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    Biking bro got the PayPal (5.00 / 5) (#1)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:00:53 PM EST
    cash I sent him Friday night. And he is now updating his on line journal.  These are all good signs.  He is somewhere in Kentucky, where the marigolds are still blooming.

    Good to hear he's making progress... (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by kdog on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:08:20 PM EST
    if he needs financing for the rest of the trip, he should buy a couple cartons of smokes in low-tax Kentucky and flip 'em in a more tyrannically taxed state along the way to Texas...or just have him ship me some Reds and I'll take care of him...but it would have to be via Western Union...no paypal here:)

    Parent
    Excellent. I will put you two in contact! (none / 0) (#7)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:11:44 PM EST
    To stay on the Kinks theme... (none / 0) (#29)
    by kdog on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 04:49:05 PM EST
    I need my Harry Rag!

    Parent
    Urban Dictionary says that means (none / 0) (#30)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:00:29 PM EST
    "cigarette."  But the complete history of the Kinks indicates otherwise.  

    Parent
    It is cockney rhyming slang... (none / 0) (#34)
    by kdog on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:16:42 PM EST
    for cigarette...he played that one too.

    The Kinks weren't as into dope as other bands of that era, especially Ray.  Unless you count Alcohol.

    Parent

    I'm kind of jealous (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by CST on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:15:50 PM EST
    of your brother.

    I wish I had a sister who would/could finance me on a cross-country biking trip :)

    Parent

    Not intentionally! (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:17:30 PM EST
    I think all those yrs. in Sunday School ruined me for saying no.  Do unto others.  

    Parent
    There's an idea (none / 0) (#11)
    by CST on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:25:07 PM EST
    I bet if I just left they would help me out.  Unfortunately, they can't really afford to... and I might feel somewhat guilty.

    Parent
    Now you've got the idea. (none / 0) (#12)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:26:44 PM EST
    He must be physically fit (none / 0) (#44)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 06:12:12 PM EST
    Don't you have any chores :)

    Parent
    He is very fit, but not a young man. (5.00 / 2) (#45)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 06:25:03 PM EST
    I just talked to him.  Sore achilles tendon is improving.  

    I am off too treat tutoree and his cousins to ice skating.  While I watch!  

    Parent

    Three Latino boys, born and raised in (none / 0) (#64)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 11:13:34 PM EST
    Southern California, who ice skate, at most, once a year.  Definite improvement over last year for two of them--even trying some fancy moves.  Fearless and fun.

    Parent
    I know exactly what you mean (none / 0) (#73)
    by ruffian on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 06:50:10 AM EST
    Going through the same thing right now, without nearly as interesting a backstory as a bike riding brother.

    Family though, what can ya do?

    Parent

    At Kentucky Dam Lake Village: (none / 0) (#20)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:54:14 PM EST
    We have friends at Fort Knox (none / 0) (#42)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 06:06:53 PM EST
    All they do is fish and water ski, fish and water ski.  They also bought a party barge thing that does nothing except sit in the middle of big water while people party on it and jump off of it.  We took them with us to the beach this summer and tried to literally fry them alive rolled lightly in sugary sand :)

    Parent
    MT, just for fun, (5.00 / 1) (#68)
    by Spamlet on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 12:05:22 AM EST
    here is your post as a free-verse poem.

    We have friends at Fort Knox.
    All they do is fish
    and water ski, fish
    and water ski.
    They also bought a party
    barge thing that does nothing
    except sit in the middle
    of big water
    while people party on it
    and jump off of it.
    We took them with us
    to the beach this summer
    and tried
    to literally fry them
    alive
    rolled lightly
    in sugary sand.


    Parent

    I read that (5.00 / 1) (#70)
    by Cream City on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 12:23:48 AM EST
    and I hear bongos. . . .

    Parent
    William Shatner? (5.00 / 1) (#72)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 06:46:48 AM EST
    LOL (none / 0) (#75)
    by ruffian on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 06:52:02 AM EST
    Perfect!

