Poop For Peace!

Evening Sam!

Happy Holidays to you.

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Mary Fitzmas!

"Blues Of Bechet" Sidney Bechet One Man Band 1941 01:49

Qaeda-backed group offers U.S. safe Iraq exit: Web
Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:17 PM ET

http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-12-22T211645Z_01_KAM032718_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-QAEDA.xml

By Firouz Sedarat

DUBAI (Reuters) - The leader of an al Qaeda-backed group offered to refrain from attacking U.S. forces if they withdrew from Iraq within a month and left their heavy weapons behind, according to an audio tape posted on the Internet on Friday.

"We call on (President George W.) Bush not to waste this historic opportunity which insures you a safe withdrawal," said the speaker, identified as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, head of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq, which was announced in October by al Qaeda and groups linked to it.

The authenticity of the tape could not be verified, but it was posted on two main Web sites used by al Qaeda and other insurgent groups in Iraq.

"We are awaiting your response within two weeks of this announcement," said the speaker in the tape, which was dated December 22. He said insurgent groups would refrain from attacking withdrawing U.S. forces if they left within a month.

Baghdadi was a little-known militant before Sunni militant groups including al Qaeda announced what they described as an Islamic state in Iraq. Baghdadi was named as the head of the state and in November, the leader of Iraq's al Qaeda wing -- Abu Hamza al-Muhajir -- vowed allegiance to him.

The recording was posted on the Internet hours after Defense Secretary Robert Gates ended a visit to Iraq aimed at finding a new strategy to curb violence and allow U.S. troops to withdraw.

"You (Bush) wasted the opportunity of the truce offered to you by the sheikh of the mujahideen, Osama bin Laden, may God protect him," the speaker on the tape said.

In January, bin Laden warned in an audio tape that al Qaeda was preparing new attacks inside the United States, but said the group was open to a conditional truce with the Americans. Washington said it did

I like the idea of leaving Iraq.

leaving our heavy weapons behind?

not so much...

hello bloggers

Hello, Sea Cat.

I hope you and your family are enjoying the season!

"I Wish I Had You" Billie Holiday & Her Orch 1938 02:49

Most outrageous comments of 2006

How extreme were conservative commentators in their remarks this year? How about calls to nuke the Middle East and an allegation that a "gay ... mafia" used the congressional page program as its own "personal preserve." Right-wing rhetoric documented by Media Matters for America included the nonsensical (including Rush Limbaugh's claim that America's "obesity crisis" is caused by, among other things, our failure to "teach [the poor] how to butcher a -- slaughter a cow to get the butter, we gave them the butter"), the offensive (such as right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel's question about "Barack Hussein Obama": is he "a man we want as President when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?"), and the simply bizarre (such as William A. Donohue's claim that some Hollywood stars would "sodomize their own mother in a movie"). Since there were so many outrageous statements, we included a list of honorable mentions along with the top 11, which, if not for Ann Coulter, we might have limited to 10.

The top 11 (in chronological order):

http://mediamatters.org/items/200612220013

Cheney gets a raise. “President Bush signed an executive order Thursday to raise the pay of federal workers, members of Congress and Vice President Dick Cheney in the new year.” (The federal minimum wage — $5.15 an hour — hasn’t been raised since 1996.)

UPDATE: “Congress opted to put off its pay increases until Feb. 16, not Jan. 1, on the urging of the incoming Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. They say no pay raise should kick in until Congress approves an increase in the federal minimum wage.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/12/22/cheney-gets-a-raise/

"What next? Hitler backpacks? Pol Pot cookware? Pinochet pantyhose?" wrote Investor's Business Daily in an editorial earlier this month, citing the Guevara case as a model of "tyrant-chic."..

HAHAHA!

Almost as good as Bush Beer
How about Fidel Fridgerators and Hugo Heaters.

The top 11 (in chronological order):

http://mediamatters.org/items/200612220013

Posted by: toniD at December 22, 2006 8:49 PM

this must have been one of the hardest to edit lists ever.

The IRS has “cut deeply the time that it spends auditing the nation’s largest corporations.” New data shows the IRS “had reduced the time spent on each audit by 21 percent in the last five years, to 958 hours from 1,210 hours. At the same time, the number of actual audits, which had increased in the last two years, has fallen back to the level of 2002.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/business/21tax.html?ex=1324357200&en=2f6f11bb413a1a7d&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

“Four days before Christmas, President Bush granted pardons to 16 people, including a man convicted of dealing methamphetamine and another who, along with his family, donated to the Republican National Committee and the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.”

http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=2744531

Three U.S. servicement died in Iraq yesterday, “putting December on track to be among the deadliest months of the year.” The death toll of 2,959 “is now just 14 shy of the commonly accepted total of deaths in the U.S.” on 9/11. “At the current rate this month, the 9/11 figure could be eclipsed just before or on Christmas Day.”

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003524348

“The Bush administration is increasingly at odds with some Republicans over its efforts to make journalists reveal confidential sources.” The tension will come to a head in 2007, when Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) “plan to reintroduce legislation limiting the government’s power to force journalists to disclose confidential sources.”

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116674758240357303-TqYkT1kPK73o3R2YetM2XrS_pzE_20071222.html?mod=blogs

Hi Cathy! I went for a long walk this afternoon in the cold rain. Not one other person in the park. Was thinking of you PNW'ers. :)

National Review Pundit: Death of Turkmen Dictator Gives The U.S. More ‘Options’ To Strike Iran
Today, Saparmurat Niyazov, the dictator of Turkmenistan, died of heart disease. He was one of the most brutal and quixotic heads of state in the world:

Mr. Niyzazov forbade independent news media and opposition parties, jailed rivals or drove them to exile, and imposed his name, words and image on all manner of public discourse and life. His face appears on Turkmen currency. His name, given to streets and buildings, is in such abundant local use that it replaced the word January on the official Turkmen calendar.

His pronouncements, many of them disconnected from the normal affairs of state, were sometimes strange enough to assume an irreverent life on the Internet. He banned video games, gold teeth, opera and ballet, and once encouraged his people to chew on bones — good, he said, for their teeth.

For the National Review General blogger Mario Loyola, Niyazov’s death means a military strike on Iran is an even better idea:

It is possible that the incoming leadership (whenever it does finally settle down) will prove eagerly pro-American, going so far as to permit a U.S. base in the country. This would close the ring around Iran, and dramatically increase the tactical options (e.g., helicopter missions) for any future U.S. operations in the vicinity of Tehran, which is close to the Turkmeni border, and which includes several major nuclear installations.

According to a bi-partisan group of military experts — it doesn’t matter what direction you come from — there are no good military options in Iran.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/12/21/niyzazov-iran/

"Be Bop Romp" Fats Navarro Quintette 1947 02:38

Fats Navarro Quintette

Fats Navarro (tp) Charlie Rouse (ts)
Tadd Dameron (p) Nelson Boyd (b)
Art Blakey (d)
NYC, December 5, 1947

EXCLUSIVE NEW YEAR'S EVE STREAM
OF LIVE AT THE COW PALACE 1976

As a special treat for Dead Heads around the world, Live At The Cow Palace, New Years Eve 1976 will be streamed in its entirety at dead.net( javascript:ol('http://images.mail-mgr.com/inbound-cgi/dtchttp.dll?TL:SO%3d5%26amp;TL%3dhttp://www.dead.net/cpstream%26amp;Pref%3d%26amp;M%3d20651%26amp;C%3d1185458175%26amp;E%3d19339481%26amp;I%3d79541');) for all of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day beginning at 12:01 AM PST on December 31 and ending on January 1 at 11:59 PM PST.

WELDON'S FILES SOUGHT BY GRAND JURY
"A federal grand jury has subpoenaed congressional records from Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) as part of an escalating Justice Department corruption probe aimed at determining whether Weldon used his influence to win favors for family members, people familiar with the investigation said."
[LA Times]

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-weldon22dec22,1,1682210.story?coll=la-headlines-politics

GOP Silence Update: Goode's Deed Goes Unpunished
By Justin Rood - December 22, 2006, 4:33 PM
Capitol Hill is all but empty, and I have to admit defeat in my effort to find one Republican lawmaker to substantively address Rep. Virgil Goode's (R-VA) argument to reduce legal immigration and end visa policies which have "allow[ed] many persons from the Middle East to come to this country."

Our final long-shots -- calls to Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Ray LaHood (R-IL), both grandchildren of Lebanese immigrants -- garnered nothing.

Of course, it's the Friday before Christmas, so many offices were empty, press aides were unreachable, or members were traveling. And who knows -- a couple flacks said they'd respond by 5 p.m., so they've got a few minutes. But I think it's pretty safe to say that no GOPer wants to touch this issue. Calls to the RNC, the NRCC, all GOP presidential candidates, the House GOP leadership, and a number of rank-and-file Republicans garnered not a single response. Were it not for a snoring dog here at the D.C. bureau, I would say I could hear crickets.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002227.php

REGULATORS: WORKERS AT NY NUCLEAR PLANT FEAR RETRIBUTION
"Some workers at a nuclear power plant complex just north of New York City are reluctant to raise safety concerns because they fear retribution, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday."
[AP]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/12/21/nrc_nuclear_workers_fear_retribution/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News+%2F+Nation

Sundance blog documentary next week
by John in DC - 12/22/2006 05:09:00 PM

The Sundance channel is going to be showing a documentary next week about political blogs and the election. They interviewed a ton of us on both sides of the political spectrum, and the guy who put it together was very cool and interesting. It should be a good show. You can check it out next Thursday, but also several days after that - check your listings:

Thu 12/28 10:00 PM 118 SUNDAE
Duration: 1 hour

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/sundance-blog-documentary-next-week.html

Allstate insurance - no more policies for coastal areas
by Chris in Paris - 12/22/2006 03:09:00 PM

With the seas warming, it's no wonder they want nothing to do with insuring properties in the danger zone. The storms are getting worse and moving up the coast, but the GOP doesn't believe global warming is an issue. When a Fortune 500 company makes a move like this, you would think some might take notice.

