Good morning, Netizens…

The unmistakable MHibbs and I are meeting for breakfast this morning at our “secret” location. No, it is not Doodles, as that is too public for our thoughts. I’ll be back later on with more of my TGIF palaver and see if anyone remembers our secret location.

Dave

Good morning, Netizens…

Right or wrong, Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson, Jr. is going to be placed on desk duty, pending the outcome of his federal trial in connection with the 2006 death of Otto Zehm. This highly-charge decision came down late yesterday, according to City Officialdom, and the usual cast of characters are already banging their kettles with their spoons.

After the federal charges were filed June 19, a three-member committee – including one employee from the city’s Human Resources Department, one from the Police Department and one from the police union – reviewed the charges and recommended changing Thompson’s duties, city mouthpiece Marlene Feist said in a news release. Thompson will be moved out of the department’s patrol division and placed into a civilian police planning and analysis position. According to Police Department spokespersons, this will allow “the department to continue to use Thompson’s experience and training.” (Spokesman-Review)

Liz Moore, the director of the Peace and Justice Action League (PJALS) is also quoted by the Spokesman as saying this decision is, ““repugnant and incredibly disappointing.”

She might be right. However, at least for the present, Thompson has been only charged with a crime, but not convicted. That implies under our set of laws that Thompson is innocent. The Spokane Police have their laws; our nation has laws of their own. Which takes precedence? That is an interesting question, one that requires one puts aside their personal beliefs and opinions.

I can state I believe Thompson is guilty as all get-out, and probably shouldn’t be on the streets as a policeman. That, along with Liz Moore’s statement, is an opinion. It should not be enforceable upon a man who, in the eyes of the law, has not been convicted of anything yet.

Yet.

Dave

Continue reading Charged and presumed guilty? »

with Anu Garg

dibs

(dibz)

noun: The right or claim on something.

From shortening of dibstones, a children’s game played with pebbles.

“Carly: I’ve got dibs on ‘Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina’.
Syesha: No way, girl. That’s my song.”
Donald Munro; What A Tangled ‘Idol’ We Weave; Fresno Bee (California); Apr 20, 2008.

“Department officers were given first dibs for the job.”
Michael Tucker; Town Approves Hengel; Belgrade News (Montana); Jun 19, 2009.

No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be. -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)

Continue reading A Word A Day — dibs »

with Anu Garg

jive

(jyv)

verb tr., intr.: adjective: noun:
Origin unknown.

“The edict by state and city officials that we Durham residents should let water run out of faucets for three or four minutes before drinking it or using it to cook with may indeed be the solution to the lead threat that has been discovered in the city’s water supply. But what if they are jiving us? Surely I’m not the only cynic.”
Barry Saunders; Money Flows With Water Woes; The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina); Sep 2, 2006.

“Designwise, the focus remains on the house-garden connection — the need for garden rooms and plants to jive with architecture and interiors.”
Turning over a new leaf; Los Angeles Times; May 21, 2000.

Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It’s one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period. -Nicholas Sparks, author (b. 1965)

Continue reading A Word A Day — jive »

Good morning, Netizens…

Don’t you just love acronyms? Today’s David Horsey cartoon takes us in a direction which, perhaps, our fearless leaders probably do not want to go, but it seems accurate. Finding the acronym for the word “Islamic” cannot be that difficult, but making it fit the existing conditions in Iran, we’ll, that may be subject to public opinion.

Viewed from our side of the globe, most people look at the Mullahs with a jaundiced eye, perhaps, but to most Iran residents, the byword is “Mullahs rock, dude!”

Of course, I always ask the question: which is it? Can you imagine the head of Iran’s mullahs meeting in the White House with Obama? How about a tour group of Mullahs traveling through the United States in a tour bus? Now apply the acronym of your choice to the word “Islamic”.

Then we’ll decide what to do when or if that ever happens. Mullahs on West Second Avenue? Sure, why not!

Dave

Continue reading Acronym for Islamic… »

with Anu Garg

grift

(grift)

noun:
1. A swindle or a confidence game.
2. Money obtained by fraud.
verb tr., intr.:
To swindle someone; to obtain something by swindling.

Of uncertain origin, perhaps an alteration of graft, the origin of which remains unknown as well.