    Parent
    My thought exactly. (none / 0) (#77)
    by scribe on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 06:59:23 AM EST
    For a guy who can't act too well (or, rather, has a pretty limited range) he's had a good, long career - all the way back to Judgment at Nuremberg, the original Twilight Zone, and Howdy Doody.  

    That's a career going on 60 years....

    He was in those beatnik coffeehouses.  He knows the poetry-reading drill.

    Parent

    Or maybe the guy speaking (none / 0) (#80)
    by scribe on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 07:23:13 AM EST
    in this ad, in heavy rotation up in Maine?

    Parent
    That is perfect (none / 0) (#86)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:36:05 AM EST
    Just took Josh to school and came home to this...it's terrific :)  I could listen to this guy talk all day about nothing.

    Parent
    Come on up to Maine (none / 0) (#93)
    by scribe on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 09:04:03 AM EST
    While not a lot of people talk as thickly as he does, it's still audible in a lot of voices.

    And, FWIW, live lobstah's going for $3.99/lb at the fishmongers', maybe a little less off the dock.  Almost as cheap as burgers.

    Parent

    The knock out roses that survive here (none / 0) (#40)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 06:03:31 PM EST
    are gorgeous right now as are the camellias and the begonias.  It just hasn't quite gotten cold enough to discourage anything, and everything is so relieved that the killing heat is gone.

    Parent
    I planted knock-outs in Orlando too (5.00 / 1) (#76)
    by ruffian on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 06:57:33 AM EST
    This summer. I had never tried roses, and a friend suggested them. They are amazing! Did great all summer, and got a little rejuvenation when the weather cooled off a few weeks ago. The plants have grown about three times the size.

    For a while I thought an armadillo was disturbing my garden, then one day last week I saw my golden retriever sleeping in there. Too cute.

    Parent

    How is mold there? (none / 0) (#74)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 06:51:12 AM EST
    My father lived in Hilo for about ten years but I never did visit him between school and then single motherhood.  He did a lot of remodeling work there and wound up his career there.  He ended up building a horse barn that was made out of insecticide soaked wood.  All the warning tags had been removed and the construction crew handled it all with bare hands, terrible things happened after that.  I think my dad is the only one of that crew still alive.

    Parent
    for those who (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:03:03 PM EST
    Ha! Well that is some consolation (5.00 / 1) (#78)
    by ruffian on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 07:02:20 AM EST
    I suppose. I have been having issues with my father recently, but at least he isn't Charles Manson.


    Parent
    And he's not planning on cutting his hair. (none / 0) (#3)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:07:20 PM EST
    I like this part (none / 0) (#6)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:10:26 PM EST
    Despite his revulsion Mr Roberts has been exchanging mail with Manson


    Parent
    I would be interested in learning how (none / 0) (#10)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:22:18 PM EST
    Terry's life turned out.

    Parent
    I wouldn't know what to do with this (none / 0) (#88)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:43:25 AM EST
    We all have to psychologically reconcile our roots to some degree.  There is something so brilliant about Charles Manson on camera in the scariest way I've ever experienced too.  I wonder what it is like being around him in person?

    Parent
    it would be (none / 0) (#89)
    by Capt Howdy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:46:44 AM EST
    difficult to NOT communicate in some way.  I guess none of us knows what we would do in that situation.
    thank god.


    Parent
    The people who occupy (none / 0) (#92)
    by Inspector Gadget on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:53:22 AM EST
    the cells around him are not petty thieves. They are all hardcore.

    Parent
    Isn't he isolated from others (none / 0) (#91)
    by Inspector Gadget on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:50:29 AM EST
    and in one of those extreme cells where he doesn't get to mix?

    Parent
    I've seen interviews with him (none / 0) (#94)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 09:04:37 AM EST
    that were approved.  Don't know what that takes to get done but they've done them.  

    Parent
    At best, it must be unsettling (none / 0) (#96)
    by Inspector Gadget on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 09:35:51 AM EST
    I'd be unable to be that close to his energy.