I also think back to the brilliant ideas that the Reagan administration started when they thought selling off wetlands made sense. Building on critical wetlands, whether in the Gulf in Mississippi or Louisiana or up along the Chesapeake Bay was a bad idea twenty five years ago and looks only worse today.

Allstate also decided recently to let thousands of homeowner policies lapse in the Carolinas, New York and Texas, and to no longer write new policies in parts of Virginia and all of Connecticut, Delaware and New Jersey.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/allstate-insurance-no-more-policies.html

REGULATORS: WORKERS AT NY NUCLEAR PLANT FEAR RETRIBUTION

Posted by: toniD at December 22, 2006 9:25 PM

Whistleblowers.

An Iron Horse Washing Motor Pix:

http://www3.telus.net/Art-Adventures/IronHorse/

Ever notice how the holiday depression seems to strike about this time of year?

there's really nothing like this time of year to get out and look at all the happy people and then judge yourself against the fullfilment you see.

I wish Ono was here, he'd understand...

a gas powered washing machine?

nothing like this time of year to get out and look at all the happy people and then judge yourself against the fullfilment you see. CB...

Do you mean to tell me that not everyone has a second home in the tropics or desert there? ;)

Do you mean to tell me that not everyone has a second home in the tropics or desert there? ;)

Posted by: chIMPEACHer at December 22, 2006 9:42 PM

one of the downsides of being on deathrow is the lack of vacation time...

looks like a single cylinder vdub engine!

>>An Iron Horse Washing Motor Pix:

I still can't figure out where you put the clothes in...

btw Jim and CB...

I'm testing SJ's theory of web browser vs blog refresh rates on a macbook with a VM of windoze and firefox installed. Firefox beats Safari hands down. That's right, the main systems' browser is SLOWER than it's VM systems. Go figure!

Just sold a bunch of AAR buttons and magnets at a peace gathering! AAR rules in North Florida even if we can only hear it on the Internet and XM! Long live liberal radio!

"Sweets" Count Basie Octet 1950 02:25

Count Basie Octet

Clark Terry (tp,vcl) Buddy DeFranco (cl) Charlie Rouse (ts)
Serge Chaloff (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g)
Jimmy Lewis (b) Buddy Rich (d) Neal Heft (arr)
May 16, 1950

Ever notice how the holiday depression seems to strike about this time of year?

there's really nothing like this time of year to get out and look at all the happy people and then judge yourself against the fullfilment you see.

I wish Ono was here, he'd understand...

Posted by: ÇħűБъÿ۞ßűБъå at December 22, 2006 9:37 PM

I understand Chubby. Especially this year!

Wow, simultaneously watching this report...
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/air/episodes_102.html

Photo of a colorful mixture of pills

Play Video
Episode 102
A Bitter Pill

Every prescription medicine you take is tested on humans before the Food and Drug Administration approves it for sale and use. But if you assumed those tests are always done smartly, safely and ethically under the watchful eye of expert regulators, you would be very, very wrong.

Perhaps even dead wrong.

That's what a team of investigative reporters from BLOOMBERG MARKETS magazine discovered in a yearlong investigation culminating in a devastating, award-winning report called "Big Pharma's Shameful Secret." The magazine shared with readers the closely-held secret that "across the U.S., the centers that do the testing -- and the regulators who watch them -- allow scores of people to be injured or killed."..

I understand Chubby. Especially this year!

Posted by: toniD at December 22, 2006 10:14 PM

thanks.

this is a tough one for a lot of us.

I hope things go better for you. you have all sorts of things going on.

at least you have a good crank detector, that's got to be a plus! ;)

Did American fire on Iraqis for sport?

U.S. security contractors allege their supervisor was ‘out of control’

WASHINGTON - Shane Schmidt was a U.S. Marine for seven years, the leader of a sniper unit. Chuck Shepard spent seven years in the U.S. Army. After leaving the military, each found his way into the legions of heavily armed private security contractors working in Iraq.

The two were working together on July 8, 2006, when they claim they witnessed what they believe was a crime. They say another American fired, unprovoked, into two Iraqi civilian vehicles. They say it started during a mission to Baghdad International Airport, when their supervisor, who was leaving Iraq the next day and was in the vehicle with them, made a troubling remark.

"He'd made a comment that he was going to kill somebody today," says Schmidt. "Kill someone."

The two men say they thought he was joking.

Shepard says the shift leader "immediately turns, opens the door, and fires seven to eight rounds into a taxi cab that we're overtaking, that we're passing."

The men claim the taxi rolled off the road, but that they are not sure if anyone was killed.

"I know that he shot at innocent civilians," says Shepard. "I know that we're trained very well on our marksmanship."

I understand Chubby. Especially this year!

Posted by: toniD at December 22, 2006 10:14 PM...

Err...
I lost my only sibling/sister to melanoma this last January, and a close cousin to coronary artery disease this last July. Both were in their mid forties. Needless to say it has been, by far, my worst year...ever!

Err...
I lost my only sibling/sister to melanoma this last January, and a close cousin to coronary artery disease this last July. Both were in their mid forties. Needless to say it has been, by far, my worst year...ever!

Posted by: chIMPEACHer at December 22, 2006 10:30 PM

you should have said something earlier.

here I've been hogging all the pity on the blog.

there is nothing tougher than losing a loved one. not that I've experienced, anyway. people who havebn't been through it just have no point of refference.

at least you have a good crank detector, that's got to be a plus! ;)

Posted by: ÇħűБъÿ۞ßűБъå at December 22, 2006 10:21 PM

The one in the car?

Photo of a colorful mixture of pills

Posted by: chIMPEACHer at December 22, 2006 10:16 PM

One pill does it all.

and it is tough to be around `happy' people at times.

especially tough for me are the people who are all about the "mushroom pop psychology" stuff if you know what I mean.

these guys who are telling us how we have to visualize this or that. and that we all make our own realities...

yeah, there is some truth to it...but not to the point that some of these people take it.

It was easy to believe that stuff 20 years ago when my head was full of mushrooms, pot, etc...

but I've sobered up. I haven't had a drink since the 80s...and the last toke I had was sometime in the summer.

I don't see a feel good philosopy that requires the use of mind altering drugs as particularly relevant to anything, certainly not to the big questions of life and death.

So when some 25 year old comes along and pretends to have all the answers...pardon me if I pass.

hey CB, I'm not seeking pity, maybe empathy to some extent. Fortunatly I have a niece and nephew to keep close to and distract myself with. Their father is an alchy, so basically my sis left me as their family mentor.

Definitely is a life changing experience....Just trying to make good out of it now.

The one in the car?

Posted by: toniD at December 22, 2006 10:38 PM

yes.

I think the auto industry gave you a freebie to keep you from posting bad stuff about them?

"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser

Cat videos -- unlike NBC News -- don't impart conservative misinformation

http://mediamatters.org/items/200612220011

Time magazine's selection of "You" as its "Person of the Year" has -- justifiably -- drawn criticism.

Writing for CJR Daily, for example, Christian Vachon argued, "By giving the award to 'You,' it effectively gave the award to no one. In doing so, it has insulted its readers with the assumption that they are too vain and gullible to know the difference."

Time's selection has been mocked by many of those it ostensibly honors (the magazine explained that it chose to honor online content creators "for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game.")

But perhaps the weightiest complaint came from NBC's Brian Williams, who suggested in an essay in Time that the democratization of the media comes at great "cost to our democracy":

The problem is that there's a lot of information out there that citizens in an informed democracy need to know in our complicated world with U.S. troops on the ground along two major fronts. Millions of Americans have come to regard the act of reading a daily newspaper -- on paper -- as something akin to being dragged by their parents to Colonial Williamsburg. It's a tactile visit to another time ... flat, one-dimensional, unexciting, emitting a slight whiff of decay. It doesn't refresh. It offers no choice. Hell, it doesn't even move. Worse yet: nowhere does it greet us by name. It's for everyone.

>>hey CB, I'm not seeking pity, maybe empathy to some extent.

I didn't mean to infer you were.

yes.

I think the auto industry gave you a freebie to keep you from posting bad stuff about them?

Posted by: ÇħűБъÿ۞ßűБъå at December 22, 2006 10:46 PM

Oh, and you know I would!!

One pill does it all.

Posted by: "NEWS CONSUMER" at December 22, 2006 10:42 PM...

nice...

"Nostalgia {Out of Nowhere)" Fats Navarro And His Band 1947 02:45

Fats Navarro And His Band

Fats Navarro (tp) Charlie Rouse (ts)
Tadd Dameron (p) Nelson Boyd (b)
Art Blakey (d)
New York: December 5, 1947

Oh, and you know I would!!

Posted by: toniD at December 22, 2006 10:48 PM

you should have held out for an Escalade! ;)

bbl

btw Thanks CB

I just may pull out that Purple Rain LP that's been sitting in a box for the last 18 years. ;)

NC, I am watching "House" and they just played
"Is dat you, Santa Claus by Sachmo!!

"Is dat you, Santa Claus by Sachmo!!

Posted by: toniD at December 22, 2006 11:02 PM

"Zat You,santa Claus?" Louis Armstrong & Commanders 1953 02:52

chimpy's Genie...

http://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/downloadimage.php?file=RJ_Matson.jpg

Santa's future workshop...

http://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/downloadimage.php?file=Vic_Harville_NorthPole.jpg

...I'm testing SJ's theory of web browser...
Posted by: chIMPEACHer at December 22, 2006 9:54 PM
-------------------------------------------------What? Are you crazy?

Hey Jim,

You out there?

