Bumper Sticker Fail

On the freeway this morning I saw a bumper sticker on a van that read "Hillary." As I got closer to it I could see there was more writing on it, but couldn't read it. Finally, when I was about to pass, I could barely read the second line, which read "your village called." I could tell there was something underneath that line but was impossible to read. Once I got to work I googled as much as I could decipher of it and learned that the rest of it read "they want their idiot back."

Palin

Still scratching my head over this one. I guess McCain was so enamored with Obama's youth and popularity that he had to get some for his ticket, too. And by picking someone he believes is a "maverick" he'll hope folks overlook the fact that he no longer is one. Of course, the "Obama-is-too-inexperienced" attack becomes a much weaker hand to play and McCain's age/health may be more of a factor in voters' eyes now. As right-wing as she is, I'm not sure how many women voters she'll pull from the Dems; I'm sure Hillary will be making numerous speeches highlighting the differences between Palin and herself. I'll be curious to see how well McCain and Palin work together on the campaign trail; I don't think they know each other very well.

Richard Dreyfuss Clip (Katrina / Republicans)

I didn't know he had it in him. On MSNBC to discuss movie he's narrating (America Betrayed).

Angel Oak

(Click title line for info.)

Story for Cat Lovers

Line Deleted from Kucinich Speech

Obama Campaign Redacted Kucinich Line on Jailing GOPers

In other campaign news, The Hill newspaper has revealed the Obama campaign removed one line from Congress member Dennis Kucinich’s fiery speech before the convention earlier this week. Kucinich’s wide-ranging address criticized war profiteering, the oil giants, Wall Street, pharmaceutical companies and, most of all, the Bush administration, which he said invaded Iraq for oil. But Obama staffers redacted one line suggesting Republicans should be jailed. The line read, “They’re asking for another four years—in a just world, they’d get ten to twenty.”

(from Democracy Now!)

Kucinich Cranks Up the Crowd in Denver

Don't think I've ever seen the little guy so animated. Woohoo!! This one's for you Greg.

AT&T Blue Dog Party

My isn't this embarrassing? Party thrown in Denver by AT&T for the obedient Dems who voted for retroactive telecom immunity and Glenn Greenwald, Jane Hamsher and Amy Goodman try to crash it. Greenwald's assessment is perfect.

Guilt in Nuke Reactor Investigation-Toledo Blade

I found the last three paragraphs very interesting.

Statue of Marcus Aurelius Found

It's not a complete sculpture, but the detail of what they did find is pretty impressive.

Betcha Didn't Know This

We've all heard about birds being killed in the propellers of wind turbines, but what about the bats that die because of turbines, too? I never would have guessed this in a million years.

Peak Oil Clip

Interesting clip showing how world oil production has declined over the years and won't be able to recover and meet demand. Also stresses how hard it will be to find any replacement energy source.

Orwell Diaries

I like the one on August 21 about how to bottle fruit without sugar.

Two Girls With Feathers (colorized)

Found this picture in group of family photos, but have no idea who they are. Circa 1943. Originally black and white photo.

The Limits of Power - Bill Moyers Journal - Five Parts

Discussion with Andrew Bacevich, graduate of West Point who had a long military career. Now an author and professor of international relations at Boston University, Bacevich calls himself a "Catholic conservative," and spoke with Bill Moyers about the inability of the US to face its unsustainable consumption and a reckless foreign policy of imperialism. His son was killed in Iraq in 2007.

(H/T Democratic Underground)

Here are the five parts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK0nVwIEsm4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIWa88Jqk94

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCsFztmiHgQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca3onqB4WFw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2lHLNFijg8

Biden

I have to admit I was completely underwhelmed by Obama's selection of Joe Biden as his running mate. I know he's got the foreign policy credentials and will perform attack dog work as needed, but the contrast of their personalities seems glaring to me; it seems to undercut Obama's message of Change and the high-road approach that goes with it. Biden's a friendly, personable guy to be sure, with plenty of stories to regale you with but there's something of a con man about him to me. I hope I'm proved wrong.

Chestnut Trees (lost the link)

"These American chestnut trees were photographed in North Carolina in 1910. Before blight struck in the first half of the 20th century, the chestnut was the dominant tree on more than 200 million acres of forest land in the eastern United States. Those in Appalachia were commonly 12 feet in diameter and 120 feet tall, and one tree's trunk is recorded as having measured 17 feet across. Now the species is functionally extinct, despite ongoing efforts to develop a hybrid that can resist the fungus that has been killing off the trees."

From American Chestnut.

Message From Dick Tater

Dick Tater contacted me to congratulate fellow spud on his blog effort. Also puts a friendly reminder in my ear that he holds all rights to the concept of Tatervision and not to go there. Dick's slides of field shots were a popular feature on the weather segment of a Columbus TV station years ago. (Or so he says.)

Toilethead (by Roosterhead)

Done by an old friend who passed away years ago. Extraordinary knack for capturing the essence of someone or something with minimal effort. (Color was added to a jpg. copy of his drawing recently.)

As We Lived Before

Young writer's blog about caring for his Grandpa who has Alzheimer's. Not quite as bleak as you might expect it to be.

Car of the Future (The Ben-Dera)

1998 Ben-Dera Ford. "Mechanic John Bender of Hilliard, Ohio lived in his cinder-block shop and took three years to build the Ben-Dera Ford. The body is fiberglas, and the engine is a Ford Pinto unit mounted behind the rear seats. Top speed is 65 mph. Bender built a second car with a Ford V-6 engine and hoped to put his cars into series production."

Crow Stories

Crows are funny. Once I threw out a big chunk of suet in the dead of winter for the birds and watched it skid across the hard snow cover like a hockey puck. Crows settled nearby and took immediate interest, but then messed around for about 30 minutes before getting within five feet of it. Then another 15 minutes of aborted attempts to approach it. Finally one of them grabbed the whole thing in its beak and lumbered off with it.

Another time I was at work and happened to look out the window and see a rabbit with her kit on the lawn. I called a few people's attention to the appealing scene when two crows appeared and went right to work. One faced the mother, who began charging the crow, the other crow picked up the kit and flew off with it. The whole thing happened within 30 seconds. One of the women watching shrieked in horror when it went down.

Got any bird stories you'd like to share?

Blown Glass (BigMan)

Aldo Leopold

Saw a show on PBS last night about the US Forest Service and how it changed over the years due to political and economic pressures. Aldo Leopold, forester and ecologist/environmentalist, was mentioned. That brought back memories of a book of his: A Sand County Almanac, and what a helluva book it is. A friend of mine repeatedly recommended it to me until I finally bought a copy and threw it in my car as something to read when I was stuck somewhere. As soon as I opened it and began reading the guy had me. He told great personal stories that beautifully tied together his deep knowledge of the land and animals with an equally deep love of such. I remember glancing back at the date it was published and thinking how far ahead of his time this guy was. I've since thanked my friend repeatedly for bringing the book to my attention and for keeping after me until I got my hands on it. Birdman, thanks again.

Back From the Void

I'll be giving it another shot here soon. Don't wait up for me.