    Parent
    I'm always curious (none / 0) (#102)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 05:32:32 PM EST
    about serial killers.  I wonder why they choose to do what they do.  Maybe if we talked to them?  Is he a serial killer?  I don't know, but he intrigues me.  My spouse says that I refuse to grasp that some people are dangerous and ought to be avoided at all cost.

    Parent
    The story (none / 0) (#46)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 06:30:52 PM EST
    is from a tabloid....gotta consider the source.

    Parent
    the story is (none / 0) (#84)
    by Capt Howdy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:19:00 AM EST
    everywhere


    Parent
    It is impossible (5.00 / 2) (#15)
    by Anne on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:44:06 PM EST
    to take the White House's "commitment" to health care, I mean, health insurance, reform seriously, when we read things like this (bold is mine):

    The Obama administration remains in talks with Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins even though both did not vote for Saturday's motion to proceed, according to White House official Linda Douglass.  

    Douglass, who is the communications director for the White House office for Health Reform, confirmed reports that the administration is still seeking the two centrist senators' votes for final cloture on the healthcare reform. In an interview on the liberal Bill Press radio show, Douglass heaped praise upon Snowe and Collins.

    "Senator Snowe has been very constructive throughout this discussion. She's very thoughtful about this issue," she said. "She has great concerns about her constituents in Maine as does Sen. Collins."

    [snip]

    Snowe on Saturday said that she spoke on the phone with President Barack Obama personally last week about her stance on healthcare reform legislation. The New York Times reported that Collins received a visit from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a former senator from Colorado, about her vote on the bill.

    Throughout the debate, Snowe has opposed the government-run public healthcare option as is it written in the legislation. She has indicated that she would support a "trigger" induced public option that would come into effect should health insurance companies fail to meet certain performance benchmarks.

    I guess all I can say is, are you f**king kidding me?


    Menendez on the bandwagon for triggers (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by MO Blue on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 04:10:33 PM EST
    Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) pushing the trigger:

    Speaking inside the Hoboken University Medical Center emergency room, Menendez said today a modified public option could draw support from U.S. Sens. Bill [sic - should be Ben] Nelson (D-Neb.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who announced their opposition to the elements of the bill over the weekend.

    Menendez suggested adding a so-called trigger clause, which would only put the public option into effect if certain conditions are not met in the future. These conditions could include expanded competition in the marketplace or a decrease in insurance premium costs.

    "There are other public options possible," Menendez said. "They have only said they oppose the public option in its current version." FDL



    Parent
    Ohhh. I just heard that Obama (none / 0) (#18)
    by Cream City on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:49:27 PM EST
    is holding his 10th meeting tonight with his staff and advisors on what to do in Afghanistan.  And again I thought, thank heavens that he is taking his time to try to get it right.

    But now I realize that he probably has had more meetings with Snowe and Collins.  

    So much for my brief moment of hope for change.

    Parent

    You must be kidding :) (none / 0) (#43)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 06:11:09 PM EST
    It's a war.  Its process is war.  He just needs to bring everyone home because this is ridiculous. You cannot be this indecisive and this slow at being indecisive and command wars.  Save a soldier, make Obama bring him home!

    Parent
    I do understand the military's impatience (none / 0) (#49)
    by Cream City on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 07:10:35 PM EST
    and am sorry for you and your family -- but after all, as I was taught as the wife of a veteran, the unofficial motto of the military is "Hurry up -- and wait."  Personally, I would hurry up to get them all home fast, too, but I don't know what Obama knows -- what he is hearing in all these meetings.  I could not sleep if I did.  

    And yeh, I heard Cheney today saying what you're saying, and he's so worried that our friends in the region are sitting around wondering and worrying about what we mean to do.  And to that, I say that's not all bad, either, since some over there seem to think they can just keep counting on us to keep putting up with their mess and cleaning up for them.  For them to find out that there is a limit to our patience could be a plus.

    All that said, I suspect that a major reason for the delay by the White House until the promised announcement next week is to put the announcement after Thanksgiving.  And that's not all bad, either.  I hope you and yours and others around you have as good a holiday as possible.

