Cutting Medicaid

"Medicaid is something we talk about like it's a God-given right, when it's only been around since the 1960s It's a program that we phased in. We can easily start to phase it out," he [Levi Russell-Tea Party Spokesman] said.

Read full story here.

"Under god" has only been in the Pledge of Allegiance since the 1950s....can we phase that out too?

It struck me last night how disgusting it is that someone in this country can be diagnosed with cancer and die a slow and painful death because they cannot afford treatment.
Are we really okay with looking into the face of a person with a heart condition who only needs medicine to live and saying..."Oh sorry, I know this pill will save your life but you can't have it."
Is that the kind of country we want to be? Is that the kind of place we want to live in?

Life or Death should never be decided by the state of your bank account or your credit history.

Quickly Quickly

I havent forgotten about Newt...work proved too hectic for a post last week. However, this post isnt about newt...something very special happened today.

Its the birthday of Dorothea Lynde Dix! Yes, the American prison and asylum reformer would have been 209 today. But something else happened today too....American playwright Robert Sherwood turned 115! You know Sherwood....he wrote Abe Lincoln in New York and a biography of Roosevelt.

Most importantly though...it's National Day in Senegal! Way to stick it to France Senegal.

Hmm...something else happened today. Oh, yes...i nearly forgot. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed this day 43 years ago. Such a tragedy.

I feel like i am forgetting something...oh yes, oh yes, Sklimps turns 35.
Happy born day brother.



~b

Warning...

...righteous anger is building....

Soon there will be a post about Newt Gingrich, perhaps the least moral and most hypocritical man in politics. Well, that may be an overstatement but only because politics is filled with the worst people. Was it Plato who said, "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber." Ain't that the truth (no matter who said it).


Anyway, there's too much anger and not enough night for my rage today so soon...and don't say i didn't warn ya.

~b

Short List

Things I Can Tell About My Co-worker From a Day Using Her Machine:
~She uses the E key a lot.


...very short list.


~tweet tweet goes the busy bird

Political Tête à Tête With Donald Trump

Guess what doesn't impress me? Your smug story about how you leased Gadhafi land in 2009 so he could attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting. You know why I am not impressed?

1. You said, "He paid me more for one night than the land was worth for two years,...." Wow...you're like a motel owner who jacks up the price of a room in the middle of a natural disaster. Impressive.

2. You then continue, "...and then I didn't let him use the land." It sounds like you really "screwed" Gadhafi. Oh, but wait...according to this 2009 story you didn't know the land you were renting to "Middle Eastern partners...may or may not have a relationship to Mr. Gaddafi." Hmm, so did you really screw him or did you get caught with your pants down and renege your short term lease when you realized a Libyan dictator would be staying there?

3. Speaking of that...how did you not know that Gadhafi was going to be staying there? Do you know many people from the middle east who travel to the U.S. and stay in a fucking Bedouin tent? Because I can only think of the one...

4. And that's the key right? You didn't discover that *gasp* Gadhafi was going to stay in that tent?! You pulled the deal when "State and federal politicians who learned that Gaddafi had rented property in the area were outraged..." One would think that you wouldn't need pressure from politicians to ask a Libyan dictator to pack up his tent if you were really surprised by his presence.

So there you go...you made a deal with a dictator, pulled out when you got caught, and then made a bunch of money off the whole thing.

Color me unimpressed.

~b

Reading Time

Here's something i like about science fiction books---with each novel you have to learn a whole new language. Each author has a new type of alcohol. A phrase for a common drug of the time. A new vehicle, a new race of people, a new technology that drives their world.

As a reader, it takes a certain amount of effort to jump into these stories. We are rewarded with a tale that is entirely of the author's making. It's easy to lose yourself in these stories-i think more so than others. Since every frame of reference in this foreign world is supplied by the author, the reader (in this case-me) doesn't over think the events, or the dialog. It's just as it should be and we have no reason to question it.

It's a nice change of pace...anything that lets my brain just sit back and enjoy is a good thing in my book.

~happy reading
B

P.S. Yes, Neuromancer is very good so far...thanks for asking.

