are friendly.

I was happy yesterday when Tom Delay was indicted and had to give up his Majority Leader post. I thought that the fact that a senior member of Congress could be brought down might temper some of the actions of the Republican led House. I forgot to consider the fact that the House is full of pro-business Republicans who only think of the bottom line. The House of Representatives today passed a bill that would gut the Endangered Species Act. The Senate however has not acted on companion legislation so luckily nothing can happen until the Senate acts and a committee comes together to rectify differences between the two bills. Because of this enviromentalists have months to convince the Senate that what the House did was a very bad thing.

Judith Miller finally came to her senses and decided to release the name of the source that revealed to her that the wife of Joseph Wilson IV, Valerie Plame, was a CIA operative. She has been in jail since July 6th for refusing to tell Special Prosecuter Patrick Fitzgerald who her source was. Today she admitted that her source was I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. So in the course of the investigation it has been revealed that the people that told reporters about Valerie Plame were both Karl Rove and Scooter Libby. I seem to remember President Bush saying explicitly at the beginning of the investigation that it wasn't Rove or Libby. Of course he also said that anyone who named names would be fired. This changed to anyone who is found guilty of a crime would be fired. There is nothing like integrity.

The American death toll in Iraq is 49 for September and 1933 in total.

Couldn't Happen To A Nicer Guy

House Majority Leader, Tom Delay, the second most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives, was indicted today by the state of Texas for Conspiracy in a Campaign Finance Scheme. A charge that is punishable by a jail sentence of six months to two years and a fine of up to $10,000. Delay founded a Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC), members of which were indicted earlier this year. The PAC is alleged to have been used to funnel corporate cash to various Republican reelection campaigns, a crime by Texas statutes. Because of the indictment, according to House Rules, Delay has to give up his leadership position. Delay, a major ally of the Bush administration has had major ethics problems in recent years. He was reprimanded three times last year for receiving gifts from lobbyists. He is also a friend of high powered lobbyist, Jack Abramoff who has himself been indicted essentially for bribery. Delay, nicknamed "The Hammer", was a major driver of Republican policy initiatives. While he is still allowed to reain in the House serving his district, he isn't allowed to drive the party. This should be a big help to the Democratic Party, who presently need all the help they can get. Roy Blunt (R-MO) will take the role of Majority Leader until Delay is found not guilty, or the Republican Party becomes the minority party.

In Iraq, 5 more Americans have lost their lives which brings the total to 43 in September, and 1927 in total.

Politics and Penguins

The big story today was Michael Brown's testimony before Congress today. In my opinion it didn't go well for him as it shouldn't have. He refused to accept the fact that he was unqualified for the job as FEMA head and while he did take some of the blame, he cast most of the blame on the Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, and even the Bush Administration. While there is blame enough to go around, Brown deserves much of it. The one mistake that he admitted to was the failure to recognize the fact that Louisiana was dysfunctional, but as Christopher Shays (R-CT) said, communnication and planning is what FEMA does. It was Brown's job to make sure things were happening in the affected areas, he couldn't do it, so he lost his job. While I appreciate the fact that "Brownie" is being castigated, I think an independent committee is needed to investigate why everything went so wrong. Michael Brown is not the only problem.

During the Falkland Island War between Great Britain and Argentina in 1982, many minefields were laid. The soil on the Falkland Islands is very peaty so the mines would be very difficult to remove. There are approximately 25,000 mines left buried on the islands in about 117 mine fields. This may sound like a very bad thing , but the mine fields are fenced off and have now become unofficial nature preserves. Sheep can't graze there so the vegetation is coming back and many of the fields have become mating areas for several species of penguins and other sea birds who are too light to set off the mines. Because of natures recovery, the Falkland Islands have become a visiting point for tourists who want to enjoy the view.

In Iraq, two more people were killed bringing the total to 38 for September and 1922 in total.

Saturday

I wanted to write this yesterday but I have fallen a day behind. There were some things that I saw today that I wanted to talk about so this may be a long post. I made the statement about having a lot of things to talk about and yet I am still talking about nothing, let us start.

