"Corporations Are NOT People and Money Is not Speech!" and "Get Corporate Money Out of Our Democracy" have been the theme of demonstration after demonstration during January and February. Although aimed largely at Republicans in general, the 1% in the "1% vs. 99%" posters on signs in demonstrations throughout the country, the 1% might well be 0.001% when it comes to Mitt Romney and his SuperPacs.



Add to that the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (Jan. 21, 2010), a bitterly divided Supreme Court overturned a century of established precedent by ruling that corporate spending on candidate elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment. (In case you wondered where these SuperPacs originated ...)



In so doing, Justices Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Kennedy effectively declared that corporations are indistinguishable from people with respect to federal law and the U.S. Constitution. As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, corporations and billionaires can spend unlimited sums of money, without disclosure, in political campaigns. As "people," corporations fell well within the 1% bracket.



Then add to that miscarriage of American justice, Romney's own lips mouthing such fodder as "I like to fire people!" and "You wanna bet $10,000?" and "I don't care about the very poor people ..." ... plus too many to count, we have gotten to the point where Rick Santorum might very well be on the side of the 99% before the end of the day with his strength finally beginning to show signs of life in Missouri and Minnesota.



For starters, just his being on the side of Jesus Christ of Nazareth across from the likes of Joseph Smith Jr., Moroni (who's he?), Brigham Young and other Mormon High Priests and Bishops (of which Mitt Romney was one at that rank in his church prior to his running for President) surely puts him (Rick Santorum with his sleeveless sweaters) with the 99%'ers. As I recall, Jesus had to borrow a denari to make one of his points as he constantly fought the 1%'ers (the Pharisees) in his day.



Anyway, we'll finally get to see whether 1% tops 99% or vice versa in some interesting contests this evening.



The question to be answered is: "Will our democracy (and men like Barack Obama and Rick Santorum) survive in which ordinary followers of Jesus Christ can control their future? Or will "democracy" simply become another commodity owned and controlled by billionaires and corporations in order to serve you-know-who's purposes?"



The 99% say NO!"

Mitt Romney: And God Bless the Cayman Islands ...

If UNICEF says it's legit, I have to believe this is a worthy cause. Thank you, MSNBC, for bringing it to my attention.

This simply should not be ... anywhere!

To make a donation ($48 buys one desk for two or three students!) or learn more ... go to: this site! This one's for you, Rachel! Both for your concern for Africa and the work (and sadly, some sacrifice) you did there for the Peace Corps!

This is a gift that keeps on giving!

Now we know what the Rapture will look like ... or won't!

According to the High Priests at CERN, we will either have found the Higgs Boson by the end of 2012 or we will have proven that it doesn't exist. It should "look" something like the image above.  Interestingly, the Mayan calendar ends at about the same time ...

We'll see who laughs last!

If an Old Goat Like Me has a Six Year-old Granddaughter who writes like this ... well, what must my IQ be at Seventy-seven?

This was taped to her Bedroom Door after Being Sent to her Room for God-knows-what a Few Minutes Earlier!!

She sure didn't get this from my side of the family. I would have been afraid to even go downstairs to scarf up some transparent tape.

Who will be holding the grenade in his shirt pocket on 26 January 2011?

As most of you Mediawingnutters are aware, the U.S. Congress raised the debt ceiling to $15.2 trillion on Aug. 2 after much after arguing the merits/demerits of raising taxes on the wealthy versus cutting Medicare, Social Security, et al. They ended up by “compromising” the issue(s) through one of the silliest political games ever concocted IMHO.

They created a Super Committee of six Democrats and six Republicans (above) to come up with a “plan” to cut $1.2 trillion from the budget by Thanksgiving or an automatic slice of $1.2 trillion would be required to be sliced from the budget—roughly 50-50 from Defense spending and entitlements (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Government Employee Pensions, etc.) by Congress in January (after Christmas). The National Debt had just hit $14.35 trillion at that point last summer forcing Congress into the box that created the Super Committee and its crazy undertaking.

Well, guess what? We (the National Debt) just hit $15 trillion this weekend give a day or two, and Judging by the roughly six and a half months it took the U.S. to add just $650 billion to the debt, it is likely that the U.S. will hit the debt ceiling again by the summer of 2012, just in time for a new round of political silliness as the presidential campaign season goes into warp speed.

Meanwhile, the so-called Super Committee of six Republicans and six Democrats are supposed to hammer out a deal to cut an additional $1.2 trillion from the budget before midnight on Wednesday (that is, in three days). Any bets that they discover what to cut at 23:59 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve? Would they really raise taxes on their wealthiest campaign contributors or even give up some of their own salaries by having the U.S. Government go to a three-day workweek?

Not likely!

Have fun, Barack Obama ... you will be guy with the grenade in your left shirt pocket—that is, the job of meeting the mandate to make the enormous cuts in early January (I’d recommend you do it randomly with a few Wheel of Fortune spins—and blame what happens on bad luck).

As for next summer when we hit the limit yet again, I’d suggest just smiling and discussing the upcoming World Series and then its highlights on MSNBC or CNN through November when one of the current Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the Republican nominees—see previous posting) wins the Presidential Election—and the fun of handling the next time (soon, I’m sure) we hit the debt ceiling and becomes the last U.S. President of a fully financed government and turns off the lights in the White House as he or she walks out the door.

Hillary looked over the GOP candidates who were running and said, "Why not? I'm a shoo-in!"

Hillary Clinton Enters GOP Presidential Race
Within a month, she'll be the last one standing!