Music

I think there is something magical about the Hammond Organ. You hear it often in the music of the 1960s and 70s and more and more these days. I wish I could explain how it fills a song with warmth. Everytime i hear a song with an organ line I can't help but smile.

Think the organ is only for church ladies (Well, isn't that special)? Do you need proof of the power of the organ?

I give you, The Doors. Sure it's a Vox Continental but really...it's still organ-a-rific.

How about Booker T & The MG's classic, Green Onions?

Not good enough, eh? You know the Beatles meant for Let it Be to sound like this. Listen to the organ at 1:50. Tell me that it doesnt sound better than the spector orchestra and i will kick you in your teeth.

There are so many more.

But my favorite is Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum. "Who," you ask? You know, those guys...

"But Bird" you say, "Can you name a song that isnt 30 years old?"

I can name five in fact...
Sowing the Seeds of Love-Tears For Fears
I Had A Dream, Joe-Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Fake Plastic Trees-Radiohead (Organ comes in at 57sec)
I'm Slowly Turning Into You-The White Stripes

I could go on and on...but really, by now you should already be out the door on the way to the record shop eh?


~b

Nirvana

Mmmmm today i had as close to a religious experience as I have ever had. It didnt come in the form of a burning bush or a booming voice from the sky but rather in a paper cup and a biodegradable spoon.

Yogurtland.

Wowza, that's some tasty ass frozen yogurt. I enjoyed the Taro (who would ever imagine that slimy poi is made of the same thing) and Guava Pineapple Tart with fresh fruit on top. It was affordable and after looking at the nutrition at home, surprisingly NOT horrible for you. We're talking 21-34 calories an ounce and fat free. It made me think of the Seinfeld episode with the fat-free yogurt. Here's a very apropos clip...for many reasons.


~tweet tweet goes the...oh...ouch!....brain freeze

Freedom

I finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen tonight.

Franzen writes dialog in a way that is unique and real. Lots of people hate it and think it's not accurate...but i think it is eerily familiar. I see all my interactions play out in his pages. The fights, the secrets, the fear, the love. Everything you've ever said--in some way or another-is captured in his dialog. Half a dozen times while reading i found my self saying, yes...that is exactly right. Or, of course...that is just what i would think/say/do.

This book is similar to his excellent earlier novel, The Corrections. He writes it in chunks, first from this character's point of view, then from another's. You find yourself hating, loving, understanding, and feeling perplexed at these people. Somehow, in the end, you find yourself caring about each, wishing the best for them all. It's really remarkable. I would love to understand how he does it. How he crafts each character. Is it about having their storyline already laid out and just picking up each person at the right moment? Or does he write the twisting interconnected story as is? So many things to learn.

I'm always sad to see Franzen novels end but since i have a gazillion others piling up I'm moving on. Next up, the rise of theodore roosevelt. No worries Gibson, i will get to your Neuromancer soon enough.

~nerdy birdy

Question...

"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples." -His Holiness the Dalai Lama

*******

I just finished watching a Smithsonian show, "Denying the Moon Landings." People who still, 40 years later, believe that the moon landings were faked. They brought up that people thought the first photos of Old Faithful at Yellowstone were faked, that people thought the Wright brothers faked their first flight, that people still think aliens helped Egyptians build the pyramids.

I don't understand this. I find myself constantly stunned by all that humans can do. We can fly through the air at hundreds of miles an hour...we can rocket to space in under ten minutes...we can pull a tumor out of your nose (Fact....gross gross fact).

Why do so many humans love to crap all over our own achievements? The human brain is remarkable...astounding...amazing. All that we can do and create. Why arent more people blown away by this? Why dont people stand slack-jawed at the sheer power of the human brain?

Good news is, we all have a chance to worship the brain this week...watch Discovery slip the surly bonds of Earth this Thursday at 4:50 p.m. EST.



~tweet tweet goes the bird

Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it*

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is proving Twain's adage that "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes."

The governor recently stated that most illegal immigrants are drug mules. Of course that's not true. The Border Patrol knows it's not true. Anyone living in a border town knows it's not true. Anyone who actually studies the issue will know its not true. So why would Brewer just blatantly lie? Why would she say something she knows to be untrue, something that can easily be disproved, and more perplexing, why would she continue to repeat it?