On Saturday, I had a very long day. I left my house at 7:30 AM to go to the Shedd Aquarium. The Multiple Sclerosis Society had a family day for their clients. People with MS and their families got a free day at the Shedd if they were registered with the Multiple Sclerosis Society. I volunteered to help where needed and ended up being part of the welcome crew. We welcomed people, directed them where to go, and helped them with their wheelchairs if they needed it. It was a very fulfilling experience and to show their thanks, we were given a gift bag with a paperweight, a shell, some chocolate, and a rubber wristband for the MS Society. We were also fed lunch and given an all access pass for the rest of the day. A few of us looked at several exhibits on the main floor, saw the dolphin show, and then went to the reef exhibit. It is very cool. They have sharks. We left the Aquarium at about 2:30 PM. I had several hours to kill before I was going to go to the Museum of Science and Industry to see Redmoon Theatre's latest spectacle so I just rode with a friend as he dropped off a fellow volunteer. He dropped me off at Millenium Park about 5 minutes before it started raining. We knew it was about to rain and he actually offered me an umbrella but I stupidly decided against it. Having said this, I didn't really get wet. I hung out under an awning until I realized that the underground parking garage was close to Lower Randolph. I figured if I could get there, there were a lot of places I could get to. I didn't get to any of the lower roads but I did find a pedway that went all over the place. I walked to Marshall Field's and then to the el. I figured that riding the el could kill some time. I rode to Midway and back and then went to Border's. I ended up hang out there for a couple of hours reading Terry Pratchett's new novel, Thud! I then made it down to the Museum of Science and Industry. So the show was great. It was about a group of people living on a town that has been flooded. The sets were great, the costumes were great, the music was great, and the plot was about being a good neighbor. After the play, I came home and crashed. I got home at about 11 PM. It was a long day but it was very good.

I happened to find an online magazine today that cracked me up, Failure Magazine. It is as it sounds, a magazine about failures. The man of the year last year was the Bush Administration and they announced that they are far and away the front-runner this year. The magazine has sections on Arts and Entertainment, History, Business, Science & Technology, and Sports. The failures that this magazine list are more about failures of our society than an individual idiot.

Don Adams, the actor that played Maxwell Smart, also known as Agent 86 on the 1960's comedy, "Get Smart",on NBC, died Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of a lung infection. He was 86. Adams played Smart from 1965 until 1969 on NBC. It moved to CBS in 1970 for a year and then was revived on Fox in 1994.

In Iraq, the American casualty count is up to 36 for September and 1920 in total.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Yes, the tone of the this blog changes completely from day to day. One day I talk about politics, another I talk about volunteering, and yet another I'll talk about entertainment and food. There is frequently an extreme juxtaposition from day to day. Today's post will be another extreme juxtaposition. Yesterday I talked about America's incompetence in handling Hurricane Katrina, today I'm going to talk about food and music.

The nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2005 were named last week. Among the nominees were John Mellencamp, Miles Davis, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Blondie. Artists are eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame after at least 25 years have passed since their first record has been released. Musicians, industry professionals, and journalists vote and winners will be announced in December.

I am very ambivalent about fast food. Most of it is very unhealthy for you and contributes to the world's (and especially America's) obesity problem. Having said that, it is very convenient and while I don't recommend eating it all the time. Being able to have a meal in 2 minutes really helps on days on the run. As an idea, I prefer the small greasy spoons to the chain stores like McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. Of the burger joints, McDonald's is my least favorite, but having said that, they own a burrito joint called Chipotle which I love. They do burritos and soft tacos and while that may sound very simple, with the different beans, meats, and salsas, there are over 60,000 combinations. Give me a carnitas burrito with black beans, chili corn, sour cream and cheese and I will be immensely happy. Obviously, these shouldn't be eaten every day, but as they use fresh ingredients, they are better for you then a regular burger of the same size.

