23 June 2008

The Stars At Night are Big and Bright...

(clap, clap, clap, clap) Deep in the Heart of Texas...

I am off to Eagle Pass for more border fence fun.

The fence is in the news all over the place today. First, the Supreme Court rejected the case made by environmental groups to stop construction on portions of the fence that have already begun. Chertoff waived 30 plus laws (environmental, cultural, etc etc) so that construction could begin.

Second, the Times cover is about, "The Great Wall of America". I haven't read the article so i cant really speak to it. What i do know is that the US cover is about the wall that divides us but the cover for the Europe, Asia, and South Pacific editions are all about "The Games That Bring Us Together".

Q and i were talking about this idea of togetherness being sent across the world while at home Time talks about our divisiveness.

Eagle Pass should be interesting. The town itself is very anti-fence so I plan to stay low key...or as low key as I can get. Hopefully we will be in about out and wont have to drop any 1x1's. Cross your fingers...

Meanwhile, i will dispatch from the land of lincoln...no wait...the Lone Star State. You enjoy your regular afternoon thunderstorms and I will enjoy my 103 degrees and mild humidity.

Tweet's and Whistles
~Bird

20 June 2008

Music...

I had forgotten how much i liked the song Crimson and Clover and then today while at the grocery store i heard some horrible muzak version and went...oh yeah!

Sigh...music makes me smile


B

19 June 2008

Crazy of the Week

Our crazy of the week is brought to you by,

Jarts!

Ouch, That's Fun!


You may not know the name Leon Kass



but he was the Chair of the President's Council on Bioethics from 2002-2005. I didnt even know there was a bioethics council but i guess if you are looking to stop stem cell research, Leon is the guy to do it.

He once said, regarding women and technology, "Her menstrual cycle, since puberty a regular reminder of her natural maternal destiny, is now anovulatory and directed instead by her will and her medications, serving goals only of pleasure and convenience, enjoyable without apparent risk to personal health and safety."

Hmm...since i actually am a woman i can tell you it is never convenient and enjoyable. God forbid we take a pill that can regulate it (somewhat) and possibly reduce the stupid cramps that we get each month...yes it is us screwing with our maternal destiny, how dare we.

Most of his ideas are pretty old white guy standard....with one exception...

"Worst of all from this point of view are those more uncivilized forms of eating, like licking an ice cream cone --a catlike activity that has been made acceptable in informal America but that still offends those who know eating in public is offensive."

Umm...licking an ice cream cone?

"But eating on the street -- even when undertaken, say, because one is between appointments and has no other time to eat -- displays in fact precisely such lack of self-control: It beckons enslavement to the belly. Hunger must be sated now; it cannot wait. Though the walking street eater still moves in the direction of his vision, he shows himself as a being led by his appetites. Lacking utensils for cutting and lifting to mouth, he will often be seen using his teeth for tearing off chewable portions, just like any animal"

Does Kass run into folks trying to eat steak while 'between appointments' or does he use utensils to cut chewable portions of sandwiches and corn dogs?

"This doglike feeding, if one must engage in it, ought to be kept from public view, where, even if WE feel no shame, others are compelled to witness our shameful behavior."

If anything is shameful behavior Mr. Kass it is that ridiculous comb over you are trying to pull off. Please, it ought to be kept from public view...

~B

quotes from here

15 June 2008

Um What?

I leave for a week and Tim Russert dies?

Sadness...

Completely off topic, the Leroys* in Vaughn, New Mexico wins the "Best Bathroom In The Middle Of No-Where Award."


*May not be the correct name, but does it really matter?

05 June 2008

Ugh

I hate seeing this...



But probably not for the reason you think. I have never been a red wings hater. I like the team and in general enjoy watching them play. However, red wings fans force me to root against the team.

Sadly, the wings have a similar fan base as the Yankees, Patriots, and Red Sox. Fans that just randomly pick a favorite team based on how good they are. These people have never been to the city or probably even the state in question. They prefer to stay in their midwestern homes and wait for the teams to visit their town so they can don the gear and go to the rink/field/park and be loud and obnoxious. They dont take the time to learn the history of the team, they dont care about the past and often dont even care about the sport.

I should say that all of these teams have plenty of fans that are knowledgeable and dedicated and have a history with the team. They can be respectful and very pleasant. However, I cant even count the number of red wings fans I've been around who dont know what the octopus is for. "I think it was just their old mascot or something..." Hockeytown indeed.

So, I am glad that 46 year old Chelios has another cup. I am happy that Zetterberg won the Conn Smyth. I like Osgood so I am okay with his winning, even though shitty ass Hasek will get his name on the cup again. I just wish that I wouldnt have to see retarded wings fans driving around Denver with Orange Crush and Native stickers on their freakin trucks and a red wings car flag hanging out the side window.

02 June 2008

Democrat Delegate Debacle

Q and I watched the DNC rules and bylaws committee meeting on Saturday (yes we are that geeky and we fucking love it!)...Jesus Christ (i said that in spanish by the by) what a freakin mess the Dems are this year.

If you missed it and have completely shut off the interwebs, television, and radio you might not know what is going on. Well, let birdy help you, yes?

Florida and Michigan, who both held their primaries before the date allowed by the DNC were told that their delegates wouldnt be sat at the convention in August. They held the primaries anyway. All of the hopeful candidates agreed that they would not campaign in either states and they didnt. In Michigan, all the major candidates pulled their names off the ballots except for Hillary Clinton. So, the FL and MI primaries come and go and we move on with nomination process.