Because she isn't trying to win over intelligent thoughtful people. She is trying to win over those folks who skim headlines looking for "facts" that support whatever position they are trying to prop up...those people who are scared of anyone different and look for "facts" to support their fears.

At the signing of SB 1070 Brewer said that "border violence and crime due to illegal immigration are critically important issues to the people of our state." I am sure that they important issues to her constituents, but I wonder why the governor didnt get around to pointing out that violent crimes dropped in AZ between 2005 and 2008 despite the large growth in the population (up by 600,000)? Why didnt she mention that more than 50 years of non-partisan research on illegal immigration shows that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than those who are native born?

Why tell the truth when you can lie? By the time the truth has leaked out there's oil spweing into the gulf, another anti-gay politician has been outed, and the citizens of Arizona have roundly accepted their new laws.

~B

*Adolph Hitler

The Devil's in the Details

There is something wrong with archaeologists. Maybe its the National Register criterion that's the problem. All i know is that archaeologists will not, for the life of them, make a determination of eligibility regarding a site. Its like a fuse in their brains blow in the process of writing their reports and the only words they are able to use are "probably" "likely" "might be" "could be" etc. Makes me want to blow my brains out.

I'm an archaeologist and I have had coworkers/bosses try to talk me out of an "eligible" or "not eligible" determination. Its one thing to argue for one or the other designation but to argue for "possibly"....mind boggling. Of course no one wants to be the one to agree to the destruction of a lithic scatter which later turns out to be a pre-clovis camp, but honestly, does that ever happen? No.

It could be that criteria D is so vague, asking for a determination on a site that may be likely to yield information important in prehistory or history. How can you really know with shovel tests or a couple 1x1's. I understand the idea that you need to test more to be absolutely certain but i cant imagine that anyone thought criteria D would lead to every single site being called "possibly eligible". At some point aren't we being asked to use our education, experience and judgment to decide one way or another?

This wishy-washy determination makes for a sticky wicket when it comes to ICRMPS, PAs, MOAs. (I'm folksy and possibly British!)

So...to all my archaeology pals...nut up and make a decision.


**peaches and tweets**
~birdy

The 1%

I had a particularly annoying day at work. It was fueled by small mistakes made by various coworkers. The devil's in the details.

Certainly I have made similar mistakes, nothing serious, but the cluster of them today led me to the edge of insanity. Thank god for early hockey games.

One of my bigger frustrations stems from the fact that since my small company has been eaten by a bigger company we no longer have local admin privileges. Again, a small thing, but one that prevents me from downloading scanner software or freeware programs I use for work. This rule is in place because some people in the big company are unable to get their work done without downloading Barbie's Hair Salon (a real program), or some other stupid time wasting/pirated program.

The whole world is full of these laws and rules that we make for the 1% of the population that screws up. Rather than ask managers to actually manage, rather than holding people accountable, we stymie the 99% doing it right.

You see this in every aspect of our lives, even down to the warnings not to put animals in the microwave, because you know there is that 1%....

I do understand that my company needs to manage their licensing because they are liable and that people pick up viruses and they need to protect themselves.

Maybe my real problem is people. Was there or will there ever be a time when you can actually count on humans to not abuse and misuse whatever is handed to them?

...my little aggravation about work turns into my disappointment with all of humanity...

Testing the Waters

*dip*.....

*plunge*


I miss blogging. I had a hectic year and really felt that I didnt want to share anything but I am missing the act of writing, even if it is just blather on a page that no one reads. Im going to start up the blog again, maybe with more creative writing. I am sure all of my regular readers are gone. I know that blogs have kind of died in popularity as well. Especially these crappy personal blogs. No matter though, i usually wrote for myself anyway.

Besties to all you bots!
birdie...

Banned Book Week, What Book Did I Read You Ask? #bbw

Howdy. I have two posts in celebration of Banned Books Week. Sounds strange I know but I look at this week as a way to celebrate my right to read whatever the hell I want to, without interference from teachers, parents, or so called do-gooders.