...I'm testing SJ's theory of web browser...
Posted by: chIMPEACHer at December 22, 2006 9:54 PM
-----
What? Are you crazy?
Posted by: Crank Bait at December 22, 2006 11:34 PM
---------------------------------------------
Sorry. Just wanted to get my Sunny J digs in before the line formed...

SEYMOUR H:
 So, tell us about you and Israel. Are you anti-Semitic? Are you anti-Israel? I know you served there. Tell us about it.

    Scott Ritter: Well, first of all, I am not anti-Semitic, and I'm definitely not anti-Israeli.

    Seymour Hersh: You're certainly not a self-hating Jew, let's make that clear.

    Scott Ritter: No, I could be a self-hating goyim, but... Unless there's something in my past we haven't uncovered yet.

    Seymour Hersh: Like some senators, right?

To that person called chimpeach:

Bush is definitely the worst prez in history and responsible for thousands of needless deaths and all that but what the heck is this "chimpy" and "chimpeach" stuff? Are you talking about that thing that went around the web years ago that had photos of him with chimp photos? With all due respect, you are pretty damned lame. That was cute when it first came out but that was even before 9/11, much less Iraq. I haven't heard anyone even mention that thing in a long time and to do so now seriously minimalizes the horrid things he has done since. Every time I come across a post of yours, I get all creeped out. I really don't mean to be mean, but you are excruciatingly lame. Please grow up and grab a clue. What are you, 12?

...I haven't heard anyone even mention that thing in a long time and to do so now seriously minimalizes the horrid things he has done since. Every time I come across a post of yours, I get all creeped out. I really don't mean to be mean, but you are excruciatingly lame. Please grow up and grab a clue. What are you, 12?
Posted by: Anonymous Coward at December 22, 2006 11:37 PM
-----------------------------------------
He was ahead of the curve.

...you should have held out for an Escalade! ;)
Posted by: ÇħűБъÿ۞ßűБъå at December 22, 2006 10:54 PM
---------------------------------------------
I got fifty bucks that says that you won't ever see toniD in an Escalade without cuffs.

Earlier today, I heard on XM radio an announcement that XM's "America's Left" is moving to channel 167. This is the XM channel currently occupied by Air America. I've been googling news for an hour or so, and unable to find any reference to this move.

The implications are clear, though... XM's either moving AirAmericaRadio to another channel, or dropping it altogether.

I'd been picking up 'vibes' from the AirAmerica hosts as they signed off in the last couple of weeks, handing off to their 'vacation replacements'... I don't think I heard any of them make reference to a return in January.

I've noticed - over the years - that radio station owners, managers, and program directors never announce talent firings, show cancellations or programming changes in advance; rather, they seem to follow the philosophy, 'it's easier to get forgiveness than permission'... they spring changes without warning on listeners and advertisers alike.

Witness the shabby treatment of Marc Maron and Mike Malloy.

I never heard anything about what happened with Lizz Winstead, either, the first casualty of Air America's internal politics.

Perhaps the real talents of Air America will find solid footing elsewhere... Sam and Janeane, and Marc Maron and Jim Earle exhibited remarkable ability to grow into a new career as 'radio personalities', and I doubt that we've heard the last of them in any case...

Perhaps Air America needs to fold its tent and steal away into the night in order for a more structurally-sound radio network to rise up from its ashes...

Or...

Wouldn't it be kind of cool if Al Gore would turn his cable network - which has been laying idle lo these many months - over to the survivors of Air America's long-delayed collapse? Like Free Speech TV, with a sense of humor... I'd watch it.

---How To Identify Sunny J---

He's the guy in hobnail boots kick starting the Gentle Cycle.

I really don't mean to be mean, but you are excruciatingly lame. Please grow up and grab a clue. What are you, 12?

Posted by: Anonymous Coward at December 22, 2006 11:37 PM

I don't mean to ban asshole....

I'm the average 6.5. What are you, 3?

Posted by: chIMPEACHer at December 22, 2006 11:48 PM
-------------------------------------------------
An Atlanta subdivision wants your name...

To that person called chimpeach:

Bush is definitely the worst prez in history and responsible for thousands of needless deaths and all that but what the heck is this "chimpy" and "chimpeach" stuff? Are you talking about that thing that went around the web years ago that had photos of him with chimp photos? With all due respect, you are pretty damned lame. That was cute when it first came out but that was even before 9/11, much less Iraq. I haven't heard anyone even mention that thing in a long time and to do so now seriously minimalizes the horrid things he has done since. Every time I come across a post of yours, I get all creeped out. I really don't mean to be mean, but you are excruciatingly lame. Please grow up and grab a clue. What are you, 12?

Posted by: Anonymous Coward at December 22, 2006 11:37 PM

Ease the fuck up. This criticism of making light of a criminal leader could be levelled at countless political commentators. Do you trash Mel Brooks for his "Springtime for Hitler and Germany..."?

...He's the guy in hobnail boots kick starting the Gentle Cycle.
Posted by: Crank Bait at December 22, 2006 11:47 PM
-------------------------------------------------
One-quarter cup of bleach, one cup of detergent and one pint of oil per gallon of gas.

"I gets 300 tshirts per gallon!"

An Atlanta subdivision wants your name...

Posted by: Crank Bait at December 22, 2006 11:54 PM...

I was thinking of a street name in Brooklyn, but I'll take the royalties from the south.

"Off Minor" Thelonious Monk Septet 1957 05:15

Thelonious Monk Septet

Ray Copeland (tp) Gigi Gryce (as)
Coleman Hawkins (ts) John Coltrane (ts)
Thelonious Monk (p) Wilbur Ware (b)
Art Blakey (d)
Reeves Sound Studios, NYC, June 26, 1957

" These hilarious George W. Bush Coasterisms™ feature actual quotes from our Commander in Thief. Each tin coaster has a cork backing for a no slip grip and comes packaged as a set of four in a tin storage can complete with an 8 page booklet containing additional quotes.

This set of four coasters with photographs of the "Decider-in-Chimp" include the following quotes:

“Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”

“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.”

“I think we agree, the past is over.”

“It’s clearly a budget, it’s got a lot of numbers in it.”
READ THE COMPLETE REVIEW >>>

http://www.buzzflash.com/store/items/418

Maron Rocked this week.

night all, and thanks anon coward for kicking me on the downside. Your a true beacon of hope for this country through progressive thought and liberalism.

peace.

Posted by: chIMPEACHer at December 23, 2006 12:09 AM
-------------------------------------------------
Embarrassing Bush malapropisms are so yesterday...

off minor

sorta big band timing and harmonies on that one NC.

Night chIMPEACHer

good on ya bud, pleasant dreams.

maron was fun,

shoulda called in and teased both him and Sam.

Just to help you remember:

http://www.bushorchimp.com/images/pic86.jpg

I'm really disappointed that there wasn't a Wild Ones washing machine gang.

Or try this site:

http://www.bushorchimp.com/

I had a BLAST with Marc Maron

off minor

sorta big band timing and harmonies on that one NC.

Posted by: Sunshine Jim at December 23, 2006 12:17 AM

This is a short sample with Charlie Rouse.
Got some other arrangements too.

"Off Minor" Thelonious Monk Tentet 1959 03:23

Thelonious Monk Tentet

Donald Byrd (tp) Eddie Bert (tb)
Bob Northern (frh) Jay McAllister (tu)
Phil Woods (as) Charlie Rouse (ts)
Pepper Adams (bars) Thelonious Monk (p)
Sam Jones (b) Art Taylor (d)
"Town Hall", NYC, February 28, 1959

Night all. Work tomorrow,

Later

>>I really don't mean to be mean, but you are excruciatingly lame. Please grow up and grab a clue. What are you, 12?

Posted by: Anonymous Coward at December 22, 2006 11:37 PM

It was a play on Peaches. Gah.

Hello Bloggers. Just listened to Biden talk for awhile. It's on C Span's site.

He is full of shit. I am so sick of hearing this and that about Iraq. These people got voted in for a reason: to get us the hell out of Iraq.

I mean Jeebus, we have hungry people here in the US...... Biden talking bout its gonna cost a Trillion.

Dave said Biden got elected 30 yrs ago cause he bitched about Vietnam. Thirty Years!

:::uses powers to summon the light back:::

night T

best wishes for tomorrow, rest easy.

"Blue Monk" Thelonious Monk Quartet 1959 08:29

Thelonious Monk Quartet

Thelonious Monk (p Charlie Rouse (ts)
Sam Jones (b) Art Taylor (d)
"Town Hall", NYC, February 28, 1959

"Monk's Mood" Thelonious Monk Tentet 1959 10:22

Thelonious Monk Tentet

Donald Byrd (tp) Eddie Bert (tb) Bob Northern (frh) Jay McAllister (tu)
Phil Woods (as) Charlie Rouse (ts) Pepper Adams (bars)
Thelonious Monk (p) Sam Jones (b) Art Taylor (d)
"Town Hall", NYC, February 28, 1959

monk such an amazing musician

glad we have recordings. wish we had mozart on a record.

I had a BLAST with Marc Maron

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 12:24 AM

I'd like to BLAST you where it counts.

Can one get high off of mushroom pop psychology?

If so, what would be the recommended dosage?

I thought there was real meaning behind that nic...

monk such an amazing musician

glad we have recordings. wish we had mozart on a record.

Posted by: Sunshine Jim at December 23, 2006 12:40 AM

Knock out...

I thought there was real meaning behind that nic...

Posted by: Well, go ahead at December 23, 2006 12:49 AM

Like many names, it is imprecise. Yes, it can mean what you are thinking about.

B ig
L arge
A verage
S mall
T iny

recommended dosage?""

i'd reccomend the introductory chapter for first timers, but you know kids, if you don't keep em eye on em their into chapter 3 and staying up for hours tripping out.