“The real genius of the ever-evolving 419 scam is its ability to change with the times. Like Madonna or antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus, the money-advancing grift continuously reinvents itself to better infiltrate society’s weaknesses.”
Helen A.S. Popkin; Don’t Get Taken by This Adorable Scam; MSNBC; Nov 7, 2007.

A good listener helps us overhear ourselves. -Yahia Lababidi, author (b. 1973)

Continue reading A Word A Day — grift »

Good morning, Netizens…

You have to always give credit to the elder spokespersons in our Fair City, because their sense of right and wrong nearly always are spot-on when it comes to recommending clinically good decisions. No, I am not bespeaking the lackluster members of the Spokane City Council. Bob Apple aside, the City Council ‘s lack of decisiveness and acumen is only equalled by their ability to hold decent public meetings where the public can speak to issues without fear of being escorted from the premises. There are other elders in our community who speak well, have cogent thought processes and aren’t afraid to speak their piece, even in front of the august City Council members.

Now take last night’s City Council meeting, for example, where they ratified the lackluster Police Ombudsman who-has-no-authority. As I have stated in the recent past, having a Police Ombudsman without full investigatory powers similar to those held by the Ombudsman in Boise, Idaho, is a waste of taxpayer’s money. Apparently most of the elder spokespersons in our community agree with that.

Marianne Torres perhaps coined the description best when she described hiring Tim “Hippie” Burns as Police Ombudsman like “a fox watching the chicken coop”.

Now you might not like Marianne Torres, because of some of her political stances. You might want to ask her why, if she is as sage as she appears, why she never ran for City Council. Maybe it is because she is too savvy to do something crazy like run for a City Council position. On the other hand, Mz. Torres aptly speaks for the disenfranchised, the downtrodden in our midst, most of whom question just about everything passed into law in our fair city. You take away the Ombudsman’s authority and what do you have? Nuttin’ baby. Everyone except the members of the City Council and the Mayor seem to agree with that.

Of course, if you have attended and/or watched City Council meetings past and present, you would know George McGrath. I am told there is even a George McGrath fan club, given the length of time he has appeared in the Citizens Forum pointing out the inequities of our city government. Typically armed with a sheaf of public documents, and loaded for bear, George can be counted upon to point out gross stupidity in our midst, and has done so for decades. George was escorted from last night’s City Council session for muttering deprecations from the audience about the ombudsman position. He is right when he says there is nothing being accomplished for the citizens.

That’s the problem, in my eyes. We have a Police Ombudsman bereft of any real powers, and a City Council and Mayor who do not know when to shut up and listen to our village elders.

However, we have a Police Ombudsman now. Sort of. Our City is still married to the Police Guild, a quasi-secret society of police that make their own rules as they go along. Can you agree with them or the Village Elders? It’s a choice, you know.

Dave

Good morning, Netizens…

Cartoonist David Horsey gives us some clinically-flawless examples of medieval thinking this morning which would be highly functional, were it not for the Republican Caucus hiding behind their covert doorways advancing their theories about science.

I can see it now. In the Arctic Regions, icebergs hold covert but unsentient meetings and vote unanimously to “melt down for the heck of it”. You cannot deny they are melting down, because there is proof what is taking place. Giant icebergs calving is not that scientific in nature: just pull up your lawn chair, have a seat and watch. If you can’t figure out why they are melting down, you call the scientific theory of the time a hoax and be done with it.

Asking members of the Republican Caucus to approach scientific thinking, or even critical thinking for that matter, with a clear path of thought seems an anachronism to some, but then long ago in history we had people who swore on their honor that the world was flat and that the sun revolved the planet earth. Time changes things; things change time. It will be interesting to see what the theories we currently hold about Global Warming will be like in a few decades, perhaps.

Perhaps by then we might even have some theories about how Republicans feel about Global Warming then.

Dave

Continue reading Global warming as a theory… »

Good afternoon, Netizens…

Tomorrow, June 30, Americans will withdraw from Iraqi cities, a first giant step toward the planned winding down of the War in Iraq. In this AP picture, Iraqis are already celebrating in the parks and on the streets. Why are they celebrating?

Some suggest it is because they are well-rid of the Evil Empire of the United States. Others, perhaps more sensibly, suggest that now the United States has left Iraqi cities, they are once more free to resume their bloody factional religious warfare free of anyones interference.

Does the United States leaving Iraq’s cities mean there will be peace in that country?

Why sure. Whatever would make you think otherwise?