    Parent

    I doubt my reasons (none / 0) (#71)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 06:43:42 AM EST
    for wanting decisive action match Cheney's in any way.  Mine comes from knowledge about what incites those we face in Afghanistan.  Cheney's, history would argue, comes from a desire to display American aggression as naked and rabid as possible. And on that count Obama will always disappoint him because we have oversight now.  It is a completely differently run military all in a handful of months.  It is more like a Clinton military......and that military dealt with Bosnia.

    Parent
    Another part of the base thrown under the bus (none / 0) (#27)
    by MO Blue on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 04:14:11 PM EST
    On a conference call with reporters, US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reiterated the President's support for a controversial measure in the Senate health care bill that would ban undocumented immigrants from purchasing insurance coverage on the exchanges with their own money.

    Sebelius was asked if she thought undocumented workers should be allowed on the exchange, and she replied, "The President has made it clear that he feels undocumented immigrants should be able to purchase health insurance in the private market, not on the exchange." FDL



    Parent
    LEGAL IMMIGRANTS are also included if they (none / 0) (#62)
    by suzieg on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 10:11:03 PM EST
    have not been in the country for more than 5 years - so much for them waiting years to get in legally - they're penalized because of the ones who came in illegally - can we just start all over again - this stinks to high heaveans!

    Parent
    What? Wait, what? Link for that? (none / 0) (#67)
    by Cream City on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 11:58:01 PM EST
    I'm going to be so furious if that is so -- my immigrant daughter-in-law gave up great national health care to come here and has been through such ridiculous obstacles and costs and delays to do it all so legally.  Link for that?!

    Parent
    Do your son and d-i-l ever consider (none / 0) (#87)
    by Inspector Gadget on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:38:08 AM EST
    moving to Australia? The economy didn't get hit so hard there, and they could probably find jobs. The healthcare is certainly already in place for all.

    Parent
    I bought some expensive (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:59:00 PM EST
    chocolate infused foo foo coffee last week.  It's terrible.  I feel like I'm forcing it down every morning.  Can't do it anymore, but I have sinned in the area of wasteful fiscal responsibility so I picked up some cheap vacuum packed New Orleans style coffee with chicory this morning to make up for it.  It's like the best chit EVER!  I'm even having it for dinner too, on ice.

    Love that chicory coffee (5.00 / 2) (#41)
    by Cream City on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 06:05:58 PM EST
    that I've brought home from NOLA in past.  Now all you need is beignets and pralines.  Well, some jambalaya and crayfish etouffe would be good, too.:-)

    Parent
    Coffee / Chicory tip - Go to your Viet market (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by Ellie on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 07:27:55 PM EST
    Coffee & Chic's a French standard which became the main ingredient in Vietnamese Style coffee (during the land's IndoChine days.) The "everyday" French Market brand's good for your routine drip coffeemaker.

    There's an excellent Vietnamese blend I stock up on whenever I'm at their market. I recognize the bag but but I'm at a loss for how to translate it. This might help. Love the stuff, dark, with foamed whole milk or even that yucky canned milk!

    Parent

    I had a meeting on Saturday at the (none / 0) (#47)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 06:33:19 PM EST
    Montgomery Dog Show. Odom's bulldogs of Alabama always cooks all day long in their motorhome and then puts on a giant spread that is invitation only.  I just happened to know the right people.  The Jambalaya was to die for.  And most of the people there were professional handlers. They sat around an open fire and told unbelieveable stories, like how a very old couple was at a show some years ago in Florida in their motorhome.  Enough dogs had shown up for there to be a major point in their breed but sadly the husband died late in the night.  His wife turned the air conditioning down as low as she could get it, and then asked the campers next to her to watch her motorhome while she went to show the dogs.  She explained to them what had happened but she would be right back :)

    Parent
    AP attempts offloading guilt on Holiday Shoppers (5.00 / 1) (#48)
    by Ellie on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 07:09:40 PM EST
    What's wrong with this picture?