I will be out for several minutes.

Psychogeography!

I'm eating a bagel with slices of cheese

Powerful Explosion!

monk such an amazing musician

Posted by: Sunshine Jim at December 23, 2006 12:40 AM

Those guys were great.

I'm eating a bagel with slices of cheese

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 12:54 AM

Manhattan hard water bagel?

I wish I can get Real Player to play the Monk thing... I need to update my operating system (Mac OS). I also can't get google earth yet :(

Did that zine arrive in today's mail?

fresh love

baked daily

must keep em eye on em kids/bagels

not yet... you know it always takes awhile to get it on this end :(

my turtle's name's Thelonius

he hasn't been moving much lately

maybe he's cold even with the heater

eya Girl at the Well,

it'll be worth it when ya do.

too bad most of our archives are off the site.

we've posted amazing music riff from all times and periods worth listening to.

It was a play on Peaches. Gah.

Posted by: Cathy in Seattle at December 23, 2006 12:32 AM

boy was THAT funny.

I think I was happier thinking it was a savage and unnecessary personal tirade.

bout this time of the year i think about all the peeps we've had in this bizarre yet wonderful bloggie that are'nt here.

wish them well, i remember them with affection.

hey Sunshine Jim and turtle haiku writer

I think macs are totally over rated.

certainly not worth the difference in price...
and the new add campaign?

an insult to the consumer's intellegence! that bit about apple giving pc some sort of imaging program...like there aren't hundreds of easy to use picture album programs for pcs?

and then pc gives the mac a uber-geeky sounding book on c++ CUI programming guide...like the average pc user is going to have to know that stuff?

I haven't had any problems with it since I got my mac about five years ago, I'll say that... the only downside so far seems to be the cost of upgrading...

So Bush went to Walter Reed today and gave purple hearts to wounded soldiers...I wonder if it occured to Bush those kids wouldn't have been in the hospital beds if not for lying us into this illegal war?

part of me suspects W thinks this was was inevitable...otherwise, how could he sleep at night?

http://www.dsausa.org/resources.html

Democratic Socialists of America

I wish I can get Real Player to play the Monk thing... I need to update my operating system (Mac OS). I also can't get google earth yet :(

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 12:56 AM

I wonder if there's an alternative player for mac that will play .ram, .rm, .ra files.

http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/

Suppression of dissent
Documents and contacts

This site deals with attacks on dissenting views and individuals. The general field of "suppression of dissent" includes whistleblowing, free speech, systems of social control and related topics. The purpose of the site is to foster examination of these issues and action against suppression. It is founded on the assumption that openness and dialogue should be fostered to challenge unaccountable power.

Additionally, although these are not examples of specific conservative commentators making outrageous comments, we would be remiss if we did not mention that Fox News made a regular practice of attacking Democrats or repeating Republican talking points in on-screen text during its coverage of political issues. Some examples:

"All-Out Civil War in Iraq: Could It Be a Good Thing?" [2/23/06]

"Attacking Capitalism: Have Dems Declared War on America?" [2/18/06]

"Dems Helping the Enemy?" [5/22/06]

"A Lamont Win, Bad News for Democracy in Mideast?"

"Have the Democrats Forgotten the Lessons of 9/11?"

"Is the Democratic Party Soft on Terror?" [8/8/06]

"The #1 President on Mideast Matters: George W Bush?" [8/14/06]

"Is the Liberal Media Helping to Fuel Terror?" [8/16/06]

http://www.mediamatters.org/items/200612220013

eya B3

say hey to the gang tomorrow for me.

looks like some good info on that site, Bob

http://community.freespeech.org/node

Free Speech TV Community

Thanks girl in a well and Jim......

How's it going?

I wish I can get Real Player to play the Monk thing... I need to update my operating system (Mac OS). I also can't get google earth yet :(

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 12:56 AM

You chose: RealPlayer 10 for Mac OS X

http://www.coanews.org/About+Us

COA News

About COA News
COA News is a non-profit online news network featuring diverse, credible independent news and current affairs. COA News can best be described as the portal to independent news media.

thanks for that link...I don't think my operating system is upgraded enough to use Real Player though, I actually have it downloaded and it's not working

http://activistmagazine.com/

Activist Magazine :)

I actually have it downloaded and it's not working

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 1:36 AM

Does the application open?

no, the icon just bounces (that happens with macs when an application is opening) but it doesn't open.

i'll be gone for the next few days, but wanted to drop this off before i left.

i interviewed carl at the veterans for peace convention and sat next to him on the bus to and from the canadian border for the picnic with vietnam vets. here's an interview with him about him going underground rather than go to iraq.

hope the next few days are good for all of you.

no, the icon just bounces (that happens with macs when an application is opening) but it doesn't open.

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 1:42 AM

Did you look for an alternative player?

I think there needs to be a change of consciousness with the news
...
to try to seek a higher ground.

Why can't it be more representative of the way the world really is?

I think we don't know what the bombardment of crime and violence does to our minds,
I think we're in denial about it.

-Oprah Winfrey-

I have Windows media player...

I just need to upgrade this thing!

Hey Girl at the well,

What mac os are you running?

eya j

happy trails to ya on yer travels!

night gang,

love ya all and sweet dreams!

10.2.8. A little more than five years' old

I think the press, including TV journalism,
has an ethical responsibility,
a sacred responsibility,
a service mission
....
to make good news just as entertaining
(as we've made sexy the violence).

-Marianne Williamson-

Roxie seattle. Here is that Mumia link:

http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff12122006.html

goodnight, Sunshine Jim

Goodnight Jim, toniD.

girl at the well, i had the same problem. i fixed it by opening an older real player version and now it opens and plays fine. there was a link for older versions on the real player website.

good night, sunshine.

see you all soon.

Actually, this is the article on the "Mumia Confession" debunking:
http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=11647§ionID=43

oops. i fixed it by reinstalling an older version...

hmm, that's a good idea, Jenise. I'm going to try it!

10.2.8. A little more than five years' old

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 1:50 AM

This may take a little while.
Need to find an open source
player that will play: .ram, .ra, .rm files
for Mac os 10.2.8.

Funky wikipedia translation

Steigerwald
The nature park riser forest lies in the north Bayerns between the four large cities Bamberg, Pig Ford, peppering castle and Nuremberg. In the north the nature park is limited by the run of the Main, in the east by the Regnitz. The border in the south forms the Aisch, in the west again the Main and in the extension a line of market-broadly over Uffenheim after bath wind home. The landscape is coined/shaped by hardwood forest and coniferous forest, ponds and viticulture.

girl at the well, i had the same problem. i fixed it by opening an older real player version and now it opens and plays fine. there was a link for older versions on the real player website.

good night, sunshine.

see you all soon.

Posted by: jenise at December 23, 2006 1:53 AM

I was thinking that myself actually.
But I hate realplayer. I was thinking
about an open source alternative. But
if that worked I'd give it a try. Do
you have a link handy?

that's my German forest that I have to see!

Pig Ford=Schweinfurt

Actually, the city of Schweinfurt (Pig Ford) was originally named for a thin (schwen) spot in the Main River, where it was easier for travellers to cross--or ford--(furt). Thin crossing, not Swine crossing.

It would be something else to see those ancient trees

that's my German forest that I have to see!

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 2:05 AM

Beware of the lurking anti-semites in that, or any, German forest. You know how that poison is in their blood.

oh I hate myself more than they could ever hate me...

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter.
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter.

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
du kannst mir sehr gefallen.
Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
du kannst mir sehr gefallen.

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
dein Kleid will mich was lehren:
die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit
gibt Trost und Kraft zu aller Zeit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
dein Kleid will mich was lehren.

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
dein Kleid will mich was lehren:
die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit
gibt Trost und Kraft zu aller Zeit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
dein Kleid will mich was lehren.

Hey Girl at the Well,

This may help.
The page has a section to download different
versions of RealPlayer for Mac os.

http://www.macorchard.com/helper/

http://forms.real.com/real/player/blackjack.html

NC, sorry it took so long. for some reason, i can't get to it in the same way i did when i downloaded it. but there are several older versions here: http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=real

i installed 1.0.0 and it works fine. i got tired of not being able to listen to sam on the laptop...hope this works for you guys. (another way is to go here: https://order.real.com/pt/order.html?country=US&language=EN&mppi=0&mppos_list=0&mpst=0&ppath=cpmacpl060204a&pageregion=player_button&pcode=rn&opage=rp_os_mac&src=realhome_spmac_bb_0_1_1_0_0_2_0,rp_os_mac click system requirements and then 'click here for previous versions' but that's what's not working for me right now)

yes, that could be helpful...thanks a lot, news consumer...

okay, i'm out the door.

happy (or not unhappy) holidays to everyone.

going to decorate my Oregon tannenbaum tomorrow :0)

and Jenise also, thank you

listening to the Nutcracker

I've always had problems with realplayer.
Too intrusive..

Beware of the lurking anti-semites in that, or any, German forest. You know how that poison is in their blood.

Posted by: OSK at December 23, 2006 2:09 AM

strikes me as a fairly bigotted thing to say...

Grüß Gott and Welcome!
You are interested in our holiday area and Natural Park "Naturpark Steigerwald" situated in the heart of Franconia, half-way between the well-known historical cities Nuremberg and Würzburg, between Bamberg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

MAUREEN DOWD: Trump Fired Up

Donald Trump gives me an interview, though he has his doubts.

“I would like the interview to be in the Sunday paper,” he says.

He can’t be worried about his exposure, so it must be his boundless appetite for bigger/taller/glitzier that makes him yearn for the larger readership of Sunday.

“Me, too,” I reply. “But the only way that’s going to happen is if I give Frank Rich my notes and let him write the column.”

“I like Frank Rich,” he says, his voice brimming with appreciation for a man whose circulation is bigger than mine.