Dave

Continue reading Peace in Iraq? Why SURE! »

with Anu Garg

Poet Carl Sandburg once described slang as “a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work.” Nothing wrong with words in a tie and suit, but sometimes only slang can do the job.

Since slang is often born in the back-alleys of language rather than in a sanitized hospital room, it’s not easy to pin down its origins. Does that matter? Go ahead, hire this week’s five hardworking words for your verbal mill.

jake

(jayk)

adjective: Satisfactory; all right; okay.

Of unknown origin.

“So far as the state is concerned, everything is jake. But the council seems determined to throw a monkey wrench into the works.”
James Gill; Council Seems Eager to Trip Up Churchill; The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana); Apr 20, 2005.

Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. -Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian (1892-1971)

Continue reading A Word A Day — jake »

Good morning, Netizens…

Now, staggering and weaving from beneath our collective load of discord, grief and strife, tinged with the certainty beyond all credible doubt that all of us will die someday, we have finally reached Sunday. It is festooned before us, dressed gaudily in bright spring flowers and tall roses blossoming from the trellis across the front entry to the Virtual Ballroom while overhead, the first vestiges of infant bird life scream from atop every bush and tree, hungry for their meal. You could not, in sensible mind, ask for a more beautiful day than we have today. Now watch some misguided politician, public servant or bureaucrat come along and destroy it with the creation of some half-baked plan designed to either enrich themselves at the public expense, or prevent us from enjoying the bounty of the day.

Let us agree I have not been overawed by summer this or any other year, for no sooner than I begin to relish the gentle breezes of summer, they turn into winds that blow wildfires incredibly out of control and people lose their dreams in the smoke. Yet when the Lady I call summer reclines against the brick wall outside the Virtual Ballroom, indolently letting her hair fall down in passionate luster across the lands, and in the quiet summer sunsets when she strolls through the verdant farms and fields and for once, the wheat stands tall, not flattened by winds and hail, I see and feel her most dearly. For there is nothing more sacred than sitting upon a rock that has been in the same place since before the time of Christ, watching the sunset of a perfect summer day as it ripples, gamboling among the ferns and water grasses along the river’s edge.

For there is a part of me that truly loathes the city. Rather than swim in a chlorine saturated swimming pool among people, most of whom have never dived into a backwoods pool where moss and frogs all dwell, I would rather do cannonballs off an old farmer’s bridge and take my chances with the snakes and various forms of wildlife I might chance to encounter. I never dreamed nor conceived of life while sitting in a swimming pool, but laying beneath an old bridge in the shade, escaping a scorching hot summer day and swimming in a mud-bottom pond. Of course, life was much simpler then than now.

If you chance to ask an adolescent kid from the city, “What kind of tree is that over there?” the chances are better than not they probably do not know, or if you ask them, “What kind of a plant is that, growing there along the water’s edge”, the chances are few of them ever had aunts or uncles that knew the land so well as to tell them how to create honeysuckle wine or when to harvest wild cherries from along the fence rows in the summer to make a perfect pie.

I fear I am working too hard. For a man in his mid-sixties, I probably need to seriously consider slowing down, resting more often between major undertakings. However, there is so much more I wish to see, particularly in summer when the love of the land is there, waiting to be bestowed upon anyone who daydreams when they wander in the fields or laughs along the quiet little streams that chatter obliquely to themselves.

Dave

Continue reading The simplicity of life by a stream… »

Good morning, Netizens…

Here we are, another wonderful summer day in the Virtual Ballroom, and while the Ghosts are gathered in hushed groups throughout the ballroom, whispering no doubt of the death of Michael Jackson under what appear to be mysterious circumstances, the news wires, always chattering in their arcane manner behind the Virtual Espresso Bar never cease telling the tales of Michael Jackson. However, as this David Horsey cartoon for the day clearly shows, there is other news out there. Peer closely, if you will, at the cast of characters waiting for their hair appointments.

We have lots of news. News. News. News. This is because, somewhere across the face of this sphere we call home, someone is being very indiscreet, very stupid or just plain misbehaving and someone else is there with a camera and tape recorder to record the entire sordid event. Politicians are so predictable, as one ghost stated recently. Most of them seem to have a profound problem remaining faithful to their wives by keeping their pants zipped. Damned concubines are always making matrimonial faithfulness so difficult, aren’t they? Or is it the politicians themselves who have difficulties? This, of course, begs the question how many female politicians feel compelled to be unfaithful to their spouses, doesn’t it? Did Governor Mark Sanford learn anything in his trip to Argentina?