    AP-GfK Poll: Debt turning shoppers into Scrooges by Jeannine Aversa, Ap Economics Writer

    WASHINGTON - A lot more Americans are feeling stressed out by debt this holiday season, raising the glum likelihood they'll behave like Scrooge rather than Santa.

    In fact, fully 93 percent say they'll spend less or about the same as last year, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. Half of all those polled say they're suffering at least some debt-related stress, and 22 percent say they're feeling it greatly or quite a bit. That second figure is up from 17 percent just last spring, despite all the talk about economic recovery.

    Most people -- 80 percent -- say they'll use mostly cash to pay for their holiday shopping, and that generally means buying less.

    Sure, this is a downer for retailers and banks.

    But what the persnickity hell? How are consumers at stingy fault here? Scrooge was a wealthy miser, as greedy about his wallet as his heart. This (fiendish!) example from the article is cutting back on her spending:

    Her husband, Robert, had been working two-full time jobs, as a mechanic at a garage and at an auto parts store. Recently his retail job was cut back to part time. "We don't have as much as we had last year," McGavin laments. They don't have health insurance and have racked up major medical bills.

    Heaven forfend the banks dial back their holiday predation, esp. after that bailout orgy coming on top of their Bush era orgy!

    I know I'm not alone in believing that the holidays aren't about scoring the highest debt in a crazed shopping spree. They're not even about that red faced squalling baby pooping his big diaper for a solid month as a kind of bratty Advent.

    (I refer, of course, to Bill O'Reilly.)

    They're about taking a vacation from all that.

    How about getting some much needed time to spend with people you'd love to see more often? Or, sending regrets to those you've seen way too much and are headed towards you like zombies attempting to dump fine regiftables on you, (eg, that Baha Men commemorative Who Let the Dogs Out mug the regifter just KNEW you had to have.)

    And, of course, feasting on some fine commestibles like you are the ravenous shark for a change.

    How unpatriotic. Obama just said so (5.00 / 1) (#50)
    by Cream City on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 07:13:05 PM EST
    the other day -- that we're all supposed to cut back on spending and save more.

    As ever, I suspect that this Friday, the American consumer will go ahead and do exactly as they planned to do, polls and presidents be d*mned.

    Parent

    I'm trying to decide whether or not (none / 0) (#95)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 09:09:40 AM EST
    to go out. The only thing I ever recall obtaining during a black Friday that seemed worth it were some sheet sets.  Now that I remember a Walmart employee died in a stampede last year I think I have made my own personal decision :)

    Parent
    sewers (none / 0) (#5)
    by jharp on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:09:49 PM EST
    Lovely.

    Nov 20, 2009 ... U.S. Fears Iraq Development Projects May Go to Waste ... In Falluja, west of Baghdad, a $98 million wastewater treatment plant built by the ...

    Basra hospital welcomes opening of new wastewater treatment plant

    Sep 29, 2005 ... U.S. Builds Water Treatment Plant in Dibis, Iraq ..

    CAMP VICTORY, Iraq - A delegation of officials from Basra and Umm Qasar visited Forward Operating Base Bucca, Iraq, Oct. 9 to celebrate completion of the first phase of the water distribution project at the base.

    Pretty hard on old NYC today... (none / 0) (#13)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:27:55 PM EST
    ...and yet nothing on the hate-crime charges being leveled in the LoDo gang assaults or the racist billboard?

    AGW takes a hit (none / 0) (#14)
    by Slado on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:32:53 PM EST
    Fraud

    Of course the AGW machinery is moving too fast for everyone to stop pretending CO2 causes warming tomorrow but this is a serous blow to the theory and it will be interesting how the believers rationalize this away.

    All you need to do (none / 0) (#32)
    by Fabian on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:12:37 PM EST
    to convince me is to present a climate model that will predict any changes for the next century and explain the reason for all changes.

    I'll compare that to the climate predictions from the AGW "machine".

    Then we'll see which models predict the changes most accurately.