And lest you forget, just below, you can see who we have running today ... Herman Cain is the one with the antlers and we ALL recognize Michelle Bachman, don't we? Other than Rick Perry (no beard), you might have some trouble identifying the rest. There has never been a Primary Season like this one ... EVER!!!

Mediawingnuts' birthday happens to be on Guy Fawkes Day ... so ...

Notice the mask among those on the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstration
Admittedly, we of the 99% are not wishing to see the British Parliament Building burned down -- nor the Congressional Building! Just the barriers that divide us!

But ... as long as it's my birthday (two days ago, on Guy Fawkes Day), I can suggest some changes along the lines of one of my heroes from when I first heard of him in my teens:

1. Eliminate the sad gap between the super wealthy and the rest of us.
2. Health Care is both a birthright and a necessary entitlement.
3. Making it more difficult to register to vote only really makes it more difficult for the poor and those from minorities to register and vote.
4. If it takes higher taxes to allow the Government to hire workers (a la WPA days under FDR) then let's raise taxes--and not necessarily only on the those earning more than a million dollars per year!
5. Eliminate the words "homeless," "hungry" and "poverty" from the American English language.

Yes, I'm among the 99%
And NO, that is not Herman Cain nor Rick Perry hiding beneath the mask!

Looking at my window (upstairs) before they began painting a couple of weeks ago.

The Quinault Indian Nation's "Round House"

This photo was taken from the edge of the mouth of the Quinault River with the Pacific Ocean (the big blue area to the left of a map of the United States) on the right as you are viewing this picture. (Of course, it would be on the left side of the map you are viewing, but read the legend on the map to be sure.)

You know, this is confusing even for me--but my window is the one facing you as you look at the picture. My face isn't in the window because I am on the other side of the viewfinder on my camera. I'll rig up a mirror on a clothes hanger so you will understand what you are looking at and why I'm not in the window of my office--actually, not really an office but little more than a dusty pile of papers and boxes with an ancient computer and a beautiful view, even though I'm not in the view when I take the picture from the window.

Do you follow what I'm saying?

Also, the building isn't really round. It is a hexadecigon (16 sided polygon). I'll look up that word in the dictionary when I get home. Hexadecimal code is comprised of sixteen bits, so I took a shot at my best guess at what a sixteen-sided polygon would be called. Of course, that's looking at it from above (or below) and not from the viewfinder of my camera.

This posting is getting too complicated for me; maybe my nephew, John Szabo, can put it on his http://szaboszabo.blogspot.com and correct the English. Then again, that might mess up his list of dreams and such that he is attempting to realize through a concentration method he's dreamed [no pun intended] up.

BTW, in another week or two, the building will be pale blue--definitely NOT my choice!

I'm not a 9-9-9 fan, but some of the "Satanic" arguments against it simply don't hold water!

Where's the Sign of the Beast in This?
Simply turning 9-9-9 upside-down looks like d-d-d to this old curmudgeon. Of course, if you flip it both horizontally and vertically, you might get something like 6-6-6, but I think that I could come up with better arguments against Herman Cain's tax plan.

For starters, it's simply d-d-d-dumber than d-d-d-dog d-d-d-doo-doo.

And will make the wealthier only wealthier than they already are while hurting the less fortunate 99% and surely not balancing the budget. (Actually, it would be fairer to put that percentage at 90% or so.)

Forty hours per week up here might get a little boring, but now and then a deer or bear walks up to the Quinault River for a drink.

View of the mouth of the Quinault River from the center 90 degree row of windows in my upper floor office of the Round House in the northwest corner of the Quinault Indian Nation

Only problem is that I have to stand to look out the window inasmuch as the lower window sills (all 360 degrees) are at the same level as the top of my head when I'm seated at my workstation. Then again, I'm almost always alone, so who notices when I stand up? The Pacific Ocean is off my left shoulder and some dogs lying in a sandy road are usually asleep behind me. To my right is a beautiful scene of a forested bluff with the Olympic Mountains in the distance. If I stand on my tiptoes and look straight down, I can check the roof of my Honda CRV for presents from the crows, terns or seagulls that seem to be excellent bombardiers.

What causes the universe's size to increase at an accelerating rate? Why ... Dark Energy, of course! Or might it be Dark Matter?

Who took this picture anyway? Dark is dark and even Black Holes suck up light!

Or do we have the Law of Gravity backwards?

Neutrons traveling faster than light? The Universe expanding at an ever increasing rate? Time-travel backwards? Eleven dimensions? (But don't get caught teaching Intelligent Design in a Public School in America!)

Is Dark Matter or Dark Energy (sounds like Satan to me) to blame?

Well, if Harold Camping's latest prediction for the end of the world (October 21, 2011) pans out, many of us will have the answers in less than a week.

I'm not counting on it, but have given my life to the Lord (Jesus) whenever He returns--surely some measurable period of time before the end of the world, as I read the Book of Revelation--at least as I read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Okay, I've been won over. It's now Herman Cain for 2012!

I’m in the Herman Cain Team from this moment forward. Listen to this incredible voice and see if you aren’t taken in by Mr. "Godfather Pizza” too.

The lyrics go sorta like this: (Think John Lennon singing "Imagine")

Imagine there's no pizza
I couldn't if I tried
Eating only tacos
Or Kentucky Fried
Imagine only burgers
It's frightening and sad

You're lucky you have pizza
To feed your kids for you
Only frosting or cookies
And no dishes you must do
Imagine eating pizza
Each and every day

Imagine there's no pizza
I couldn't if I tried
Eating only tacos
Or Kentucky Fried

Should you feel a bit depressed these days, Mr. Obama, just peek at the picture below and tell yourself, "I'm gonna run against one of THEM !?!"