Normally we would hear about it almost immediately, and cluck our tongues that such things happen in our times. However, with nearly everyone in the news media covering the death of Michael Jackson, some news stories may have been overlooked in the haste to tell the tale of a terribly talented but sad life.

History, that guardian of all past transgressions and some new ones that are breaking, is sitting over beside the pit where the Virtual Orchestra still plays onward, recording whether all the hue and fury about Michael Jackson was worth it. In the meantime, there are lots of other worthy news stories, as David Horsey so aptly points out for us this morning.

Dave

Continue reading What other news is there? »

with Anu Garg

excoriate

(ik-SKOR-ee-ayt)

verb tr.:
1. To severely criticize someone or something.
2. To strip off the skin.

From Latin excoriare (to strip or to skin), ex- (out) + corium (skin, hide). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sker- (to cut) that is also the source of words such as skirt, sharp, scrape, screw, shard, shears, carnage, curt, carnivorous, hardscrabble, and incarnadine.

“Why is she [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, president of Philippines] being excoriated for trying to implement her campaign promise?”
Efren L. Danao; Give Light, Not Heat, to Cha-cha Issue; The Manila Times (Philippines); Jun 17, 2009.

No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country. -Alexis de Tocqueville, statesman and historian (1805-1859)

Continue reading A Word A Day —excoriate »

Good morning, Netizens…

Oh, but this is funny!

Don’t cry for me Argentina, indeed! David Horsey’s cartoon despicts Mark Sanford’s lament as “Don’t Cry for me Argentina” slightly revised.

Dave

Continue reading Mark Sanford’s lament… »

Good evening, Netizens…

In a moment of being utterly candid, I’ll admit that the late “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson, was never precisely my cup of tea, although I was impressed with how he plied the top of the charts with his music and several of his dance moves bordered on the line of sheer genius. However, I always had issues with the ever-changing face of Michael Jackson: one month he was one face, the next month his face had evolved into something different, and in later years becoming more macabre over time. Toward the end of his life, despite the rumors he was gamely fighting to win his place back atop the pile of Pop music, I had simply stopped watching, for I no longer felt certain who he was.

If I pause to remember Michael Jackson, I probably would think first of the number of plastic surgeons he kept employed over the years, and ponder the meaning of all that glitz and sequins it took for him to take the stage. However, I will remember him most for his performance as a 5 year-old prodigy on stage with his family performing “I’ll be there”, and for me, one of his first and most-durable hits.

In his later years, however, his increasingly-macabre behavior, his stupid statements and his irrational dependence upon facial alterations drove me away.

I cannot forget nor forgive his comments about having little boys sleeping in his bed. I will not go into what I probably would do if any ordinary adult male made such a comment to me, but it wouldn’t be pretty to watch. Likewise dangling his infant over the railing of a hotel where he was staying: to a normal person that should be good for a few years in prison for reckless endangerment of an infant, but Michael Jackson was anything but a “normal” person.

My heroes and heroines have always been ordinary people who, when thrust into extraordinary places in life through talent, still somehow managed to remain decent people with sensible values. I guess that is where I drew the invisible line with Michael Jackson. I was never certain, especially toward the end exactly where his values lay, however great his talent and skill.

Your results, of course, may differ.

Dave

Good afternoon, Netizens…

Michael Jackson died this afternoon of what the news media are terming cardiac arrest.

Dave

Continue reading Michael Jackson dead… »

Good morning, Netizens…

I was impressed with the lengthy story in the Spokesman-Review about Karl F. Thompson, Jr.’s career in law enforcement. Several prior glowing statements notwithstanding by Chief Ann Kirkpatrick regarding his 37 years of service to law enforcement, there are few people who would contest my statement that Thompson has been a professional lawmen of incredible acumen and skill for most of his adult life. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Justice Studies and has attended the FBI Academy. If there is a poster child for the Spokane Police Department, Karl Thompson probably ranks right up near the top of the list.

Until he beat Otto Zehm senseless in the Zip Trip store and was later indicted by the Grand Jury, that is.

However, none of the allegations mean he is guilty until he receives a fair trial on the two charges he currently faces.

The convoluted trail of evidence, including the rest of the videotape from the Zip Trip store, other witnesses to the events that took place there and of course, the tearful history of the end of Otto Zehm’s life, which is what this is all about.