People that read this can probably guess that I am a foodie. I love good food but I also love reading about good food. The Chicago Sun Times food critic Pat Bruno is great. He reviews the high end restaurants like everyone else, but he also reviews the small places that are less expensive that I would be more likely to go to. While I don't rely solely on critics for an opinion, I do like to compare my opinion to someone else who can express their opinion well.. Recently, he did a column on sandwiches which I found really interesting, and while a few of the places he listed I will definitely have to try, I think that he forgot the Calliope Cafe. Admittedly, I can't think of a specific sandwich that should be listed, I think there are several that definitely deserve consideration such as the Pineapple Chicken Salad Sandwich or the Orange Barbecue Pork Loin Sandwich.

In Iraq, the American death toll is now 31 for September and 1915 in total.

Hurricanes

Hurricanes are relatively common experiences in the late summer/early fall in the southeast. Most people can handle a normal hurricane but people need help for the big ones. Having said that, the Government and FEMA really screwed up with Katrina. They seemed to forget that poor people might need more help evacuating than does the average middle class person. Hundreds (if not thousands) of people were killed because they couldn't evacuate before the storm and there weren't people there to evacuate them after the storm. The police and the national guard are still finding people that did survive the storm like the 76 year old that was found in his house after 18 days. A hen in Uptown was found to have survived the hurricane and the first strip joint in the French Quarter has just reopened. Things are starting to recover but there is now another giant storm in the Gulf, Hurricane Rita. It doesn't look like New Orleans will get a direct hit, but in the condition its now in, it doesn't need it. The hurricane is heading toward Galveston/Houston, TX where several of the New Orleans evacuees have ended up. Obviously, the Houston/Galveston area needs to be evacuated. Hopefully the government has learned something about evacuating a large number of people that don't have the ability to evacuate themselves.

In Iraq, the American death toll stands at 24 for September and 1908 in total.

Pictures

This is going to be a relatively short post. I finally got around to uploading the pictures I shot when I was in Bakersfield, California for work and decided to post a few for the enjoyment of those people that happen to peruse this blog. First, a couple of pictures of the mountains in the mountains.



Next, A few pictures of the industrial metropolis of McKittrick, California, where we went to have lunch when we were working.


And last, a couple of pictures of the oil fields we were working in.

1000!

Well, I passed my first anniversary writing this blog although I don't think I started the counter until October or November 1st. I got up to 1000 hits today. It took a while to get to 700 but my hits have been increasing since I came back to writing. Thank you to the 1000th person who looked at my site.

I had a very eventful weekend despite fighting a cold. My brother, Marty, came up for the weekend and while it would have been nice to have been able to bring him into the city, circumstances didn't allow it. He did spend the night at my place on Friday night and we went to dinner at Olivetti's. I had veal and chicken and it was very good.

I had a couple of volunteer events I had to do on Saturday. My plan had been to leave Marty with my friend Guy who was going to be in town visiting his Mother when I went to do my first event, doing admissions, preparing grapes for a wine crush and being a general gopher for the winery people who were at the Old Town Wine Crush for Y-Me. After that, I was going to walk to the Hideout for the Hideout Block Party. The Hideout every September holds a block party featuring a lot of great bands. The money that is raised at the block party benefits Causes, P.L.A.Y., and Tuesday's Child. I sold beer tickets for two hours and got to see a couple of bands that I wanted to see, Eleventh Dream Day and the dB's. After that, I drove up to my sister Tracy's house where Marty ended up going for the day. I got there about 9 PM and the impromptu party that Tracy decided to have was in full swing. It was nice to see Tracy's in-laws who are visiting from Spain, Tracy's friend Kelly and her husband, Chris, Tracy's friend Jennifer, and her husband Nolan, and Nikki, the woman who is presently staying with Tracy after having lost everything in New Orleans.

Yesterday, I went back to Tracy's and Marty made dinner. We got to try several wines that Marty bought recently.

I saw several websites recently that I found pretty interesting; Ferrara Pan, which has an interactive pages showing how they make several of their candies including Lemonheads, Atomic Fireballs, Boston Baked Beans, and Red Hots. I also found a webzine called Love, Chicago which features art, music, and bars focusing on Chicago, and several record reviews.