“Me, too,” I say.

Kurt Andersen, who jousted with the Donald as an editor at Spy, celebrates the “Daffy Duck” of deal-making in New York magazine this week as one of the “Reasons to Love New York,” calling him “our 21st century reincarnation of P. T. Barnum and Diamond Jim Brady, John Gotti minus the criminal organization, the only white New Yorker who lives as large as the blingiest, dissiest rapper — de trop personified.”.....

http://freedemocracy.blogspot.com/2006/12/maureen-dowd-trump-fired-up.html

Beware of the lurking anti-semites in that, or any, German forest. You know how that poison is in their blood.

Posted by: OSK at December 23, 2006 2:09 AM

strikes me as a fairly bigotted thing to say...

Posted by: Ç?u˝??ÿ?ßu˝??å at December 23, 2006 2:27 AM

"Lurking conservatives with no sense of humor."

Why don't you see where we go with this before chiming in?

WFUV 90.7 Fordham University
A great mixture of new music including rock, folk, blues, bluegrass,
celtic. Here is what they have been playing lately: Buddy Guy, John
Gorka, Luka Bloom, Elvis Costello, Austin Lounge Lizards, Bela Fleck,
Tony Trischka, Nanci Griffith, Richard Shindell, Patrick Street,
Dadanaan, Maura O`Connell, Susie Katz, Megan McDonough, Neil Young,
and so on. Also carries the excellent syndicated "World Cafe" and
"Mountain Stage." And great give-aways!! I have won: Smithereens,
Bob Weir, Patty Larkin, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Room Full of
Blues, Tom Waits' "Bone Machine", Dennis Miller/Dana Carvey at Lincoln
Center, and more. It's actually pretty easy to get through and win
stuff.

WFMU 91.1 East Orange, NJ Independent of Upsalla College
Probably one of the most definitive "college radio" stations.
Very free-form, DJ-driven, but still cohesive in style.
It doesn't come in good in some parts of the city.

WSHU 91.1 Fairfield, CT Sacred Heart University
Classical music station in Southern
Connecticut (2 transmitters) and Long Island
(3 transmitters). They broadcast the many
Nat'l Public Radio and Public Radio Int'l shows
and provide the classics.

WFMU 91.1 East Orange, NJ Independent of Upsalla College
Probably one of the most definitive "college radio" stations.
Very free-form, DJ-driven, but still cohesive in style.
It doesn't come in good in some parts of the city.

We need to send one of the "flesh becomes magnetic" tapes to this station.

I play that tape all the time in the car...

Here is my local "All Classical Station":
http://www.allclassical.org/index.php5

WNYC plays classical music too, though they play different things at different times...they're a public station (I know I told you I thought maybe they were private)

I had no idea my remarks would have been taken so personally and I really couldn't have imagined how many folks would have been effected by them. I sincerely apologize for my comments regarding the chimpeacher. I logged off as soon as I posted that so I am only just seeing all this now. I swear I didn't mean to hurt as much as make a point. I now realize how out of line I was. I didn't mean to attack the person - just the idea of thinking of Bush as silly. To me those days are long gone. It appears Bush is now going to send even more kids to die over there and I have not been able to find any humor in this situation in a long time. Seeing that "chimp" reference pushed a button and I got very angry. But I swear I had no idea there would be so much as a single response, much less what there was. Whether you folks accept it or not, I offer my sincere apology for the comment. It clearly could have been written better to simply make my point instead of attack anybody. No need to repond as I'm logging off again immediately for fear of saying something else poorly.

The only thing I will say in response to the point about Springtime for Hitler is that I will bet you one million dollars Brooks would NEVER have written or performed it WHILE the Holocaust was still going on.

Nevertheless, I really am sorry. Happy Holidays.

Hartmann is doing his psychology schtick. He is going to bore Franken's audience to death. I listen to it as a spoken word performance.

that looks like a good station

performance art...yeah, a lot of these liberal talk show people do the psychology schtick...

This is Hell airs live tomorrow, Saturday, December 23rd, from 9 AM to 1 PM (US central time) on WNUR 89.3 FM Evanston/Chicago. We will also be live online via WNUR's web site (http://www.wnur.org) under the heading, "Listen Online."

Saturday, we'll talk about America's number one cash crop (it's marijuana), tell you why radio sucks, talk San bushmen, learn about sexual predator laws and visit Baluchistan.

http://thisishell.com/

I had no idea my remarks would have been taken so personally and I really couldn't have imagined how many folks would have been effected by them. I sincerely apologize for my comments regarding the chimpeacher. I logged off as soon as I posted that so I am only just seeing all this now. I swear I didn't mean to hurt as much as make a point. I now realize how out of line I was. I didn't mean to attack the person - just the idea of thinking of Bush as silly. To me those days are long gone. It appears Bush is now going to send even more kids to die over there and I have not been able to find any humor in this situation in a long time. Seeing that "chimp" reference pushed a button and I got very angry. But I swear I had no idea there would be so much as a single response, much less what there was. Whether you folks accept it or not, I offer my sincere apology for the comment. It clearly could have been written better to simply make my point instead of attack anybody. No need to repond as I'm logging off again immediately for fear of saying something else poorly.

The only thing I will say in response to the point about Springtime for Hitler is that I will bet you one million dollars Brooks would NEVER have written or performed it WHILE the Holocaust was still going on.

Nevertheless, I really am sorry. Happy Holidays.

Posted by: Anonymous Coward at December 2

O quit! This is a blog. We who blog do have a tendency to not see the humor or irony of postings.

Anyway, your post taken at face value is a valid point of view, and open for comments and debate. Furthermore, Hitler did like animals, and wanted to restore eastern Poland to the original Ancient Forest state.

the day I don't offend someone with something I say is that day I think I lose all ability to really think... I love being around the kids I teach, though, because we say offensive things to each other for hours, and then I know they're really learning :)

performance art...yeah, a lot of these liberal talk show people do the psychology schtick...

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 2:49 AM

At least when Janeane did it, it was funny. And informative. Hartmann is too much of the clinician and motivational therapist. Remember the guy in "Shallow Hal"? The motivation guru?

in all fairness, Hitler claimed to love animals, but there were reports he abused his dogs...

I've got to get some rest.

Sam does it and it's funny. And Maron....oy vey, Maron...and then Maron gets into analyzing himself and that's the funniest...

WNYC plays classical music too, though they play different things at different times...they're a public station (I know I told you I thought maybe they were private)

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 2:46 AM

KBPS is all classical all the time.

I've got to get some rest.

Posted by: "NEWS CONSUMER" at December 23, 2006 2:57 AM

Take care.

in all fairness, Hitler claimed to love animals, but there were reports he abused his dogs...

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 2:57 AM

I did not know that.

there was a time I read almost every biography of Hitler out there, the whole "fascination with evil" syndrome... of course if you read enough of that stuff you can get almost any kind of account...

Stacy Taylor is a decent radio host. Randi Rhodes's replacement.

EW YORK, NY December 22, 2006 —New Jersey's population is shrinking at a fast enough pace that by 20-10 it could lose one of its 13 seats in Congress. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more on the recent census data.

For the Garden State it is the one two punch of tens of thousands of residents moving to other states and its waning popularity as a destination for new immigrants. Experts say the state's high cost of living is one of the major factors for the flight.

The census analysis shows that New Jersey is still the nation's most densely populated but it has been bumped out of the top ten by North Carolina. It's expected that if this trend holds after the 20-10 Census the congressional seats will drop from 13 to 12. For WNYC I am Bob Hennelly.

I'll have to check it out...I've avoided Randi's show in general lately...maybe a mistake, I'm not sure

BLAST was bold and shocking to its potential readership in 1914.

Experts say the state's high cost of living is one of the major factors for the flight.

We have got to do something about the out of control real estate racket. It's a shell game.

yeah, that comment caught my eye also. You know that needs to be made a major issue with politicians. WE need to make them make it an issue.

Are we the only people here? Or are their lurkers who will complain to Sam about our actions?

what actions? I don't think we're doing anything particularly shocking. Hmm, maybe that means I'm not on my game :)

You have heard of shantytowns? People who cannot afford the outrageous costs of shelter build their own, and live collectively. Mostly in third world countries. In the US, it seems that their is much pressure for everyone to consume the real estate at market value. Subsidized housing is under constant pressure.

what actions? I don't think we're doing anything particularly shocking. Hmm, maybe that means I'm not on my game :)

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 3:20 AM

My sister told me that her 16 year old son is constantly getting banned from blogs.

Squatter Settlements:

The majority of urban areas of the large cities in Turkey consist of squatter settlements (gecekondu). These settlements reflect a transitional society experiencing simultaneously the dissolution of the traditional modes of production and the problems of industrialization. The process of evolution of such settlements is common in developing countries. Gecekondu, by definition, is a process whereby the lower income groups, mainly people from the countryside, incapable of finding a solution to their housing needs within the rules and standards set by society, proceed to solve it illegitimately through their own resources and efforts. The term gecekondu means 'to land by night' and thereby appropriately depicts the speed and stealth of the construction process

The gecekondu is a spontaneous indigenous development, dependent upon the resources of the user. The individual houses stand on small irrecular plots. No apprarent order governs the pattern of settlement, and the irregular streets are mere paths for pedestrians since car ownership is almost non-existent. In such an absence of formal laws and regulations, one can feel the indigenous application of an unwritten law -a concern with the community, and strive not to block somebody else's view or not to build over his small crop garden.

it must be a racket. My sister in law went back to school, she wants to become a real estate lawyer. The whole thing is a big mystery to me.