As I understand it, Mr. Cain will be more towards the center this evening and between Romney and Perry (shown in the center in this photo, but won't be in the center tonight, as I understand it).

On the positive side of the Republican candidates, they do at least seem to agree with biology (and God! ... and Mediawingnuts!) that we all begin human life at conception and not sometime shortly after the first or second trimester--however "trimesters" are determined/computed to the millisecond.

But then, they don't believe that anyone who (1) is not working or (2) wasn't born in America or (3) didn't vote for Barry Goldwater some years back or (4) speaks English as their second language or (5) has slightly darker skin than Ann Coulter is human either, so we have a little quarrel on the issue of what/who is human one way or the other.

Enjoy the debate [sic] !!

Who are you calling a "mob," Mr. Cantor?

House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) addresses the Values Voter Summit, hosted by Family Research Council Action (FRC Action), in Washington, D.C., Friday

Of course, the Values Voter Summit wasn't a "mob," was it Mr. Cantor?

“Mobs” you call them? Well, what were you saying when the Tea Party was getting started in exactly the same way?

The theme of these protests is “I am one of the 99%” -- And I AM!!

Well, I have been unemployed for more than half of the time since coming to Ocean Shores, Washington—and I am clearly among the 99% of Americans earning less than one million dollars.

Yes, let’s tell Wall Street to join the rest of America—who are people (not corporations and hedge funds) who CARE!!

Yes, let’s occupy Wall Street and get our people back on track!

Steve Jobs' Macintosh -- the machine that my kids and I will remember ... forever!

We Didn't Own an External Disk Drive, BTW

And notice that the word, "Macintosh," wasn't even on the front of the original Macs.

The specifications shown below (taken from www.apple.com) were enough, even with only 128k RAM, to enrapture my family for years--although I did upgrade to 512k somewhere along the way. Imagine! That's only one-eighth of a kilobytes (a thousand bytes--where a byte was/is only eight bits)! Today, with megabytes (millions of bytes), gigabytes (billions of bytes) and even terabytes (trillions of bytes) showing up in the specifications of active memory ... we can't even imagine what's in store for tomorrow.

Thomas Edison, stand aside ... you have company. Steve Jobs was indeed an inventor of the first order.

System
•Introduced: 1/24/84
•Discontinued: 10/1/85
•Floppy Size: 400K
•Internal HD: none none
•Upgrade From: none
•Upgrade To: 512Ke, Plus
•Form Factor: 128
•Weight: 16.5 lbs.
Logic Board
•Main Processor: 8 MHz 68000
•PMMU: none
•FPU: none
•Data Path: 8 MHz 16-bit
•Secondary Processor: none
•Slots: none
•MIPS Rating: .7
Memory
•Memory on Logic Board: 0.125MB
•RAM Range: 0.125MB to 0.125MB
•RAM Slots: 0 n/a
•RAM Type: ns n/a SIMMs in groups of n/a
•Notes: This system has no built-in memory expansion, however third-party upgrades could take this system to 512K.
Video
•Built-in Display: 9" monochrome CRT
•VRAM Configuration: built-in CRT
•VRAM Speed: n/a
•VRAM Expansion: built in
•Color Bit Depth by Screen Resolution:
◦512x384: 1-bit
(1-bit = Black & White, 2-bit = 4 colors, 4-bit = 16 colors, 8-bit = 256 colors, 16-bit = thousands, 24-bit = millions)
The maximum color depth listed for 640x870 is 8-bit, reflecting the capabilities of the Apple 15 inch Portrait Display

•Notes: Screen size is 512x342.
Sound
•Sound In: none
•Sound Out: mono, 8-bit
•Microphone Port: none
Ports
•ADB: none
•Video: none
•Floppy: DB-19 - Disk Drive Port: 500K baud
•SCSI: none
•GeoPorts:
•Ethernet: none
•Microphone Port Type: none
•Ports: Printer Modem Speaker
•Notes: The serial ports in this system do not support handshaking or synchronous modems.
Serial Port specs
•AppleTalk: 230.4K baud
•Asynchronous: 57.6K baud (maximum rate)
•Synchronous: 920K baud (maximum rate with external clock)
Power
•Source: .5A 105-125V 50-60 Hz
•Consumption: 60 W or 205.2 BTU
•Battery Type: 4.5V alkaline, #523
Software
•Addressing Modes: 24-bit
•Original System Software: 0.0
•Original Enabler: none
•ROM ID: $0000
•ROM Version: n/a
•ROM Size: 64K
•AppleTalk Version: n/a
•System Software Supported: Mac OS 1.0 through 4.1 in 1984

It's Not Fair!!!! He has the Brewers, Packers and Badgers ... and all I have are the Mariners!

My nephew, John Szabo, living in Wisconsin

Then again, he might not pray as fervently for the Brewers as his uncle does for the Mariners--and surely, the Mariners will get a greater share of wins against the Brewers after the Rapture (interleague play will be allowed in Heaven) once they make a trade or two to get Alex Rodriguez back to bring Ichiro Suzuki over the plate game after game (Ichiro will walk and steal second before A-Rod comes to the plate in the first inning of each game) while our ace, Freddie, holds the Brew-crew to about a hit and a half per game in the Heavenly Hallelujahdome.

But for now, it's JUST NOT FAIR!

Then again, he has Governor Walker up with which to put (prepositional placement borrowed from Winston Churchill) over there in Wisconsin ... so maybe it's not all that unfair.

We Need a Republican Who LOOKS Like a Republican!!

Those Republicans in the House of Representatives are Metamorphosing into Fascists!