The totals in Iraq are now up to 15 for September and 1899 in total.

Book Club

Tonight was the night of our monthly book club. The book that we discussed was Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. It was the story of Chris McCandless aka Alex McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp. A 23 year old man who walked into the wilds of Alaska in April of 1992 only to be found 4 months later having starced to death in an abandoned bus. Telling the fact that he died reveals nothing, as that is where the story starts. The book explores McCandless' life and the events that led up to his venturing into the wilderness without a map. The author went to great lengths to justify the idea that while Chris may have been over-confident and foolish, he most definitely was not crazy. It was a compelling story albeit a bit tragic and provided a good conversation among the group.

On a different subject, I really like maps. There is actually a connection between these two subjects because if Chris had had a map he very well may have survived. But back to maps; Steve Johnson, the Chicago Tribune internet critic today reviewed the most popular online map sites. He reviewed MapQuest, MapBlast, Yahoo Maps, Rand McNally and Google Maps. He used all of the sites to try to get from downtown Chicago to a few notoriously difficult places to get to. And the results? Google Maps came out best (which I would have expected having used it before), followed by Rand McNally which surprised me because I haven't ever used it, Yahoo Maps, and then Map Quest and Map Blast tied for last. While all of the map sites were usable, it was the extra stuff that made the difference.

Cooler

It is cooler today so my computer is being cooperative. I did try to do substantive updates yesterday and the day before but because it was so warm, my computer crashed several times. This makes it rather difficult to write more than a couple of sentences.

So, what have I wanted to talk about? The trial of the Hmong deer hunter from St. Paul that is accused of murdering 5 hunters in Wisconsin after being kicked off of their property started on Monday. There is no argument about the fact that the defendant killed the hunters, what he is trying to argue is self-defense. He has claimed that they fired first, they threatened him, and surrounded him so that he couldn't leave. While it wouldn't surprise me that the Wisconsin hunters did get racist in their insults and being alone he felt intimidated. From what I have read about his past history, he seems to be a hothead who tends to overreact. This is what I think happened there. I think he is guilty and neds to stay in jail, says I who am not a member of the jury and am not at the courthouse to hear the case.

Charlie Madigan of the Chicago Tribune wrote yesterday about the Mennonite Disaster Relief Service. They, apparently, have received $1 million in order to do relief work for Hurricane Katrina. They are going into the area to clear trees, rebuild houses, and help whoever needs help. The Mennonites are a very strong community and would be a great asset in rebuilding the houses that need to be rebuilt. A big part of their gospel seems to be about standing together to help those that need it. The fact that they are down there is a very good thing.

The Senate hearing on John Roberts' judicial nomination started on Monday. I am glad that the Democrats are asking him some hard questions. I have to say from what I have read and heard, he hasn't said anything inflammatory and has beem very good at answering questions in general. He has been very good at hiding his personal views which has actually made members from both parties a little nervous. From his past writings, I have to say that I haven't liked his point of view, but having said that, I will not be outraged if his nomination is approved. The point of view of the court will probably not move with him replacing Rehnquist.

In Iraq several car bombs went off killing about 150 Iraqis. No Americans were killed today leaving the totals at 13 for September and 1897 in total.

Too warm

My computer is too warm and has been for the last couple of days. I had a pretty good update that was going to go up tonight but it is now gone. It will be cooler tomorrow so I will put up a better update then.

Iraq: September - 13
Total - 1897

Lots to report, little energy.

I have been up since 5 AM this morning because Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Boulevard Lakefront Tour was today. This year they offered 10, 35, and 62 mile routes. While I wanted to do the 62 mile route, I knew that I was going to my sister's house for a cookout party she was having and I wanted to have some energy for that. Yesterday, I helped load the trucks in order to bring the equipment down to the start/finish line in Hyde Park and to the various rest areas. Today, I enjoyed my ride and came back to talk to several of my CBF employee friends and several One Brick volunteers who were helping at the post-ride party. After this, I came home, showered, changed clothes, and went to Tracy's house to meet several new people and thouroughly enjoy myself. It was a good day.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Schuba's to see the North Mississippi All Stars with some tickets that I won.