First, Non and I read, And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Pete Parnell with illustrations by Henry Cole.

This book is numero uno on the ALA's most challenged book list for 2006, 2007, and 2008. Reasons given:

anti-family - Actually, this book isnt anti family. In fact, it is rather pro family. It just isnt the kind of family a person who tries to ban books would like. It's a non-traditional family.

homosexuality - I assume they mean that the book promotes homosexuality. Non, the nine year old who read it didnt pick up on that. He certainly understood that the two penguins were male, and that they didnt hang out with the female penguins, but he didnt walk away from the book saying, homosexuality is great! He didnt even use the word. (He thinks homosexuality is fine of course but this book didnt tip him in that direction)

religious viewpoint - I am not sure what religious viewpoint the people who challenged the book were talking about. From reading it, religion wasnt mentioned and didnt play a part in the book at all. I assume they meant that by not talking about a specific western religion that the book was trying to push some heathen pagan religion but as an atheist, i can attest that there was NO religious point of view in this book at all.

unsuited to age group - Hmm, I suppose this would depend on the age of your children. There wasnt even the slightest hint of penguin baby making, or penguin anal sex. Unless you are disgusted by homosexuals, you can read this book and take nothing more from it than those penguins hatched an egg and now are a family. If you do hate homosexuals, then yes Crazy, this book is trying to indoctrinate your little butterface.

anti-ethnic - This is my favorite reason of all. This is the reason that I went all ranty over chicken with the family and Q had to talk me down. I had to actually m-w.com the word ethnic because the traditional meaning of "racial, tribal, national, cultural" didn't seem to apply. I wasnt aware that religion was included in the meaning, however. After I scoured the book for any mention of ethnicity and checked out all the photos to make sure brown black yellow cracker and red were accounted for I determined that folks who challenged this book must have decided that it was anti-religion. That really angered me. No where in this book is god or religion mentioned. The authors dont bag on christians. There aren't protests of the penguins by Westboro baptist church members. There is nothing anti religion or religious at all in this book. However, thats the problem right there...

There is a significant and loud subset of christians who think that when you dont talk about religion, that you are actively being ANTI religious. Ricky Gervais is dealing with similar criticism about his new movie The Invention of Lying. Critics have said it was anti-religious when in reality the movie says nothing about god or churches or anything else even remotely religious. The fact that Gervais doesnt mention a god at all is what people are referring to when they say it is anti-religious. Isnt that doublethink? I always thought it was okay for me to just be my own little atheist, not out trying to convert. But now i find that if i write a book that neither bashes nor praises the western christian god I am anti-religious?? Fuck, if NOT talking about a god I dont believe in means I am anti-religious then we are all screwed right?


After finishing the book Non declared it, "good, something kids should or could read." I asked him if was anti-family and he said no, because it was about families. I asked if it was anti-ethnic and he didnt understand what that meant. I asked if it was anti-religious and he said, with that distinctly nine year old whats-wrong-with-you-face, "...they are penguins."

From the mouth of babes....


******

Later this week I will be talking about Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz which is ALA's number one most challenged book from 1990-1999.


For more information on Banned Book Week Events in your libraries and bookstores check out this link.

Happy Reading!

~Bird

"If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem."*

Fox recently placed an advertisement in newspapers that asked...



Good Question Fox, the only problem is that all the stations listed there DID in fact cover the rally in Washington D.C.

"CNN provided live coverage of the rally in Washington on Saturday, dispatching more than a dozen personnel, including multiple camera crews and the CNN Express Bus, to cover the event. Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser was live at Freedom Plaza; Correspondent Kate Bolduan reported live from the Capitol and throughout the crowd; All Platform Journalist Jim Spellman provided live hits all day after traveling for weeks on the Tea Party Express Bus; and CNN Correspondent Lisa Desjardins was live for CNN and CNN Radio from the National Mall."

If you read the story you can see that all of the other stations mentioned in Fox's ad also covered the rally.