Someone needs to grow a pair (of antlers, of course!) and stand up to the "party of no". The Republicans stance is immoral and mindless. The time of "trickle down economics" has passed. The Democrats (all Americans, really!) simply must fight back! Hammer at them for their support of Bush's tax cut long past the days since George W. Bush's presidency (Gaah!) slid into the worst Recession since the Great Depression.

We Progressives have to pick a message and stay with it. If we don't, the political landscape will turn very ugly for most Americans. We will be living in a country that will resemble the book, "Animal Farm."

The republicans want their unique version of Capitalism--called Fascism.

Oh yes, one more thing: I am NOT related to Rep. Paul Ryan (R. Wis).

Class warfare? Balderdash! Go get'em, Barack, and let them throw away an election that was theirs for the taking!

We Need the Barack Obama Who Cares ... America Needs You Back!

Take a good look at the country you have been elected to SERVE!! Narcissism and seeming elitism won't hack it.
Come back, Barack, to your roots!
That's Right! We need you to care for all that is going wrong from the unemployment to the lack of Congressional concern.

She's not really heavy; she's my Sweetheart!

Picture taken by either Nita or Klaus--friends from Germany who came to visit two or so weeks ago. And yes, Sweetie is wiggling in my arms something fierce.

Until this past weekend, when I told folks that I'd taught at the University of Maryland for more than a decade ... they'd ask, "Where?"

Well, "Here and There!" was my usual reply ... and whoever heard of College Park, Maryland anyway? (which happened not be one of the actual locations that I taught for the Univ. of MD!)

And my eldest (more or less) daughter graduated from the University of Maryland ... uhh, I think ... (memory isn't one's highest suite at seventy-six ... almost seventy-seven) ... and that was but one step that pushed her forth in life to picking up her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. Come to think of it ... where's that school? Is it behind the Washington Monument or was it demolished under Mount St. Helens? Whoever heard of the Huskies or the Terps anyway?

Of course, the University of Maryland was the biggest thing going (both of the above players are Terps, of course) on the Internet this past weekend ... from Twitter to Facebook and beyond. The new uniforms are ... well ... something again! See a front shot below. By the way, they beat a former #1 in the nation NCAA powerhouse, Miami of Florida. Clearly, it was a case of mistaken identity, or something like that!

For those of you who didn't know what a Terp was ...

What if the "Rapture" were to occur in the middle of next week's GOP debate?

If only Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry remained on the stage after a sudden disappearance of the other GOP candidates, what would be going through the minds of the rest of us who happened to be watching television and were "Left Behind"?

I've always wondered about the various possibilities (if the Rapture were to occur during the debate) and what those still standing on the stage as they gazed at the gaps in their ranks ... might be thinking.

Of course, it just might be that the only two who would disappear would be MB and RP. What would Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman do if they were still on the stage--alone or with a few others?

Fascinating thoughts race through my diseased mind ...

I will always remember 7 December 1941, 22 November 1963, 11 September 2001 ... and now 23 August 2011 !!

The GREAT Earthquake of August 23, 2011 -- a Certain Sign that the Rapture is Almost Upon Us

Actually, of all of the horrible disasters that have occurred during my lifetime, the date for today's will probably come to mind quickest. Only my immediate family knows, but August 23 is also Rocky Colavito's birthday. And when he performed as the Cleveland Indians' best Center fielder ever (not just knocking the ball out of the park more times since the days of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, he could mitt a baseball seven feet over his head). His birthday has provided me with a lucky number (23) since before the Korean War--that's the war just after the really Big War that had me traumatized during my pre-teens! You know, Hitler and Tojo versus Roosevelt ... and Captain America!

I hope this posting finds most of my East Coast kids and grandkids -- and other relatives and friends alive and well. I'm still out at the Quinault Indian Nation working, but I've been told that I should be able to get through to a couple of those who were not too close to the epicenter this evening as the telephone lines are being restored.

If the entire family survives, I will probably switch lucky numbers from 23 to 5.8. Then again, today is the 23rd after all; maybe I'll just leave it 23 for a while longer.

Friends, relatives and POI's: To save me making a million phone calls this week, let me know (a short comment will do) that you survived the earthquake and that everyone is fine at your home. Thanks!

Had Rick Perry been successful in managing to have Texas secede from the USA, our education levels would average considerably better, I think!

Governor Rick Perry, R Texas

The list below of various rankings of Texas schools among the schools in America's 50 states is interesting. (This was found in a major newspaper and on another blog.)

• State Aid Per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance – 47th
• Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Scores – 45th
• % of Population 25 and Older with High School Diploma – 50th
• High School Graduation Rate – 43rd
• • Percent of Uninsured Children – 1st
• Percent of Children Living in Poverty – 4th
• Percent of Population Uninsured – 1st
• Percent of Low Income Population Covered by Medicaid – 49th
• Percent of Population with Employer-Based Health Insurance – 48th
• Total Health Expenditures as % of the Gross State Product – 43rd
• Per Capita State Spending on Medicaid – 49th
• Health Care Expenditures per Capita – 44th
• Physicians per Capita – 42nd
• Registered Nurses per Capita – 44th
• Average Monthly Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Benefits per Person – 47th
• Teenage Birth Rate – 7th
• Births to Unmarried Mothers – 17th
• Percent of Women with Pre-Term Birth – 9th
• Percent of Pregnant Women Receiving Prenatal Care in First Trimester – 50th

Could we be in for another George W??

Raccoons and Republicans ... both do in eggs--whether owl eggs in "safe" nests in my backyard or my 401 (K) nest egg!