Or is it? Is Karl F. Thompson, Jr. the poster child of the Spokane Police Department he appears to be, or is he the unfortunate victim of flawed training programs which all Spokane Police Officers study?

I will say more about this later today, as I feel before we rush to commit judgment on Thompson, we need to understand the rationale behind his behavior.

Dave

Continue reading The rush to judgment… »

with Anu Garg

countervail

(koun-tuhr-VAYL)

verb tr., intr.: To counterbalance or to neutralize.

From Old French contrevaloir, from Latin contra (against) + valere (to be strong). Ultimately, from the Indo-European root wal- (to be strong) that is also the source of valiant, avail, valor, and value.

“China is the unique case of a country arming a neighbour with nuclear weapons to countervail a rival.”
K. Subrahmanyam; Befriending the Dragon; The Times of India (New Delhi); Jul 5, 2004.

If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues. -Edward Bulwer-Lytton, author (1803-1873)

Continue reading A Word A Day —countervail »

Good morning, Netizens…

In this morning’s David Horsey cartoon we see the logical outcome when Theocracy meets Democracy. Khameini, like most theocratic leaders speaks both for and to God and his people invariably follow his every beck and call. Democracy, on the other hand, suggests that it speaks to and for the voice of the common person. Iran is burning, and it isn’t over yet.

Dave

Continue reading What’s that smell? »

Good morning, Netizens…

In this undated photo released by Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service in Tokyo Sunday, June 14, 2009, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center, inspects the command of the 7th Infantry Division of the Korean People’s Army at an undisclosed location in North Korea.(AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service)

The irreverent view, of course, of what is transpiring in this picture is North Korean President Kim Jong Il is pointing out to his inner cadre of military personnel where the new Dollyworld Center will be located once North Korea has wiped the United States off the map. Also planned is a Disney World-North Korea entertainment center, which will be located in a cleverly-planned yet unnamed location.

Jong Il has recently threatened to “wipe the United States off the map”, and having accomplished that goal, to establish new entertainment venues in North Korea to bolster its post-war economy.

That is, of course, if there is anything left of North Korea after the United States rises from the ashes.

Dave

Continue reading North Korean plans for the future… »

with Anu Garg

palliate

(PAL-ee-ayt)

verb tr.:
1. To ease the symptoms of a problem without fixing its cause.
2. To make an offense appear less severe by excuses or apologies; extenuate.

From Latin palliare (to cover), from pallium (cloak).

“When success came it palliated his sense of loss for a while.”
Frank Carrigan; John Lennon: The Life; Brisbane Times (Australia); Jan 9, 2009.

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way. -Edgar Guest, poet (1881-1959)

Continue reading A Word A Day — palliate »

Good morning, Netizens…

There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all

Paul McCartney, John Lennon, 1965 Rubber Soul album by the Beatles

Picture of Ed MacMahon and Johnny Carson AP

This morning’s picture of the late Johnny Carson and Ed MacMahon depicts both as I will always remember them. I never met nor knew either man, yet like so many across this nation, we grew into adulthood with them and aged as they both continued for nearly 30 years on television.

Ed MacMahon, despite his noxious and often offensive advertising for American Family Publishers Sweepstakes, which I have always thought was a scam, had a long a illustrious life in television.

McMahon, age 86, died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his wife, Pam, and other family members, said his publicist, Howard Bragman. One cannot help but wonder if in some remote corner of the Universe, Ed MacMahon is back to his mentor and sometimes-friend, Johnny Carson.

Thanks for the memories…

Dave

Continue reading The perfect foil has left the building… »

 

Good morning, Netizens…

Everyone in the Spokane News Media yesterday were separately and yet together beating their spoons against the bars that, until then, had kept the news media from truly knowing what was going on in the Otto Zehm murder investigation. For nearly two years all anyone in Spokane knew for fact was that Otto Zehm died at the hands of the police, and that there were horrid pictures of Karl F. Thompson, Jr. wailing on Zehm with his nightstick while Zehm lay on the floor; meanwhile we have the squad of officers standing outside the Zip Trip in the aftermath.

Then last Friday Howard F. Delaney, City Attorney and Rocco N. Treppiedi, his Assistant, filed a response to a civil lawsuit brought against the City of Spokane by the Center for Justice, who represent Otto Zehm’s mother in a lawsuit claiming Zehm’s civil rights were violated because of the unlawful use of deadly force in apprehending him, and in the city’s subsequent actions to “falsely portray” Zehm as the aggressor in the encounter. (Portions from the Center for Justice’s website.)