At the time, all the candidates were quoted several times saying that they know that Michigan and Florida dont count. All is fine and well.

As you may be aware...Obama has been gaining ground on Clinton and after primaries in Indiana came back much closer then expected, Obama effectively put the nomination out of Hillary's reach. Obama began to get support from undeclared super delegates and the math just wasnt there for Clinton.

About this time, the problem with Florida and Michigan became fervent. No one, either Obama, Hillary, or the DNC, wanted to stiff both states out of their votes (the dems try to pride themselves on not disenfranchising folks--even if they were warned and possibly deserve it), the problem was how to divide the delegates in one state where Obama's name didnt appear on the ballot.

Both Hillary and Bill Clinton as well as her outspoken supporters, then began talking a blue streak about how the press was pushing her out of the race. How they are trying to cover up the fact that she is "winning" the popular vote. Hillary of course is counting her big win in Michigan and Florida as well as her other, legitimate, primary wins (including Puerto Rico where the citizens have a say in who is a nominee but cant vote in the general election). By these numbers she says that she is winning this nomination and for the press and others to ask her to leave the race is insulting, sexist, etc. The Clinton line is that she has won more votes...that she has won bigger states...and that Obama is relying on Caucus states too much.

This all culminated in Saturday's Rules and Bylaws Committee where DNC members had to decide what to do with Michigan and Florida. After hours of "discussions" constantly interrupted by Obama and Clinton supporters screaming from the peanut gallery, it was decided that Florida would seat all its delegates with each getting 1/2 a vote. The Obama/Clinton breakdown would follow the % won during the primary. In Michigan, where Obama was not on the ballot, it was decided that all the delegates would be sat at the convention in August, each with 1/2 a vote. In the initial primary Hillary received 328,151 votes and Obama received 0. However, there were ~237,000 "uncommitted" votes placed in the Michigan primary. If Michigan voters wanted to vote for Obama or Edwards they would have to vote uncommitted.

The R&B Committee voted to give Hillary 35 delegates and Obama 29. The Michigan Democratic Party said that the numbers were based on work they did with Michigan dems who voted uncommitted, including exit polls etc. in an attempt to ferret out who they had voted for. Obviously the Hillary supporters were pissed saying that the committee had stolen votes and hijacked the nomination. I agree that it isnt an ideal situation however short of holding a new primary (something suggested early on and rejected by everyone involved) what is the committee to do?

However, the problem I have with Hillary and her supporters is that their argument that she is "winning" the popular vote is wrong and also completely moot.

First off, it doesnt even matter if she was truly winning the popular vote. The popular vote isnt what decides the Dem nomination...delegates are what candidates need and as i type the numbers say Obama 2,076 and Clinton 1,917. This means that even if Clinton was given all the delegates from michigan, she still wouldnt have the numbers needed to pull ahead.

What is more troubling to me here in Colorado, are the states Hillary is NOT counting in her winning formula...namely, the caucuses states. There are 14 states that hold caucuses and 11 of those states actually report turnouts for each candidate...leaving only Texas, Hawaii and Washington unaccounted for.

Why doesnt Hillary count the caucus numbers in her winning formula? Does she think that a vote in a primary is more important that a vote in a caucus? I know Colorado isnt a big win for any candidate, but the 120,001 people who took the time to go to their caucus on Super Tuesday would be a little insulted to find out that our vote doesnt matter...

After adding in the remaining caucus states the popular vote total looks something like this...

Obama: 17,780,516
Clinton: 17,589,514

Doing the math....carrying the one....

Clinton is behind Obama by 191,002 votes.

Hmm...fuzzy math.

As mentioned above, none of it matters because the popular vote doesnt get you squat. It all comes down to delegates and Obama is far ahead in that department.

I am hoping that after the final primaries tomorrow that the long nightmare will be over. That Clinton will concede and give a nice speech where she says that Obama is our nominee and lets all be good little dems and rally behind our candidate. If she chooses to push this issue to the Credentials Committee as Harold Ickes suggested she might, I swear to god I will have an aneurysm.

Here's to hoping Clinton does the smart thing.

~B

All numbers were culled from here or here.

Oh. My. God.

Finally...jesus christ. It has taken so long for me to get online. Here is my first dispatch.

It is hot. I am dirty. My back is all wanky. My hair feels so soft. Everyone here is insane.

Seriously...everyone.

I am hoping to come home early.

nice goodbye's for McGuckin.

Also, this morning i saw a dog humping another dog's face. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen and i nearly crashed the rental into a post laughing.

If that is the highlight of the trip you can imagine the lows...

I heard that the mayor of Eagle Pass is the only one in town who is really against the border fence. Word on the street (border patrol agents) is that he is in cahoots with the Mex. folks across the river. No idea what that specifically means. The political hot spots in town are the Cactus Restaurant (good lunch!) and the Golf Course Pro Shop. Strange. We were given a stack of "No Border Wall" bumper stickers by one of the Mayor's pals while leaving work at Fort Duncan. I guess most people think that because we are interested in preserving the past that we are actively working towards stopping the fence from going up. Sadly, as most archaeologists know all too well, we cant stop development...maybe just slow it down a bit.

So far the big find is two military uniform buttons. If anyone knows something about buttons let me know eh?

Back to work...

Peaches and Tweets~
Bird