Those of us living on part-time jobs plus minimum Social Security at age 76 or our beloved sand owls in Ocean Shores ... our nest eggs have been thoroughly "broken." Aren't there any owl-lovers among those earning $250,000 or greater in the U.S.?

Personally, I at least understand the raccoons that run roughshod in my yard; I have little understanding of Republicans who will protect corporations or the millionaires/billionaires among us--and PLEDGED to do so, no less!

Can Mediawingnuts warn the entire world of its coming demise in time ... at one posting per day?

2011 ... and it's only July so far ... !!!

Lessee ... Famine in Africa (worst ever, most likely) ... BP Oil Spill still has New Orleans in a quandary ... and just what is this U.S. debt ceiling that will collapse the world's economies? ... floods (everywhere from America to Europe to Asia) ... Harry Potter films ending (oh no!) ... earthquakes (along with nuclear meltdowns/melt-throughs) ... earth crust anomalies of record frequency and intensity in the Southern Hemisphere ... worst "tornado belt" ever ... heat records in both America and the Arctic ... sunspot activity reaching all-time intensity ... Rhode Island-sized ice chunks breaking off both poles ... double dip recession under way ... record droughts on three continents ... intensity of multiple murders on increase--everywhere! ... more wars in the Middle East since Adam and Eve tasted the forbidden fruit ... nuclear weapons proliferation worldwide--including "rogue" nations ... most powerful man on the earth appears--and he can toss three-pointers with amazing ease, but cannot save the world economy ... The United States of America on the brink of a default on its debt ... gay and lesbian marriages on upswing worldwide--along with the murder of fetuses worldwide also ... Wisconsin joins the "dark side" ... record rainfall, snowstorms and UFO sightings worldwide ... deadly plagues in Africa--and spreading ... the list could continue forever ... and oh yes, the Seattle Mariners have broken their own record and lost seventeen straight games -- not to mention my sweet puppy breaking her left hind leg!

Rapture coming? Well Mediawingnuts plans on wearing clean underwear and reading the Good Book (and the Big Book) daily!

And now we discover that there's an asteroid just ahead of the earth in our orbit around the sun.

Harold Camping may have gotten the dates and times all screwed up, but as the song in West Side Story goes, "Something's coming; something big ..."

And we in America are stewing over a meaningless (we do it twice a year or so) debt ceiling!

Reunion Photo in Somalia

Famine once again stalks the Horn of Africa, threatening the lives of 10 million people in what the USAid-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net) describes as one of the world’s most severe food security emergencies.

Perhaps no country in the region is as badly affected as Somalia. The Somalia Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) estimates that 2.85 million people — a third of the population — are now in humanitarian crisis and in need of urgent assistance, an increase of 42.5 per cent over the figure in December 2010. “We are no longer on the verge of a humanitarian disaster; we are in the middle of it now,” Isaq Ahmed, the chairman of the Mubarak Relief and Development Organisation, a local NGO working in the south of the country, told IRIN on June 28. “It is happening and no one is helping.”

But goodness! What do Republicans say when someone with such a Muslim name speaks out like that? "That picture just above must be a bunch of Al-Quaeda terrorists!"

So, light cannot go faster than light?

Being a scientist who has been published (peer-reviewed articles), the fact that the team's study was published in the U.S. peer-reviewed scientific journal Physical Review Letters leaves me cold. From all that I can determine from all that I've read is that if the photon is regarded as macro matter, it (light as a particle) can't travel in the three dimensions of which we are familiar faster than itself travels. Huh??

But let's give Du Shengwang of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology credit for getting this "finding" out into the mainline media. Yeh, I get it now; light cannot travel faster than the fastest speed that light can travel. Must be a String Theory kinda thing ...

So matter (the photon) is the medium (not clearly defined), not the message (worldwide media). And if you study the medium long enough, you may eventually get the message.

What am I missing?

This cartoon in the weekend paper here gave me some insight as to what the "middle" road actually looks like in this Debt Ceiling debate ....

When Republicans and Democrats see eye to eye (as they seem to be in this Cartoon) we just may be closer to the Rapture--and Armageddon shortly thereafter. When I saw this Daryl Cagle cartoon in the weekend paper, my first thought was "get down on my knees and do what the Good Book says to do." This nutty Debt Ceiling debate is beyond humor at this stage and without discussing my personal budget situation (totally dependent on both the little Social Security check and my Medicare benefits), I keep wondering why I hear absolutely nothing about the "Nuclear Option"--which simply stated, is the legality a la the Fourteenth Amendment for the President to quietly raise the Debt Ceiling by about $4 trillion as an Executive Order in recognition of the dire straits that any other choice would leave both the country and the world.

Basically, it would be something akin to Armageddon if the World's economy melts down like half of our country melted last week and that seemingly silly movie, "2012," (or, for that matter, Harold Camping's ranting) was more real than Hollywood.

Get real, Mr. President, and simply say that you'll raise the Debt Ceiling on your own on August 1, 2011 if the politicians in Congress continue to act like politicians and less like members of the rest of humanity.

What value is having a ceiling on our National Debt anyway?

The Gross National Debt

Tune in on August 2, 2011 ...




Interestingly, I heard a snippet of news on my favorite XM station while driving home from work yesterday. Moody's Ratings agency just yesterday suggested the United States should eliminate its statutory limit on government debt to reduce uncertainty among bond holders.

With that one quick fix to the current crisis, we would stabilize the entire world's economy and likely maintain the US Dollar as the standard currency for world trade for as long as we maintained a growing Gross Domestic Product.