And the totals in Iraq are 12 for September and 1896 in total.

Changed Plans

I was going to talk tonight about a movie I saw called The Baxter. However, as I didn't see the movie, I can't give a two minute review. Why did I not see the movie? Because it was a sneak preview and like most sneak previews, it was overbooked to ensure capacity. I arrived too late and the show sold out. Its a pity because the premise sounded pretty good. The Baxter is the guy a girl settles for when she can't get her true love. He's also the guy that gets dumped when their true love comes back. I have been the Baxter more than once so I think I could have related to the main character.

While it was a little disappointing that I was unable to see the movie, I happened to run into a friend that I knew from SASC who also got to the theatre too late. I talked to her for a little while but as she was with someone, and they had decided to go see another movie, we had to part. I decided to take the scenic route. I walked down Halsted to Lincoln and Fullerton and decided to visit the local MSU bar, The Gin Mill. It was pretty packed, especially for a Thursday night, so I didn't stay. I noticed recently that the Lounge Ax had been very close to the Gin Mill so I had to see what it was now that yuppies had killed it. It was a yuppie bar called The Gramercy. That really offended me while there are still some good bars around that have good bands, many are beginning to have the same problems that the Lounge Ax did before it closed, the Yuppies are trying to push them out.

One more soldier was killed in Iraq today, bringing the totals to 11 for September and 1895 for the war.

Continuity

I looked at a few of my most recent posts and noticed that there is very little continuity from paragraph to paragraph. Granted, I'm writing this with very little preparation and stream of consciousness writing does tend to jump around but, the problem is, that it also makes it a little difficult to follow.

Bringing this up, I am now going to write about several unrelated subjects. First, "Gilligan" died. Bob Denver, 70, who starred as Gilligan in the TV show, Gilligan's Island, died at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital on Friday from complications of cancer. His wife, Dreama, and his four children, Patrick, Megan, Emily, and Colin were by his side. Mr. Denver was preceded in death by fellow cast members Alan Hale Jr.(the Skipper), Jim Backus (the Millionaire), and Natalie Schafer (the Millionaire's wife).

I volunteered tonight as a member of One Brick. We put together 2500 battery powered lanterns for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for a night event that they have coming up. I saw a few friends of mine which was nice and met a few other people. I also found out that one of my other friends decided to go to Grad School in New York. I was a little bummed to find this out but I wish her well.

Walking to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's office today, I had to walk by Blommers Chocolate Factory. Blommers makes some great chocolate, their own and private label and its great to have to walk by when they are making chocolate. Chicago has been known as the chocolate and candy capital but it has lost some of its cache in recent years with the loss of Brachs and Brocks, Fannie Mae, and even Frango Mints. Having said that, their have been a few companies that have stepped up; Vosges and Chocolate Potpourri. I love chocolate and I have had Vosges Chocolate which I really like, but I have not had Chocolate Potpourri, mainly because they don't have a brick and mortar store. I may, however, have to order some sometime.

One last thing before I go to Iraq, I came across this today on the web and thought that everyone should experience the Bad Haiku Generator.

In Iraq today, 2 more people were killed, bringing the total to 10 for September and 1894 for the war.

Very short

As the title says, this update will be very short. I have spent a lot of time typing up a list of documents and photographs that I have used to prove my ancestors existed. Besides that, because I've been on the computer for a long time and the day has been warm, the computer is pretty warm and is acting pissy. I don't know how long I will have before it decides to crash again. I guess I better get started.

I saw today that the ship I was on when I was in the Navy, the USS Shreveport LPD-12, was in Biloxi, MS, assisting in rescue and repair operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This makes me happy for more than one reason. If they are in the Gulf of Mexico, they can't be involved in combat operations in the Persian Gulf. Granted, the Shreveport is not a combat ship, and when I was on it, it had no offensive weapons. But helicopter operations did occur when we were in the Persian Gulf for Desert Storm. This is a very good operation and I'm happy to see that my ship is involved in it.