    Naturally, I'd prefer a very robust model that covers as much territory as possible - ice caps, albedos, increased temperatures of oceans, land and atmosphere, increased/decreased cloud cover, changes in all aspects of precipitation, catastrophic weather events and so on.

    Parent

    Nonsense (none / 0) (#63)
    by gyrfalcon on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 11:07:02 PM EST
    You are way, way too gullible.  You will never find truth in publications with such a blatant agenda.  But you knew that.

    Parent
    I'm missing something on the legislative (none / 0) (#16)
    by ChiTownDenny on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:47:09 PM EST
    process in the Senate.  I thought once the Senate voted by a fiibuster-proof 60, a proposed bill goes through amendment and then a simple majority gets is passed, then to be merged with the House bill.  Isn't this where we're at with HCR, 60 filibuster-proof votes?  MOblue tried to explain but I just read another article on another site and I'm just confused about the process because I'm also reading that 60 votes are still needed to get it to  the amendment point.
    Any smart people out there?

    They need (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by CST on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:51:30 PM EST
    60 votes to open debate, and 60 votes to close it, before they go to reconciliation with the house bill.

    They got the 60 to open and start talking, now they need 60 to stop talking.

    Parent

    Thanks. (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by ChiTownDenny on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:55:59 PM EST
    I think I missed the part about  opening AND closing debate.  What a fricked set of rules.  How does anything get done.  Oh, wait.  I think I know the answer.

    Parent
    Not to nitpick, but I think you meant (none / 0) (#22)
    by Anne on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:59:12 PM EST
    "go to conference" with the House bill; reconciliation would be something altogether different.

    Parent
    right (none / 0) (#23)
    by CST on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 04:00:49 PM EST
    yes that's what i meant

    Parent
    although techinically (none / 0) (#24)
    by CST on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 04:01:33 PM EST
    it's also "before" reconciliation.   If that were to occur :)

    Parent
    And specifically, (none / 0) (#17)
    by ChiTownDenny on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 03:48:43 PM EST
    are there 2 opportunities to filibuster?

    Parent
    Omigoddess. (none / 0) (#26)
    by Cream City on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 04:13:26 PM EST
    I don't know.  But if is a goddess, the answer will be no.:-)

    Parent
    It seems you need 60 (none / 0) (#28)
    by ChiTownDenny on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 04:39:06 PM EST
    filibuster-proof votes to open debate, where  we are now, and then 60 filibuster-proof votes to end debate.  What a messed up system.  Time to change the Senate rules.
    Also messed up is the fact that I'm all over the blogosphere and only just now know the process.  I recall one of the front-pagers on Kos trying to outline the process, but, zzzzzz, head scratch, zzzzzz.

    Parent
    Just heard on the "Ed Show" (none / 0) (#35)
    by ChiTownDenny on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:16:57 PM EST
    that Senate is considering changing the rules on filibustedr.  Gee, ya think?

    Parent
    The sewer situation... (none / 0) (#31)
    by kdog on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:06:23 PM EST
    seems like a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone...infrastructure upgrades and job creation.  Perhaps a massive undertaking to seperate rain water systems from sewage systems....and reclaim the rain water for non-potable uses like flushing toilets, which would also conserve precious potable water for drinking and bathing.

    An opportunity that we will surely blow with our whacked-out priorities...too bad we can't pipe the sewage overflow right to Wall St and let them welfare queens down there live in it....or the Pentagon.  Then we'd see how fast those two leecherous sectors would give up some funding for such a project...when they're up to their ankles in p*ss and sh*t.

    Our fair city (none / 0) (#33)
    by Fabian on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:14:48 PM EST
    is already doing EPA mandated work on our sewers for exactly those reasons.

    Residents will also be happier when heavy rains don't cause sewer back ups in their basements.  

    Parent

    Cool... (none / 0) (#36)
    by kdog on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:21:46 PM EST
    thats good to hear Fabian...alotta NYC is literally falling apart. So much work to do, so little will to prioritize with city/state fundage.