Squatter Settlements:

The gecekondu is the outcome of a low technology using local and salvage materials, self-help and local labour, traditional building knowledge, and simple tools. With the exception of some differences in materials, the gecekondu is a repetition of the rural dwelling familiar to the resident/builder. The houses are usually very small. They are single-storey rectangular units, very simple in plan. There is usually a central hall or a living room (where the stove is located for heating) off which are the other rooms. The bathroom and kitchen coincide in most cases, in the only space which is available through a pipe connected to the main line. The toilet is almost always totally detached from the house. The house extends out to an outdoor living space (verandah) and then onto a small garden plot for growing vegetables, crops or keeping chickens. This is a part of the household economy, sometimes even yielding surplus that can be sold. Building materials are purchased from local dealers and are usually the leftovers of demolished buildings.

it must be a racket. My sister in law went back to school, she wants to become a real estate lawyer. The whole thing is a big mystery to me.

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 3:25 AM

Free Market Capitalism is a racket. Ever watch the Sopranos?

squatter settlements could become a growing, albeit sad solution in this area also...

Actually, Hartmann explains the racket fairly well. "Where there is money to be made..."

I have watched it, but I don't get HBO anymore...

Outside of some sort of socialism, squatting is an alternative to the rat race of real estate gaming. Another is subsidized housing.

WNYC has some beautiful classical music on right now.

subsidized housing - I had read an article recently where Governor-elect Spitzer said something about the real need for that...I hope he and others act on that need (been trying to find the link but can't yet)

Say you make $12 per hour or so. Rent averages about $1000 for a studio apartment. Then there is health insurance. Transportation. Food.

I hope he and others act on that need (been trying to find the link but can't yet)

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 3:31 AM

Hope, hell! You need to go and demand it.

Hey, lurkers. Feel free to post your stuff.

tell me about it....

Your landlord decides to "condoize" your dwelling. You are forced to buy or move. Their is a housing shortage in the city...

This is the stuff we did that got us purged from that Boring Sedationist place. Isn't it?

Report Indicates Sharpest Rise in New York Rents in 12 Years

By Kelly Sheehan, Online News Editor

DECEMBER 15, 2006 -- New York -- Median rent for New York City apartments increased 21 percent from 2002 to 2005—the steepest increase since 1993, according to a recent report by the Community Service Society (CSS) of New York.

“Making the Rent, 2002-2005: Changing Rent Burdens & Housing Hardships Among Low-Income New Yorkers,” stated that many low-income families in the area are being forced to choose between purchasing food, transportation or medical care. Some of those families are surviving on as little as $32 for each member per week.

“New York City has had a chronic housing shortage pretty much forever,” Tom Waters, CSS housing policy analyst, told MHN. “The only time in the last 100 years when there was enough housing to satisfy the market was back in the 20s, when the Bronx was rapidly being built up. Housing shortages enable rents to ride higher than they would if it was possible for production to meet demand.”

We’re seeing that systems designed to ameliorate these problems—like rent regulations as well as subsidized and preferential housing—are weakening,” Waters added. “The capacity of government regulation is weakening.”

According to David Jones, president and CEO of CSS, the report confirms that rising rents are outpacing many residents’ incomes. “Low-income renters have little cash remaining at the end of the month after struggling to pay rent, and must forgo other basic necessities—choices that often directly impact the health and wellbeing of family members,” Jones added.

The report indicated that since 2002, housing hardships have affected not only households at or below the federal poverty line, but also households with incomes up to twice the federal poverty line. The proportion of these residents with high-rent burdens jumped from 23 to 32 percent, and their median rent burdens rose from 37 to 40 percent. They also experienced a 14 percent decline in residual income over the last 10 years.

The report also found that between 2002 and 2005, the number of apartments in New York City renting up to $1,000 declined by 26 percent. The m

Your landlord decides to "condoize" your dwelling. You are forced to buy or move. There is a housing shortage in the city...

Posted by: BLAST at December 23, 2006 3:37 AM

Goddammit I hate when I misuse a word. There!

pretty much, yeah. I think you felt up my legs once over there, though.

“New York City has had a chronic housing shortage pretty much forever,” Tom Waters, CSS housing policy analyst, told MHN. “The only time in the last 100 years when there was enough housing to satisfy the market was back in the 20s, when the Bronx was rapidly being built up. Housing shortages enable rents to ride higher than they would if it was possible for production to meet demand.”

Satisfy the market, huh? Has rents always consumed so much of people's income? I always go here. But did Jackson Pollock (and others) pay high rent to live in New York. My hunch is that rents have skyrocketed fairly recently. San Francisco did not always have impossible rents.

pretty much, yeah. I think you felt up my legs once over there, though.

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 3:41 AM

Big fucking deal! We can do cybersex here. Or can we?

Hello Youns, Seditionistas eh?

Make yerselves at home. If anyone gives ya trouble, tell em Bob sent ya. :)

I don't know if it's fairly recent, in spite of what this article says. It's been going on for awhile. People decided a long time ago they couldn't afford to live in Manhattan, for instance, or some other areas. It's gotten worse lately, though

hello, Bob, thank you :)

High rent is one thing. But rent that only high income people can afford is a new development. You should know this. You live in New York.

my town actually has a reputation of being one of the "best bargains" in the county. There was some big NY Times article about that a few years back. The taxes have gone up a lot this past year, though

the recent real estate boom seems to be geared toward upper class, that's for sure.

Taylor is playing a clip of Bush. Bush sounds like he has been given antipsychotics. Slow, almost slurred speech.

According to David Jones, president and CEO of CSS, the report confirms that rising rents are outpacing many residents’ incomes. “Low-income renters have little cash remaining at the end of the month after struggling to pay rent, and must forgo other basic necessities—choices that often directly impact the health and wellbeing of family members,” Jones added.

This sort of thing needs to be made illegal.

he has a lot of reasons lately to take those drugs...his "well the war isn't going as well as I hoped" speech kind of made his sound he was on something really strong

I am going Christmas shopping tomorrow. What do you want for Christmas, Shemanski?

the free market will decide everything. Just give it a chance.

I want your BLAST....

Well. Bush does protect the rights of the real estate running dogs to make a killing, regardless of the social costs.

the free market will decide everything. Just give it a chance.

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 4:03 AM

That is what I fear most.

yeah, I still have a bit of shopping to do

I want your BLAST....

Posted by: Girl at the Well at December 23, 2006 4:04 AM

The build up is to the BLAST is what counts.

I want to get my mother a recording of Christmas music. A new recording. Artsy arrangements.

I like that...my mom's birthday is the 27th, so I'm going to give her something else...she asked me for the Al Gore movie on DVD...I think I'll get her something on Judaica also

build me up, buttercup (hehe)

Give her israel Shahak's book.

hmm, I want my mother alive for a few years yet... but I did think of that, actually, for about two impossible seconds

Here is an idea for a gift:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520245989/counterpunchmaga

Tell her about the fun with horses stuff. And the altar goy.

it's a good present, but not for my mom. Minds have to be somewhat open first

ah, the altar goy. I remember him.

 
Some of you will have found your way here by following the footsteps of our patron saint, St Hildegard. Others may be intrigued, what the life of a Benedictine community of 56 nuns - the youngest being 21 and the oldest 89 - might be like today. Or else you might be looking for answers to fundamental questions concerning your life or faith or would just like to enjoy a few days of quietness and reflection. For all of you we would like to be open and receptive - always bearing in mind, though, that our own possibilities and resources are also limited. We invite you to pray with us and participate in the Divine Office.
We invite you to approach us in conversation, to get to know the work we do in our arts and crafts studios and to visit our Abbey shop. But most of all we invite you to rest and to become aware of the spirit of this place. In this way we may perhaps experience together a little of the infinite comfort of the Holy Spirit and take it with us into our everyday lives.
This is what I ask in prayer for you and for us all.
With my heartfelt wishes,
Sr Clementia Killewald, Abbess

>>It was a play on Peaches. Gah.

Posted by: Cathy in Seattle at December 23, 2006 12:32 AM

boy was THAT funny.

I think I was happier thinking it was a savage and unnecessary personal tirade.

Posted by: ÇħűБъÿ۞ßűБъå at December 23, 2006 1:02 AM

=======================================

I seem to be playing blog tag with people today.

When I said "It was a play on peaches" that meant the name chimPEACHer was a play on peaches. I was responding to the AC who was posting the savage and unnecessary tirade against our friend, chimpeacher.

After reading more of his/her comments, it sounds like the AC didn't really understand this part?

Blog forensics - a messy and imprecise science.

worship at the altar...

Thanks, Sister C.

later...

Happy Festivus!

Losing My Religion, R.E.M.

Dear God, XTC

Dear God, Sarah McLachlan

Personal Jesus, Depeche Mode

Reach out and touch faith

Personal Jesus, Johnny Cash

Personal Jesus, Marilyn Manson

Personal Jesus (Video Version), Marilyn Manson

Blasphemous Rumours, Depeche Mode

The God That Failed, Metallica

Breaking one of my rules posting that one.

Here's a bizarre way to follow up on that:

Faith, George Michael

Mistress For Christmas, AC/DC

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things, Julie Andrews

Last one

What A Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong

US beef rejected due to excessive levels of dioxin
by Chris in Paris - 12/23/2006 03:19:00 AM

Beef is already the biggest source of dioxin for consumers but this recent shipment to South Korea was well beyond even the norm. A few infamous exposures to dioxin include Love Canal in NY in 1978 as well as American soldiers and the Vietnamese who were exposed to Agent Orange. There's something very wrong about the food industry these days and it impacts everyone. We know that the GOP had no interest in improving the system because they were taking too much money from Big Food but perhaps the Democrats give a damn. We'll find out in 2007.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/us-beef-rejected-due-to-excessive.html

by Joe in DC - 12/23/2006 08:21:00 AM

Oh, sure. Most Americans are starting a long holiday weekend. But, not your President. No way. He's going to do some learning about Iraq today. The new Defense Secretary just got back from a visit to Bush's war -- and today, they're having a BIG meeting to talk about their investment. That's what Iraq and its carnage are according to Condi Rice. So, they'll meet today to talk about their investment and plan the next phase of the public relations/spin campaign. That's how they see Iraq.