Also, a 63 year old woman, living in Slidell, LA, was trapped in her home for 5 days after the hurricane because an alligator was swimming outside. Amazingly , her mobile home survived the storm, but she was stuck there until the water dropped to a level low enough that she could avoid the alligator. After 5 days she was able to leave her home for food and supplies.

And in Iraq today, 5 more people were killed, which brought the total for September to 8 and the war to 1892.

I guess, my computer finally decided to cooperate and my very short update ended up not so short.

Rehnquist and Labor Day

Chief Justice William Rehnquist died Saturday night, finally succumbing to thyroid cancer which he had been fighting for almost a year. Rehnquist had served as Chief Justice for 19 years and had been on the court for 33 years, the 4th longest serving justice. He was 80 years old. Chief Justice Rehnquist has been at the head of the push of the court to the right.

President Bush has named John Roberts as his nomination for Chief Justice, elevating his nomination from that of Associate Justice to Chief Justice. Roberts had served as Rehnquist's Law Clerk in the early 80's. Roberts seems to be a conservative of the same flavor as Rehnquist. I did not like the views of Rehnquist which obviously implies that I probably would not like Roberts. He is relatively young and has little actual court experience as a Judge. Having said all of that, I have to say that because he is of the same flavor as Rehnquist, and would be replacing Rehnquist, I can't get as outraged with him taking this position as I did with the possibility of him replacing Sandra Day O'Connor. I have to say though that Pres. Bush better think long and hard before trying to nominate another extreme conservative. The actions of his government in recent times in regard to New Orleans and Iraq has got his approval rating in the toilet, He will need to be careful or he may get an outright revolution from his former allies in the Republican Part.

Today is Labor Day, the day that Americans use celebrate the worker. It was founded over 100 years ago. Most of the rest of the world celebrates the worker on May 1 and is known as May Day. May Day was celebrated unnofficially in the United States at the same time that labor unions were marching and pushing for an eight hour day. Labor Day was chosen as a holiday over May Day because May Day had the support of the Socialists, Anarchists, and later Communists. The United States is so opposed to the idea of Socialism/Communism that it could not even look as if it was supporting it by naming May Day a holiday. Now Labor Day doesn't mean much to most people other than as a celebration of the end of summer. While government offices, banks, schools, and other businesses do not open on Labor Day, most retail establishments, restaurants, and, of course, police, hospitals, and fire departments, are. Service workers don't have a day that they could call a holiday.

In Iraq, the total in Iraq for August was 85 and for September it is 3 so far. This brings the total of American casualties in Iraq to 1887.

Stepping up

Its really good to see that prople are stepping up and helping the people that survived Hurricane Katrina. Organizations are making it very easy to donate for Hurricane relief. The company that I work for donated to the Red Cross for Hurricane Relief, they also gave a couple of numbers for people to call in order to donate. Radio stations are doing benefits and online stores are providing links to donate. Over 20 countries, including France, Venezuela, Japan, Germany and Honduras have offered whatever help they could supply. The White House seemed at first reticent, saying we can take care of our own, but later saying we will take whatever is offered. It is good to know that respect tragedy despite wholly disagreeing with the actions of our cowboy foreign policy.

On a completely different note, Washington Monthly has published their College Ranking List. Their list differs substantially from the US News and World Report College Ranking List. This is not tremendously surprising because they used different formulas. While the US News and World report looks primarily at academic excellence, the Washington Monthly report also looked at what the school gave back to the nation; in addition to academic excellence they should be engines of social mobility and encourage an ethic of service. As a result of this, only 3 of USNWR's Top 10 are in Washington Monthly's Top 10: MIT, Penn, and Stanford. California's state schools did extremely well as did Texas A&M which went from 60 in USNWR to 7 in WM.

The total number of American casualties in Iraq for August was 83 which brought the total for the war to 1882.