Why did Fox lie? I cant stand that. It makes me so angry and what really kills me is that it is a ludicrous lie. A lie that can easily be disproved; that's a textbook definition of a pathological liar everyone.

Why would Fox risk looking so partisan and foolish? Its because they know that once the lie is out there, it is all that people will remember. People wont remember that CNN spent an extraordinary amount of time covering the rally. No one ever remembers someone being exonerated, they only remember them being accused. The moment a story leaks it becomes fact.

So Fox feels comfortable lying because the fans of Fox News will feel galvanised and will accept the ad as fact. The folks who dont like Fox will blow it off as some partisan bullshit and will forget about it in half a week when the next politician hits on a lobbyist.

But civility and honesty dies a little and Edward R Murrow spins in his grave.

~tweet tweet goes the cynical bird

*Abraham Lincoln

Banned Books Week

Its that time of year again. Banned Books Week is September 26 - October 3 2009.

Last year I read The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier. I found it completely un-ban worthy. Honestly its the kind of books that kids can relate to. One that is didactic without beating you over the head with it (Can you tell I am studying for the GRE?).

This year I am going to read And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Its a children's book based on the true story of two male penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo who formed a couple and were seen trying to hatch a rock that was shaped like an egg. Zany penguins.

Its been #1 on the top ten list of most frequently challenged books for three years. The common reasons given are that it is anti-family (you mean anti-the type of family I think is okay), homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and anti-ethnic. I cant imagine what the hell that last one is about. Unless the penguins get into it with some African elephant.

Anyway, soon I will know and will, of course, pass that information along to you.

If you would like to read a banned book (which you totally should!) you can check out lists here. Also, check out the National Coalition Against Censorship website. Tons of good info (there is a perm. link on the right margin as well).

This is an issue near and dear to my heart so expect a couple more posts about it.

Happy Reading
~birdy

Donks and Musings

The season opener was sad and funny and sad all at once (yes, only two things).

The first play, a bungled punt return was a visual representation of what the entire season will be like. Whenever Orton trotted onto the field i watched the game through my fingers...yikes.

If anything, the crazy touchdown in the last 30 seconds just made me feel worse. Sure it was exciting but....if the Donks get a win, that's how it is going to have to happen all season long. So sad and funny.

Also, my fantasy football team has a new name, Dino Eats Jesus based on this photo


I will let you know how it goes. Right now, I have 169 points but he has a couple of players on Monday night so...
******
I get the Denver Post on Sat and Sunday because I am a sucker and when the kid came to the door to sell it to me I couldnt say no. I hate that crap...

Anyway, i hate getting the paper but am lazy (you noticed that already didnt you?) and havent called to cancel. Every week I remember why I dont like the newspaper... i swear there is no new news. Everything I had already read before, online or whatever.

But, today-finally- something I missed, though I am shamed to admit it. When did the Avs pick up Craig Anderson? Jeez, i stink! Didnt even see it. Burgundy White game is this Wednesday everyone. Pre-season opener on the 17th and the season opener and retirement of Sakic's jersey on October 1st.

******
Arent you glad I started blogging again? You're welcome America.


~Bird

Five Weeks?!

Wow, what kind of slacker am I?

Lets see, whats been going on.

Got married yesterday, watching football as we speak (yay, real football), am currently fighting my new companies discriminitory PTO policy, and am working on Vocab words for the GRE!

I've been busy but more than that....lazy. Not sure what is going on with that. I will try try to post more. Right now, brief alaska stuff.

******
Alaska was wonderful. I saw a buncha moose, like just hanging out in people's front yards peeing and eating the bushes. It was crazy. Also, five bald eagles. I wonder if it isnt as neat to see them if they are hanging out on telephone poles all the time.

Most importantly Q and non and I saw a buncha glaciers. We walked on one and took a boat to the other. It was freakin amazing and made me want to move there immediately.





Luckily Q reminded me of the winters and the lack of sun and so we arent moving but I will be going back.

******

Okay i am out. That's a lot for my first time back. I need to pace myself people!

Waiting...

Dont you hate it when you are waiting for an email. You sent one off and now are waiting for the reply...what is taking so long?! Why arent they responding? Ugh...