What's going on in the real world?

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/saturday-morning-open-thread_23.html

Top Anglican leader calls
Bush policy in Iraq 'ignorant'
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the Anglican Church, launched an outspoken attack on the Bush administration on Saturday, saying his policy in Iraq is "ignorant."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/religion_archbishop_iraq_dc

morning T

doggers woke me up saying hello to the paper peep.

was remembering being an ohio paperboy in the winter.

i still love the smell of fresh snow and the quiet of a 4 AM route.

Liberal won't have to meet
in the basement anymore
There's one certainty for the Capitol's most liberal lawmakers now that Democrats will control Congress: They won't have to meet in the basement anymore.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061223/ap_on_go_co/congress_progressives

mmmm 'meet in the basement'

allocation of meeting rooms.... sweet!

the 'old boy' network thinking this batch of newbies can be dealt with as normal.

divide and blitherate em, pooh pooh the idea of changing things quickly, baffle them with "roberts rules of order"

Morning Jim

My bro a little better. They took him off the heavy sedation. He's still got more test to go through though.

Lawmakers press Bush to
put war costs in budget
Top lawmakers are pressing President George W. Bush to stop using a "shadow budget" to fund the Iraq war and instead list the expected costs in the 2008 spending plan he is set to unveil early next year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061222/pl_nm/bush_iraq_budget_dc

'for gawds sake prevent them from being effective!'

conservative fear of change peaks with apprehension as the date for the 110th comes around.

i can imagine them muttering in corners... "what if we can't stop em? do you think any of them actually know whats going on?"

Media finally asking for
documents in CIA leak case
Two news organizations are asking a federal judge to unseal documents in the CIA leak case, arguing that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald never needed the testimony of reporters because he knew the source of the leak all along.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cia_leak

Kentucky fears loss
of traditional critter dish
Kentucky, the untamed western frontier when the American colonies declared independence in 1776, is struggling to keep a taste of its past alive -- a stew traditionally made from roadkill and veggies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061222/us_nm/burgoo_kentucky_dc

ya T, was wondering how he was. sounds good, next hump cues up. can they get function back?

ya T, was wondering how he was. sounds good, next hump cues up. can they get function back?

Posted by: Sunshine Jim at December 23, 2006 9:14 AM

Right now 25% function. They are trying to shrink the prostate to allows more function of the kidney to bladder.

Good Morning....

Is the Lead Case over? Is that it? They're going to get away with it?

Right now the enlarged prostate is choking off the kidneys and pressing on the bladder and the infection made it worse.

Award for Most Offensive Stonewalling — Congressional Review of Katrina Response
Committees in both the House and Senate held more than 15 hearings in 2006 to investigate exactly what went wrong in the preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina. Determining the timeline of what officials knew and when they knew it, relative to actions taken, were essential to those investigations. The Bush administration, however, refused to disclose relevant communications and prevented key officials, like Homeland Security Advisor Frances Fragos Townsend and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, from testifying before Congress. The lack of cooperation from the White House made it nearly impossible for Congress to exercise effective oversight of the federal government's preparedness, whether in response to natural disaster or terrorist attack. The White House claimed throughout the hearings that it was protecting the confidentiality of presidential advisors.

Award for Worst Court Decision — Acceptance of Increased Use of State Secrets Privilege
Based on the 1953 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Reynolds, the state secrets privilege allows the executive branch to declare certain materials or topics exempt from disclosure or review. The administration has repeatedly used the state secrets privilege to compel the courts to dismiss lawsuits brought by previous detainees, such as a German man who had been held in Afghanistan for five months after being mistaken for a suspected terrorist with the same name. The Justice Department also claimed state secrets privilege when it asked the courts to throw out three lawsuits against the NSA’s warrantless wiretap program. Additionally, the state secrets privilege was used to shut down a lawsuit by national security whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, an ex-translator for the FBI, who was fired after accusing co-workers of security breaches and intentionally slow work performance. While the state secrets privilege is likely a necessary power, many advocates believe the government is abusing the authority to avoid court review and scrutiny of its more questionable and potentially embarrassing actions. Unfortunately, many of the courts are accepting the government’s claims with little questioning.

Award for Most Obvious Bad Idea — Closure of EPA Libraries
President Bush's budget proposal, released in early February, included a whopping 80 percent cut in EPA's library budget from 2006 funding levels, dropping it from $2.5 million to only $500,000. The EPA libraries are a vital component of the agency, providing scientists, government personnel, and the public with access to important environmental and health information. Opponents of the measure said that there was no logical reason to hit such a fundamental and worthwhile arm of EPA with such a drastic budget cut except to cripple the agency's libraries. In response to the cuts, EPA has started closing regional libraries around the country, including the agency's Headquarters library. The agency also plans to discontinue the Online Library System, an electronic catalogue, without which regional libraries will be unable to locate individual holdings.

Pope Benedict XVI criticised George Bush as he declared states had to set ethical limits in what they do to protect their citizens from terrorism.

He also suggested some countries had flouted humanitarian law in recent wars.

[..]Although the Pope did not identify any specific countries, Vatican sources made it clear he was referring to the U.S. particularly.

The Pope made his comments in an annual message for the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Peace, celebrated on January 1. In the message, which is traditionally sent to governments and international organisations, he also repeated his belief that war in God's name is never justified.

[..]'The new shape of conflicts, especially since the terrorist threat unleashed new forms of violence, demands that the international community reaffirm international humanitarian law,' he wrote.

US Airstrike Kills Top Taliban Commander...
Associated Press | JASON STRAZIUSO | December 23, 2006 08:35 AM

A top Taliban military commander described as a close associate of
Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar was killed in an airstrike this week close to the border with Pakistan, the U.S. military said Saturday. A purported Taliban spokesman denied the claim.

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani was killed Tuesday by a U.S. airstrike while traveling by vehicle in a deserted area in the southern province of Helmand, the U.S. military said. Two associates also were killed, it said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061223/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan

sounding much better, still got a ways to go though.what's the rest of the day look like? we have family and frends visiting and calling. chores and cooking, overcast and rainy for a while here. Bgurl likes some of the traditional trimming of christmas, a tree and a nice dinner, good wine and music.

eya B3

what 'lead case' were you referring to?

This is the reason I think Bush is planning to attack Iran....

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Selective_Service_plays_down_test_reports_1223.html

NYT: Selective Service plays down test reports but says must ready for 'totally unforeseen'

Mike Sheehan
Published: Saturday December 23, 2006

A spokesperson for the Selective Service System is downplaying reports of a "test" of its military draft equipment, but its director says the system needs to be ready "just in case," The New York Times will report on the front page of its Saturday edition.

SS media contact Dick Flahavan tells Eric Lichtblau that, following articles on the draft exercise, "his office [has] fielded dozens of inquiries, not just from reporters but from some anxious parents as well, all with some variation of the same urgent question: Are you reinstituting the draft?"

Flahavan vehemently denies the report, so much so that "No Draft on Horizon!" appears at the top of SS website, writes Lichtblau. [RAW STORY has confirmed this, see image above; click here to see site.]

The director of the federal draft agency, William A. Chatfield, remarked however that the Selective Service "needs to be ready 'if something totally unforeseen should come upon us,'" according to the Times article.

Still, chances of a draft are, in Chatfield's assessment, "very, very, very low. ... There's nothing even being discussed in a remote fashion, but you have people trying to create fear when there's nothing there."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22911553.htm

Iraq town has little faith in US trial of Marines

By Majid Hameed

HADITHA, Iraq, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Iraqis in Haditha, where 24 unarmed civilians were killed last year, said on Friday four U.S. Marines charged with their murder should be executed, a penalty they will not face in the United States.

"They should hand them over to us so that we can kill them. They do not deserve a trial," said one young man who refused to give his name.

Khaled Salman, whose sister Asmaa was among 24 people killed in Haditha, gathered with friends in the early hours of Friday to watch television coverage of the charges being announced.

"Those soldiers killed 24 people. They killed women and children, isn't that enough for them be executed? Just so that the family can have peace," said Salman, 41.

"It's a political trial and it will not bring our rights back," said Salman, visibly angry.

"Although the Pope did not identify any specific countries, Vatican sources made it clear he was referring to the U.S. particularly."

hey the pope almost said something controversial!!!

and his butt boys put a lil top spin on it! whoopee!

what 'lead case' were you referring to?

Posted by: Sunshine Jim at December 23, 2006 9:40 AM

Morning Jim! I meant the leak case. Twas a typo :)

I have work today. In another RA flare so I am working with mucho pain.

Wanted to do some baking this evening but it doesn't look like I'll be able to. Shoulder joint really painful and can't raise my right arm above shoulder.

ya T

have the same thing happen.

nerves pinched in the neck area?

and the stress adding to it all as well.

i'd say just take a break for a bit,

maybe a heating pad on the

shoulders? i've got this

neat thingie Bgurl

got me i can

microwave.

stays warm for hours!

Bob, this link has much on the Leak case if you want to really know what's going on with it.

Aspen Trees and Novakula
by emptywheel

Libby's lawyers are in a frenzy, subpoenaing everyone and their mother in hopes that they'll discover something to rebut the charges against Libby. They've subpoenaed Joe Wilson (admitting, however, that they don't expect to put him on the stand). They're going to place Novak's coming-clean-but-not-really column into evidence. And--get this--they're going to place Libby's Aspen letter into evidence.

Because, I suppose, putting a letter into evidence that transparently appeals to a meeting you've had with a journalist who might someday testify against you--in Libby's world that's going to help him prove that the journalists testified willingly.