Specifically Moody's addressed the current silliness (but serious silliness) as follows (taken from an article extracted in part from CNN's News Bureau tab on its website):

"The United States is one of the few countries where Congress sets a ceiling on government debt, which creates "periodic uncertainty" over the government's ability to meet its obligations.

"We would reduce our assessment of event risk if the government changed its framework for managing government debt to lessen or eliminate that uncertainty," Moody's analyst Steven Hess wrote in the report.

The agency last week warned it would cut the United States' AAA credit rating if the government misses debt payments, increasing pressure on Republicans and the White House to come up with a budget agreement.

Moody's said it had always considered the risk of a U.S. debt default very low because Congress has regularly raised the debt ceiling during many decades, usually without controversy.

However, the current wide divisions between the House of Representatives and the Obama administration over the debt limit creates a high level of uncertainty and causes us to raise our assessment of event risk."

And they promptly proceeded to do just that ... only a shot across our bow for the moment, but our AAA rating is looking a bit shaky today.

What most European countries do to limit debt not owed to its own citizens (we owe about 40% of our current $14 trillion-plus debt to ourselves) is to periodically adjust the percent of the GDP that is permitted to comprise the National Debt. We squeezed under most such percentages utilized by almost all of the developed countries in the world today (between 60 and 80 percent) ... even during the Great Depression and World War II.

Whatever, it seems quite sensible to Mediawingnuts to disconnect the National Debt "Ceiling" from Government Spending and taxation (both controlled by a skittish and partisan U.S. Congress). I'd also suggest that the word "Ceiling" be replaced by the words, "Prudent Approximate Maximum Percentage of GDP Except for Times of Unusual Circumstances such as a Collision with a Moon-sized Asteroid or the Unexpected Rapture of Believing Christians into the Loving Arms of Jesus."

But then, why have a "Ceiling" of any kind?

Playing "Chicken" is only fun for the "chickens"

Our President and his opponent "chickens" enjoying their favorite game
The game of chicken that is currently being played out on Fox Cable Network and MSNBC Cable Network--and on Capitol Hill--could be the most irresponsible action taken by our highest elected officials in two and a half centuries.

It appears that Obama is saying "No!" to any deal that touches Social Security and/or Medicare spending and doesn't cover at least the next two and a half years. Basically, he is stating that he wants a "clean"* debt ceiling increase for a period to get us past the 2012 elections. On the other hand, the Republicans are stating that they will say "No!" to any increase in the debt ceiling that goes beyond about six months and/or includes a tax increase on ANYBODY! Even a one percent increase on the likes of Bill Gates' billions (or Rupert Murdoch's) is unacceptable.

Thus they both want a clean* [sic] bill; it's only a matter of the duration of the debt ceiling.

My personal thought is that they should make it twenty trillion dollar increase and not think about it until my grandchildren are having my great-grandchildren--and trust God to work out the details as regards spending and tax rates. God didn't take twenty years to part the Red Sea, so I believe twenty years to bring spending and tax rates into line to reduce the national debt to ZERO would be duck soup for Him.

* "Clean" is the new buzzword for no changes in spending or tax rates.
The rest of us "chickens" after the above "chickens" both win their game of "Chicken"

It surely appears that Mr. Boehmer and Mr. Obama are sticking to their guns to the point of ... well what would you call it?

Turn this PhotoShop art upside down and change the dollars into Believers and you might have an artists rendition of the Rapture. As it is here depicted though, it's no more than Federal spending helping to increase the gravity and density of a peculiar Black Hole.

I for one, although not entirely in Mr. Harold Camping's arena where a date can be pulled from one's left ear every other week for the 'end of the world' or even the rapture (which predates the end of the world by roughly 1007 years, according to the King James Version of the Good Book). That Rapture, BTW, is quite likely going to be sooner than we might imagine one of these unpredicted and unforeseen days in the near future.

At least all of the Biblical signs are in place for the Tribulation to begin, and that won't happen until Jesus has gathered His own (a.k.a., the Rapture) into the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18). The English word, "Rapture," comes not from either the Greek, Aramaic, or ancient Hebrew, BTW, but from the Latin word for being "caught up."

Aren't we Bible-thumpers an arrogant bunch?

But then, just look at the Biblical signs in just the past Century--and increasing by the day, it seems: rashes of tornadoes in America (and elsewhere), earthquakes together with devastating tsunamis, Global Warming--call it what you wish, but chunks of the ice shelf north of here are breaking off that are larger than some of our states--not to mentioning the increasing size of the hole in the Ozone Layer that protects us (to an extent), and has for billions of years, economic collapse of currencies and economic stability that we had always thought was bolstered by the US dollar (actually, they are Chinese dollars now, more or less), morality collapse worldwide--and so pervasive that not one of us can be unaware of it, if not having been a part of it at some time in our seemingly more and more tumultuous years, animal species going extinct right and left (are bedbugs, fleas and the mosquitoes on the Endangered Species list yet?) and then there's the most recent "Arab Spring" ... cum summer cum autumn cum winter of 2011.

I think I'd rather have even a Tea Party member as our President than an all-out Nuclear War. And that (a Nuclear War) is more likely now than ever in my lifetime, including the JFK-standoff with Russia in 1963. Consider that Israel, Pakistan and (soon, if not already) Iran ... have WMDs. (No point in mentioning North Korea; they will likely be our next Favored Trading Partner and debtor in US currency, if China wisens up too quickly.

Now, how did I wander from the silly debate(s) ongoing between the GOP and Democratic caucuses to the Rapture which will precede yet more turmoil a la the "Left Behind" series of movies that play periodically on the religious channels of our television sets?

A connection? Someone ask Harold Camping for me ... he's bound to have an answer.

