Nobody 703

Sunday, July 8, 2007
Nobody # 703

Nobody Asked Me But:

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!

My belated birthday wish for my country is that we choose leaders who respect freedom and accomplishment more than power and reelection, and the rights of the common as much as those of the propertied. May these leaders both tax and spend with common sense, remember that equal opportunity is still almost as much myth as reality and make war only for causes for which they would be willing to die or have their children die.<<<

From somewhere in cyberspace:

You know you're living in 2007 when...
1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.<<<

"Those who cure you will kill you."

A terrorist cell of doctors? Hard to believe – but really scary. Did they cross their fingers during the Hippocratic Oath?

And wouldn’t it be nice to be able to test people for terrorist genes?<<<

Will somebody please help me? I am so confused. I thought that conservatives and the SC Justices who represent them worshiped at the altar of strict construction, seeking out the original meaning and intent of those who wrote the Constitution and making these principles the basis for their decisions. Then how could they twist the 14th Amendment, written expressly to help freed slaves, in such a way as to turn it against Black Americans?<<<

JIM’S WISDOM:

UP: The traveling trio, meaning my grandchildren, who make mockery out of that old song, “Don’t get around much anymore.” Ryan (below in brown shirt) is at his usual summer camp in Prescott, challenge rocks and ropes class, ultimate frisbee, fishing, archery, handcrafts, riflery and sewing. (riflery and sewing?) Emily is with a friend in Florida, sweating, swimming and dodging alligators. Benjamin has just returned to Reno after 3 weeks in beautiful, downtown Tucson.

When I was their age a summer trip meant traveling to near-by neighborhoods to play against rival softball teams.

Don’t mind me, I’m just jealous.

Down: Being happy about paying ONLY $2.99 for gas this morning.

Down: Feeling uneasy that the surly Middle-Eastern attendant at my Arco station might be planning a suicide bombing.

Down: The proposal to charge for home mail delivery. Neither rain, nor snow, sleet nor hail can stop the U.S. mail - as long as you pay your monthly bill.

UP: Jrue Holiday – the number three-ranked high school senior verbaled to UCLA last week. The Long Beach Press Telegram’s Frank Burlison, widely considered one of the best high school/college basketball writers in the United States, compares him to Dyane Wade.

WAY UP: Ben Howland, who has brought the golden days back to UCLA basketball.

Down: Adding air marshals as a result to the UK bomb threat. There should be no need to ADD because we should, at all times, have a high quantity of air marshals. Too bad that this administration believes in budget-busting wars and penny-pinching preparedness.

Down: Shopping at Dillard’s. The department store is one of my wife’s favorite Tucson stops. But after the shooting incident there last Sunday, I think she will have to settle for Wal-Mart.

DOWN – Mitt Romney’s family pet obsession. His two main campaign topics so far seem to be his twin loves – family pets and hunting.

Makes one wonder if he ever combines the two?

DOWN: Journalism on the cheap. Newspapers across the country are firing above the line reporters and columnists to keep below the line profits high.

UP: Letter writers, thousands of them, who pressured the LA Times to rehire long time columnist Al Martinez. At least in one instance, cost-cutting surrendered to public outrage.

SIDEWAYS: America, for holding it soldiers accountable for the murders at Haditha. America for not holding its leaders accountable for the murders at Haditha.

DOWN – Government lying. When they say Iran helped Iraqis kill five G.I.’s they are probably telling a straight story, but with their history of dishonoring truth, how can I be sure?

UP: GOD for not being afraid of trial and error. According to King James’ boys, SHE created light on the first day, was somehow dissatisfied with the way it worked, and added the sun on day 4.

UP: David Brooks, for putting the Gordon Libby episode into perspective and changing my mind along the way. Here is what he wrote.

I especially love his last sentence. “Republicans who’d worked themselves up into a spittle-spewing rage because Bill Clinton lied under oath were appalled that anybody would bother with poor Libby over lying under oath. Democrats who were outraged that Bill Clinton was hounded for something as trivial as perjury were furious that Scooter Libby might not be ruined for a crime as heinous as perjury. It was an orgy of shamelessness. The God of Self-Respect took sabbatical.”

Way Down: Nouri Kamel Mohammed Hassan al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, who "refuses" to permit the U.S. to "carry out any military operation in any Iraqi province or city without first acquiring permission from the leadership of the Iraqi forces." That’s called spitting in the eye of your protectors. How about we bring the troops home and see how long he lasts then?

UP: Tennessee, for carding me if I ever return there. “Starting July 1st everyone is required to show identification before buying beer in Tennessee stores.” I may make a special “go home again” trip to Memphis and buy a beer just to feel young again.

UP: Ceiling fans. We now have one in our bedroom and it is way cool. Green walls, the fan and shutters (still to be installed) will make every night like a hotel stay.

UP: My computer, Google and I, for finding satellite close-ups of the Hawaiian hotels at which we will be staying later this summer. (You can tell that it doesn’t take much to thrill me.)

SIDEWAYS: Bill Clinton, who told thousands of Democratic supporters here that his wife is better qualified to be president than he was when he first ran for the job. That’s either saying a lot or a little??

DOWN: Editing at the LA Times, for letting this slip through - "Kemp said his next mental obstacle will be to anticipating the adjustments pitchers will make when facing him." More cost-cutting???

UP: Yawning, which scientists now think is the body’s way of cooling the brain and clearing the thought process. (And you though I was just bored.)

SIDEWAYS: “Stare decisis.” Should the Supreme Court have decided against Brown to uphold Plessy? No! Should the Court ignore precedent and gut Brown? No! (nor Roe either.)

UP: John McCain, for feeling contempt for Mitt Romney. I can identify with that.

Down: Mirthala Salinas, the Telemundo newswoman whose journalistic code of ethics seems to include sleeping with the politicians she covers. Our mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, (pictured at left sitting with his wife and at right standing with Salinas while being interviewed in front of school children on the topic of morality) is her current bedmate. Before that it was Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and state Senator Alex Padilla.

LA Times columnist, Steve Lopez, wonders if the men (who also get down arrows) were playing a game of ¿Quien Es Mas Macho?

But the best comment came from an 84-year-old Latina who called Lopez and asked him to pass it a message to the mayor:

"Tell him that his brains are between his legs, and there's not too much there."<<<

The myth buster strikes again. Last week I exposed as untrue the legend of tie goes to the runner. This week I will do the same for the myth of no more gold in California.

Last night we went to Eagle Rock for pizza at Casa Bianca. (below, left) Now the city with the famed rock, nestled between Glendale and Pasadena, is the last place you would expect a gold strike. Hungry and wanting to get home early we were there 10 minutes before its 4 p.m. opening. In those 10 minutes several others showed up. Within 15 minutes of our being seated the place was full. When we left at 5, the waiting line was stretched around the corner. The place with the best pizza west of Boston, and maybe east as well, is a gold mine if I ever saw one.<<<

FYI - Female orcas can live 80 to 100 years in the wild, while male orcas rarely live past 40.

Comment: Having multiple wives will be the death of any male.<<<

Sun-days special - Here’s the NYT on sunscreens:

The FDA is planning to bring some guidance into a glutted marketplace, but until then you shouldn't believe most packaging claims. There's no such thing as a sunscreen that lasts all day, you should always reapply after swimming, and, to get effective coverage, you should use about a shot glass of sunscreen on your body, and a teaspoon for the face.

Comment: For some of we round-bodied people, make that a Double Shot.<<<