Correction: As pow wow points out, they only want to submit the Aspen letter and Novak's column to support their efforts to have all discussion of journalists not wanting to testify out of the trial. They're not submitting it as evidence for the trial. Seems to me these two bits hurt their case, but I guess I'm just missing something. The larger point still stands--Libby's story and Novak's story seem to contradict.

Continue reading "Aspen Trees and Novakula" »

http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2006/12/aspen_trees_and.html

A Really Good Reason to Call Dick
by emptywheel

Folks, I think we've been missing a really obvious reason why Libby's team would want to call Dick (in addition to the wildarsed speculation I made here).

One of the most important witnesses against Libby will be Cathie Martin. She will testify:

Sometime not long before July 8, she told Libby that Plame worked at the CIA
She witnessed Libby's conversation with Matt Cooper on July 12 and (presumably) heard him make none of the caveats he has claimed to have made
Libby and Dick strategized a response to Wilson while on Air Force Two (and I suspect there are details of this conversation we don't yet know)
The last one, of course, is the doozy. While we don't know the content of that conversation, it likely covers a good deal of material that might go to the question of intent, to say nothing about Dick's centrality in this leak.

There were, as best as we know, just three people who participated in that discussion: Libby, Dick, and Martin.

Continue reading "A Really Good Reason to Call Dick" »

http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2006/12/a_really_good_r.html#more

Thanks ToniD!

Just found out about this....

Self-employed 401k or Solo 401k with loan feature

The Self-Employed 401(k), also known as a Solo 401(k), is for business owners with no full-time employees. However, the spouses of owners can be employees and the business still qualify for this plan. Your business can be brand new or old. It can be a sole proprietorship, LL.C., partnership, or corporation.

Get a quick summary by viewing short Video on Self-Employed 401k

You can transfer your IRAs, 401(k), 457, or other pretax-retirement funds of any amount to your Self-Employed 401(k) account and borrow from it.

Maximum 401(k) loan is one-half of your account balance, as long as the loan amount does not exceed $50,000. Loan payments and interest on loan go back to your 401(k). See Loan Brochure for more information about Loan Terms.

You can use your retirement funds to get a loan of up to $50,000. We help you open a Solo401(k) account that let's you borrow. Your account loan is Tax-Free and Penalty-Free provided the loan is paid back on time. Loans are taxable if there is a failure to repay per loan conditions. Loans may adversely affect the value of an account over the long term. By removing assets from the plan, participants may miss out on the potential earnings and growth of those tax-deferred assets. Please consult with your tax advisor on tax matters.

http://www.investsafe.com/financing.html

Don't Be Stool!

If you are going to form a company use this format...

Limited liability company
From Wikipedia,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company

A limited liability company (denoted by L.L.C. or LLC) is a legal form of business company in the United States offering limited liability to its owners. In that respect, it is similar to a corporation, and is often a more flexible form of ownership, especially suitable for smaller companies with a limited number of owners. Unlike a regular corporation, however, a limited liability company with one member may be treated as a disregarded entity and a limited liability company with multiple members is typically treated as a partnership for tax purposes, thereby avoiding double taxation. It is often incorrectly called a "limited liability corporation" (instead of company).

Note that the label "disregarded entity" means that for income tax purposes the entity is ignored. The entity's income and deductions are reported on its owner's tax return. For example, an LLC operating an active trade or business and owned by a single member would have its income and deductions reported on the owner's individual tax return on a Schedule C tax form. An LLC passively investing in real estate and owned by a single member would have its income and deductions reported on the owner's individual tax return on a Schedule E tax form. And an LLC owned by a corportion--in other words, an LLC with a single corporate member--would be treated as an uncorporated branch and have its income and deductions reported on the corporate tax return.

LLCs were first enacted by the state of Wyoming but can now be created under the laws of any U.S. state. They were chiefly inspired by the GmbH, a type of business organization in Germany, and by limitadas, a type of business organization available in many Latin American countries.

When you are drinking egg nog...

do not fart in the company of others.

Posted by: Swami Reuben at December 22, 2006 8:02 PM

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

This is so true and I thank the Swami for reminding me. Egg nog with brandy, whiskey or rum
will really give you a ripe edge!

82% say religion does more harm than good
UK poll; Britain's top cop says country faces risk of Christmas terror attack.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1978046,00.html

Here is the Christmas Album I am listening to right now. I bought it from Hippydan Ryan himself, last Christmas Season in the St. Johns section of Portland.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=31951893

Egg nog with brandy, whiskey or rum
will really give you a ripe edge!

Posted by: Captain Positive at December 23, 2006 10:46 AM

I read somewhere that if you swallow an Altoid
whole, after you drink egg nog, it will take the
bitterness out of that flatulence and make it more
flowery!

I read somewhere that if you swallow an Altoid
whole, after you drink egg nog, it will take the
bitterness out of that flatulence and make it more
flowery!

Posted by: Helpful Hints at December 23, 2006 10:57 AM

I always come to this blog for my material.

Joe Conason:

Many if not most Americans have repeatedly expressed an underlying doubt that either party can still serve the public interest. Those feelings are especially prevalent among the independent voters whose support was critical to the recent Democratic victory. To dispel such cynicism and fulfill the expectations raised by their anticorruption campaign, the new Democratic congressional leaders must quickly deliver real government accountability as well as substantial reorganization of their own institutions. While voters may understand that major changes in healthcare, education and environmental stewardship will be difficult to enact under this administration, they will not have much patience for any evasion on reform of Congress.
Whether Democrats can overcome the old habits that have often made them inarticulate and inert, however, remains to be seen. To put it kindly, the signs are mixed.

-- David Kurtz

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/011682.php

Saint o' the Day

Blessed Hartmann of Brixen By-the-Way (AC/DC)
Born in Polling, Austria; died 1164; cultus confirmed in 1784. Hartmann received his education at the hands and feet of the Augustinians of Passau, Austria. In 1122, he became dean of Salzburg cathedral and eventually bishop of Brixen, Austria. Hartmann was highly respected by both the nobility and the poor of his diocese, ensuring the disparity of wealth remained intact there, through his propaganda, although he did do much to persuade the haves to drop a few more crumbs from the table, especially during Christmas season. . Hartmann did much for the canons regular as well as other religious, especially the Benedictines. The Maronites were not so fortunate, as Hartmann's followers used their favors with the nobility to marginalize Maronites, at least in the Kingdom of Portlandia. Where his name is reviled still. Hartmann became widely popular, reaching cult status, through the miraculous medium of crystal radio. Through the medium, his words were broadcast far and wide. Also known as Tyger Thom (Hartmann), affectionately and otherwise.

Thom Hartmann is a saint???

Thom Hartmann is a saint???

Posted by: Girl who is confused at December 23, 2006 11:36 AM

Still "a Blessed" as far as I know. That is, one step removed from full canonization. But still...Saint o' the Day.

Don't count on the Democrats to end the fucking Iraq war:

http://www.counterpunch.org/

C-SPAN has the UN/Iran saction vote live.

Can Stream it here ...

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS

I'll worship at the Maronite church myself...he may have been cast out, but I understand that...

not, I think they're salivating to increase troop size. I expect the draft to come back under their watch, actually

As for this Iraq thing, you know what Madison said about Tripoli: "It is doubly as important since the French revolt." I wish Bush would apply that logic and remember the French Revolution.

Then Reagan came in and ruined everything.

The other day a guy asked me about the Donald Trump/ Rosie O'Donnell dispute. I can only say that Jefferson had it right when he said, "We must make the Louisiana Purchase for the furtherance of the union."

Then Reagan came in and ruined everything.

Yeah, Thom, let's get the founding fathers to make everything ok...

Do you want my opinion about the multi-national corporations that are protected via an imperial standing military force? I know everyone remembers what John Adams said during 1790, so I'm not going to repeat it.

Then Reagan came in and ruined everything.

So basically my understanding of history is: Madison/Adams/Jefferson with a sprinkling of Ted Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt. Then Reagan ruined everything. So, late 1700's, early 1800's... Reagan....

Excuse me... Franlin and Theodore Roosevelt. It doesn't matter anyway. I play the same clip of Ted Roosevelt constantly, so he echoes in my mind.

Well, this is certainly a lame bit.

I kid Thom Hartmann... but not really.

Teddy and his big stick, then Ronnie and his Bad Brain, in that order.

The other day a guy asked me about the Donald Trump/ Rosie O'Donnell dispute. I can only say that Jefferson had it right when he said, "We must make the Louisiana Purchase for the furtherance of the union."

Then Reagan came in and ruined everything.

Posted by: Thom Hartmann at December 23, 2006 12:15 PM

Aleluja veni, sancte Tygerus!

Posted by: zealot at December 23, 2006 12:25 PM

Hey, don't mock me, buddy.

Miss USA is from Kentucky, right? Didn't Jefferson want to write Kentucky's state constitution? See? It all comes full circle.

Later guys...

Off to work

On a side note, I maybe know TOO much about American history, so his analysis is painfully amateurish.

wow, this makes the History Channel programming look really deep and informative...

Then Reagan came in and ruined everything.

Posted by: Thom Hartmann at December 23, 2006 12:15 PM

True, Tyger Thom. Reagan came in and ruined the New Deal consensus. But he was only restoring the nation to the ideals of the Founding Fathers. Keep Wealth and Power in the hands of the right people.

Thom, write a new book about it with a catchy new age title

On a side note, I maybe know TOO much about American history, so his analysis is painfully amateurish.

Posted by: M the a-c at December 23, 2006 12:31 PM

Ever read Charles Beard?

Tyger Thom's analysis is too rosy. I don't know where he come up with the Founders as struggling Middle Class. Those bastards were rich and powerful, or expected to be that way soon. They cared nothing for the under classes; wrote the Constitution to ensure their lock on wealth and power remained.