Any Ideas?

>
Sweetie is Already 16 Pounds!
If any of you know what can be done to bring her weight down, I'd sure like to know what that "what" is. She's supposed to be between nine and twelve pounds and won't be nine months until July 9th.

Sarah Palin writes the perfect letter 'from God'! Her announcement to family (from God) announcing little Trig ...

Sarah and Li'l Trig ... truly a Gift from God!
You can say what you wish about her politics or her knowledge of Paul Revere's ride ... I believe you cannot disbelieve her true love for God and His gift to her and her family ...

The Entire letter as Released from Sarah Palin's Emails While She Was Governor of Alaska

To the Sisters, Brother, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Friends of Trig Paxson Van Palin (or whatever you end up naming him!) --

I am blessing you with this surprise baby because I only want the best for you. I've heard your prayers that this baby will be happy and healthy, and I've answered them because I only want the best for you!

I heard your heart when you hinted that another boy would fit best in the Palin family, to round it out and complete that starting five line-up.

Though another girl would be so nice, you didn't think you could ask for what you REALLY wanted, but I knew, so I gave you a boy because I only want the best for you!
Then, I put the idea in your hearts that his name should be 'Trig', because it's so fitting, with two Norse meanings: "True" and "Brave Victory". You also have a Bristol Bay relative with that name, so I knew it would be best for you!

Then, I let Trig's mom have an exceptionally comfortable pregnancy so she could enjoy every minute of it, and I even seemed to rush it along so she could wait until near the end to surprise you with the news - that way Piper wouldn't have so long to wait and count down so many days - just like Christmastime when you have to wait, impatiently, for that special day to finally open your gift? (Or the way the Palmas look forward to birthday celebrations that go on for three, four days_ you all really like cake.) I know you, I knew you'd be better off with just a short time to wait!

Then, finally, I let Trig's mom and dad find out before he was born that this little boy will truly be a GIFT. They were told in early tests that Trig may provide more challenges, and more joy, than what they ever may have imagined or ever asked for.
At first the news seemed unreal and sad and confusing. But I gave Trig's mom and dad lots of time to think about it because they needed lots of time to understand that everything will be OK, in fact, everything will be great, because I only want the best for you!

I've given Trig's mom and dad peace and joy as they wait to meet their new son. I gave them a happy anticipation because they asked me for that.

I'll give all of you the same happy anticipation and strength to deal with Trig's challenges, but I won't impose on you... I just need to know you want to receive my offer to be with all of you and help you everyday to make Trig's life a great one.
This new person in your life can help everyone put things in perspective and bind us together and get everyone focused on what really matters.

The baby will expand your world and let you see and feel things you haven't experienced yet. He'll show you what "true, brave victory" really means as those who love him will think less about self and focus less on what the world tells you is "normal" or "perfect°.

You will grow and be blessed with greater understanding that will he born along with Trig.Trig will be his dad's little buddy and he'll wear Carhartts while he learns to tinker in the garage. He'll love to be read to, he'll want to play goalie, and he'll steal his mom's heart just like Track, Bristol, Willow and Piper did.

And Trig will be the cuddly, innocent, mischievous, dependent little brother that his siblings have been waiting for_in fact Trig will - in some diagnostic ways - always be a mischievous, dependent little brother, because I created him a bit different than a lot of babies born into this world today.

Every child is created special, with awesome purpose and amazing potential. Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed up world you live in down there on earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome. Doctors call it "Down's Syndrome", and Downs kids have challenges, but can bring you much delight and more love than you can ever imagine! Just wait and see, let me prove this, because I only want the best for you!

Some of the rest of the world may not want him, but take comfort in that because the world will not compete for him. Take care of him and he will always be yours!
Trig's mom and dad don't want people to focus on the baby's extra chromosome. They're human, so they haven't known how to explain this to people who are so caring and are interested in this new little Alaskan. Sarah and Todd want people to share in the joy of this gift I'm giving to the Palin family, and the greater Alaska family.

Many people won't understand_ and I understand that. Some will think Trig should not be allowed to be born because they fear a Downs child won't be considered "perfect" in your world. (But tell me, what do you earthlings consider "perfect" or even "normal" anyway? Have you peeked down any grocery store isle, or school hallway, or into your office lunchroom lately? Or considered the odd celebrities you celebrate as "perfect" on t.v.? Have you noticed I make 'em all shapes and sizes? Believe me, there is no "perfect"!)

Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want or need that, because Trig will be a joy. You will have to trust me on this.

I know it will take time to grasp this and come to accept that I only want the best for you, and I only give my best. Remember though: "My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts- for as the heavens are higher than the earth, my ways are higher than yours!"

I wrote that all down for you in the Good Book! Look it up! You claim that you believe me - now it's time to live out that belief!

Please look to me as this new challenge and chapter of life unfolds in front of you. I promise to equip you. I won't give you anything you can't handle. I am answering your prayers. Trig can't wait to meet you. I'm giving you ONLY THE BEST!

Love,
Trig's Creator, Your Heavenly Father

One of my sons and his wife are chasing jellyfish for me -- or something like that!

Jellyfish in Hawaii

The jellyfish protein apoaequorin improves cognitive function in individuals with memory concerns ... a.k.a. ME!

As I remember from my years in Hawaii, Box Jellyfish were not a welcomed sight on Hawaii’s pristine beaches, but there is another species of jellyfish invading the islands of Oahu and Maui whose visit is welcomed.

Aequorea Victoria is the jellyfish from which the calcium-binding protein apoaequorin, a potential therapeutic for Alzheimer’s disease, is derived.

Go get'm, Brooke and John!