    Parent
    If it's anything like Boston (5.00 / 1) (#65)
    by gyrfalcon on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 11:14:39 PM EST
    and it probably is, it's even more massive and expensive a project than you realize because they don't know where a huge proportion of these various pipes are.  To find them and separate them in just one suburban area bordering Cambridge and the neighboring town when I last lived there five years ago was estimated at $3 to $4 billion-- that's billion with a B.

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    Yup (none / 0) (#85)
    by CST on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:26:59 AM EST
    I worked on a project like this in Pittsburgh too where we were trying to get people to disconnect their downspouts from the stormwater drains - where the drainage from houses went right into the combined stormwater and sewer system.  As far as I am aware that was a problem unique to Pittsburgh.  The point of the project though was to control stormwater at the source through the use of rain barrels.  I think that principal has to be the only way to move forward on this.  You already see stormwater retention in new developments and even some roadway design. Trying to control it in the pipes is a lost cause.

    If anyone is interested, there are rainbarrels that control for mosquitos.  And if you really want to go the extra mile, get rid of your lawn.  Grass is what we call "green concrete" since it's not very permeable and most water runs right off it into the street during storms.  Native plants (weeds) are usually much better at soaking up stormwater.

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    I don't doubt it... (none / 0) (#90)
    by kdog on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:46:51 AM EST
    massive massive massive...but if we cancelled the occupations and drug war and some other nonsense it could be done...and think of all those good jobs, and the green factor.

    Reclaimed water is the future...especially in areas prone to drought...why always wait till a crisis ya know?

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    You're absolutely right on the two birds (none / 0) (#52)
    by scribe on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 07:31:13 PM EST
    thing, but you know that makes entirely too much sense.

    I'm writing an extended comment, which really deserves to be a diary and now is, over here in the diaries....

    I hate to tell you, New York, but failures like the failure to address the sewer problems you have is a chapter title in the book named "How Great Cities Die".

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    About the GPS thingie ... (none / 0) (#37)
    by nyrias on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:25:06 PM EST
    "The government obtained evidence against Mr. Jones by putting a GPS device on his Jeep. It obtained a court order to install the GPS device, but the defense said the order was faulty, and tried to get the evidence collected by the device thrown out."

    Why don't the govt just argued that it has the proper court order? Do they really have a problem with that court order?

    The government's ability (none / 0) (#38)
    by MKS on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 05:46:15 PM EST
    to track you is becoming overwhelming.....Your cell phone will give you away...every time you use a credit or debit card.  Cameras everywhere....

    And, we have all kinds of laws that should be repealed, e.g., drug laws....If the government wants to get you, it can find something to charge you with....

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    If my cell phone is on (none / 0) (#69)
    by JamesTX on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 12:12:31 AM EST
    I can locate myself in 5 minutes on the internet within a few meters. If I can do it, they can certainly do it without getting up from their desks. Criminal intelligence has the same goals and fantasies as everyone else when it comes to computers. Their aim, which is pretty much a reality now, is to be able to implement 24/7 audio/video/GPS without ever leaving the office. They just log on and activate your equipment. You pay for your own surveillance!

    Given that, the economics of the situation favor them. If the technology is there, we're probably not going to be able to stop them.

    For a couple of decades there, talk about books like 1984 and This Perfect Day were seen as exaggerations and worst-case scenarios.  Nobody even talks about those books anymore, because it is no longer an exaggeration. It's real and it's here. It may be time to start looking at that literature again for some solutions. With the Republican-stacked federal judiciary, the solution isn't going to be found in rules of evidence and probable cause arguments. If we are waiting on that, it is clear that the answer is going to be just like everything else that they have decided since Reagan got the upper hand: Forget it. Cops can do anything they want if they are "thinking good thoughts".

    I don't know where we go from here. It doesn't look good. Will there be a need for legal system after they take away all rights?

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    On an important note (none / 0) (#54)
    by CoralGables on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 08:29:42 PM EST
    Why no Jeralyn update on DWTS? They may have to filibuster to keep voting open to get any result other than Mya. It's also fun to watch Kelly but not so much for her skill as her progress.