Dad could use a little of that apoaequorin as I get closer to the average age of senile elderly men in the State of Washington.

Oh yes, this is a simplified picture of the actual apoaequorin protein for those who would rather not have to keep live jellyfish in their fridge.

When will we finally allow those crazy Bush tax cuts to trickle-down into the Black Hole of bad memories?

GOP candidate Tim Pawlenty observed the 10th anniversary of the Bush-era tax cuts by proposing $2 trillion in additional tax cuts, primarily for millionaires and global corporations. Then, in a game of "Gotcha!", I watched the seven (at the time) GOP Dwarfs argue the question, "which among them could tear down the US economy faster?"

Have we learned nothing?

A decade since their passage, its clear that the Bush tax cuts were a $2.5 trillion mistake that put us on the road to fiscal instability.

Of course, Mr. Obama, by allowing the cuts to continue for an additional two years in an attempt to demonstrate bipartisan compromise, has put himself and his party in a corner from which they may never escape.

Where is some adult leadership--in either of the major political parties?

Makes a lotta sense to me!

A glimpse of my funeral ... now that I've paid for a prepaid cremation including disposal of the remains (me?) into the Pacific Ocean

After receiving a dozen or so fliers advertising prepaid cremation deals in the mail and after seeing a few ads and/or feature articles in the local newspaper, it occurred to me that I could save "whoever" a lot of anxiety coming up with a "funeral,"--or whatever they are called nowadays--and having to figure out what to do with the old man anyway.

I could be a bit proactive and take care of the entire affair myself.

Notice how clean and neat an empty church (above) looks. Even that makes more sense!

A couple of phonecalls to get a good price (certainly cheaper than any funeral home, casket, burial plot, etc.!) on an all-details-covered prepaid package, I chose Neptune Society (sounds like a swimming club) to take care of EVERYTHING from the time I fall over dead until the time the ashes (me?) are dumped into the ocean. Yup, they even come to pick up the corpse (me?) and deliver it (me?) to the crematorium and then deliver the ashes (me?) to the ocean -- or wherever anyone on the other end of a phonecall might want them (me?) delivered (the Sistine Chapel sounds nice) from a mailbox to a hole in the ground ... and voilla! It's done! Just for the record, I checked the box labeled "buried at sea" on the contract.

They even take care of registering my death with the State and delivering a little box of "mementos" to whomever in the world would want such a gruesome little maple-looking wooden box ... containing pictures of my cats and dog and maybe my bifocals, a stapler, a ball-pint pen, my drivers license, some shredded credit cards, and anything else that might fit in a 8" x 8" x 5" box. I can even use the box to hold paper clips in the meantime.

Yeh, they even included the little box.

I mentioned my decision (already made ... and signed, sealed and notarized) to a couple of my youngsters (actually adults, of course) and they seemed satisfied that it was a smart move--well, one son wasn't that pleased, but didn't have a better idea.

Did I mention that the boat ride--at least for the ashes--is included at no extra cost?

Also, it's 100% ecologically and environmentally green--I mean figuratively speaking, of course. Well, there is the smoke, I suppose ... but not one square inch of our rapidly crowding earth is used unnecessarily.

Anyway, I really think more folks (young or old) should think of this as a legal and painless (I hope! They do check bodies to insure they are brain-dead before shoving them into the oven, don't they?) way of getting some of the details out of the way in advance of ...

Well, you know what I mean.

Neat, huh?

El Nino, la nina, global warming, Congressional tweets aside --- what happened to our summer in Ocean Shores?

Clearly, one can determine that our three-day summer in early June was "it"!
The equatorial Pacific Ocean will not be plagued by an El Nino or La Nina weather anomaly in the summer of 2011, the first time since 2009 when conditions are neutral in the region, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said earlier this morning. For reference only, you are viewing late winter in March, 2011 (upper left earth) and early summer on 3 June, 2011 (lower right earth). No image for late summer on 6 June, 2011 is yet available.

Neutral? Then why did our summer come early this year and last only three days?

Even the clams and the salmon are confused.

What next? An earthquake and tsunami only 75 miles from our lovely (but chilly) beaches in Ocean Shores?

For the record, la nina means "little girl" in Spanish and el nino means "little boy" (presumably, the Christ child), but what either have to do with the suddenness of autumn falling upon the Pacific Northwest eludes me.

Then again, we are not having starvation-level droughts nor heavy snowstorms this early autumn ... yet.

Barely One Year Later ... Irony of Ironies!

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. married longtime Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin

Guess who officiated at the wedding! Really!!

Former President Bill Clinton pronounces them "man and wife" almost exactly one year ago ...

Does this mean that there is a President Weiner in our future--or only that the latest American favorite pastime (watching sex scandals unfold on the nightly news) is a posterboard for Muslim (her) - Jewish (him) relationships in this weird world within which we all live?

It would only be weirder yet if the wedding had been officiated by the current Speaker of the House, John Boehner ... pronounced "BAY-ner" ... I'll let you-all untwist the sarcasm (no irony this time) in this last interesting, but untrue, scenario.

Newt Gingrich teaching that youngster a thing or two! By the way, I am no relative of Paul Ryan's!!

Paul Ryan learning a thing or two about "engineering" from Newt Gingrich

Thanks, Newt! Your courage in exposing the truth-- that Paul Ryan’s budget plan is too “radical” and represents “right wing social engineering” were right on. The Republican’s plans to dismantle Medicare and reward Big Oil and billionaires with “incentives” and more tax breaks is a strong example of how extreme today's Republican party has become. If only other Republicans saw things the way you did, we'd be much better off.