    Short a midlife crisis female voting output for Donny, he is unlikely to catch Mya.

    The only thing (none / 0) (#59)
    by CoralGables on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 09:27:26 PM EST
    I remember about Hawaii 5-O was...
    Book 'em Danno.

    As for PBS, Saturday night I managed to catch a double feature of Harry and Tonto followed by Mississippi Burning because our local football broadcast wasn't the great Oregon/Arizona game.

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    Mmmm. 5-0. (none / 0) (#61)
    by scribe on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 09:50:04 PM EST
    In the 80s, when "Hawaii 5-0" was in daily reruns on one of the local NYC channels, calls of "5-0" were used by kids to tell other kids the cops were coming.

    Then there was the opera "The Manson Family", composed by John Moran, in which one of the characters was Steve X, originally named Steve McGarrett (the Jack Lord chracter in 5-0) but later renamed after CBS complained about possible copyright infringement.  I recall one of the reviews concerning the opera to have stated that McGarrett was included in the opera because the storylines of 5-0 changed after the Manson Family crimes in the summer of 1969.  Prior to that time, the storylines of 5-0 dealt with pretty generic cop/detective show themes:  smugglers, mobsters/gangsters, murders, high-end robberies, etc.  After Manson, 5-0 turned to almost exclusively Establishment and Order v. DFH/Mansonites and drug-adled disorder.  

    Jack Lord's perfectly coiffed and business-suited cop went after cleaning up the hippie disorder every week. Represented a turning point in the culture, though we may not have noticed it at the time....

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    The gangs used 5-0 that way (none / 0) (#79)
    by ruffian on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 07:13:17 AM EST
    On the show 'the Wire' too. That was one of the things that hooked me on that show. Details that a writer probably did not dream up - had to come from real life.

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    There was a point where (none / 0) (#82)
    by scribe on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 07:34:41 AM EST
    yelling "5-0" was by itself enough in NYC to get you arrested for obstruction.

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    More to your point though... (none / 0) (#81)
    by ruffian on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 07:27:42 AM EST
    I was a kid at the time, 9-12 or so,  watching those shows- 5-0, Dragnet, etc. and do remember the point where the DFHs became the targets. I did not make the connection with the wider world events at the time, but now it is very clear to see. Those shows probably had a big impact on how tail end boomers like myself came to view our older boomer counterparts. Some went on to be law and order DFH hating Reaganites and others like myself, while not going to the right, still, to be honest, did not have much understanding of the hippie culture. I had a 5 yrs  older brother so I had a little more to go on than the TV version, but in general mass media did not help the cause of peace and love. Rock and roll did fine however since it could be sold.

    Anyway thanks for the ideas. Some of the best early morning ruminating i've had in my jet lagged early mornings!  

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    I remember one episode of (none / 0) (#83)
    by scribe on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 07:38:14 AM EST
    Dragnet (the Jack Webb/ pre-M*A*S*H* Harry Morgan iteration) where they were investigating some DFH for something or other (disrespecting property flavor of crime) and, when the longhair fessed up, it turned out that he went bad because he'd been reading Flaubert.   Webb and Morgan then engaged themselves in ritualized headshaking over "these kids today.  What's gotten into their heads...".

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    No better Dragnet than... (none / 0) (#97)
    by Dadler on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 09:51:24 AM EST
    It's up there in the Pantheon (none / 0) (#99)
    by scribe on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 11:03:39 AM EST
    of all time TV episodes.

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    Was that put out... (none / 0) (#100)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 01:47:03 PM EST
    ...around the same time as Art Linkletter's daughter fell to her death while having a bad LSD trip and "trying to fly"?

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    To play oculus... (none / 0) (#101)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 03:33:12 PM EST
    ...and answer my own question--no, the episode came a couple of years before Diane Linkletter's death.  No indication of drugs in her system either, although that certainly was the popular myth at the time as I recall.  

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