Yesterday, a day that will live long past this time in Spokane history, Federal Prosecutor Jim McDevitt made public the grand jury indictment. In it two felony indictments against police officer Karl F. Thompson, Jr. were unfurled before the news media that on or about March 18, 2006, Karl F. Thompson not only beat Zehm viciously with his baton and tasering him, thus inflicting bodily injury to Zehm, and (count 2) that on March 27, 2006, Thompson then knowingly gave false testimony to investigators.

You can read the entire indictment here http://cforjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/indictment.pdf again, courtesy of the Center for Justice.

According to McDevitt’s statements at the press conference, the reference to giving false testimony refers to a lengthy interview of Thompson by an investigating Spokane Police Department detective whose name was not mentioned.

“What it looks like in hindsight,” the Center for Justice’s Breean Beggs said, when asked about it Monday, “is that the city knew this indictment was coming and did its best to get out a public relations story, trashing Otto, in the papers before readers knew about the indictment.”

As in nearly all cases of this stature, until Karl Thompson’s trial, there have been more unanswered questions to be resolved than there are hard answers. For example:

Given this was a sealed Grand Jury indictment, when were the Spokane City Attorneys told of its contents? Was it before what I believe to be the ill-fated, defamatory and false counter-suit against the Zehm family? It would seem so, given Rocco Treppiedi’s long and illuminating history of counter-suing anyone who files a claim against the City of Spokane, that seems credible enough. Do we know enough to prove it? No.

References are made to an investigator for the Spokane Police Department who interviewed Thompson which resulted in Count Two of the indictment. Of course, until Thompson’s trial, we may never know the named of this brave soul who probably sacrificed his career in the SPD in exchange for justice.

If the second count of the indictment is upheld by the court trial, yesterday why did Police Chief Ann Kirkpatrick wax euphorically about what a good cop Thompson has been for 37 years? Is she blithering daffy or simply trying to muster her troops under fire? Which is it?

If you have read the Center for Justice’s web link (above) then you know Karl F. Thompson, Jr. is facing some pretty serious jail time if convicted of the two felonies. Along the path between now and trial, it could make or break the careers of several local attorneys. There are a lot more questions than answers, but what remains to be seen is can the Spokane Police Department learn from their mistakes and restore the public’s trust? 

That seems to be most of the issues that leap out at me.

Portions of this text and the picture of McDevitt all courtesy of The Center for Justice (http://cforjustice.org/) with our gracious thanks.

Dave

Continue reading Is Thompson taking one for the Gipper too? »

with Anu Garg

obloquy

(OB-luh-kwee)

noun:
1. Censure or abusive language towards someone, especially when expressed by many.
2. Disgrace resulting from public condemnation.

From Latin obloquium (talking against, contradiction), from ob- (against) + loqui (to speak). Ultimately from the Indo-European root tolkw (to speak) that is also the source of somniloquy, loquacious, and allocution.

“[Jimmy Carter] is a man who is prepared to risk the obloquy and criticism of die-hard neocons and nervous fellow senior Democrats to break the chains of Washington’s foolish Middle East peace policy.”
Carter Mission; Arab News (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia); Apr 9, 2008.

Evil is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it. -Shakti Gawain, teacher and author (b. 1948)

Continue reading A Word A Day — obloquy »

Good afternoon, Netizens…

BREAKING NEWS

Office Karl Thompson has been indicted for various charges, including making false statements in the Otto Zehm case it was announced at 3:00 PM today by US Attorney Jim McDevitt. Details to follow.

Dave

Good morning, Netizens…

If you truly are curious about the political strife inside Iran, the ongoing battles between protesters and the factional government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the riot police took to the streets once again yesterday and more bloodshed occurred. However, you might want to read the following piece in detail, http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/06/21/76567.html as it tells of a covert attempt on the part of one of Iran’s principal government leaders, Ayatollah Rafsanjani, to overthrow or possibly force the resignation of Iran’s President Ahmadinejad.

This appears to be only the edge of the iceberg, as there are additional rumors circulating in various places on the Internet of a series of covert meetings between Rafsanjani and various other clerics to eliminate the position of Supreme Leader entirely. One source especially deserves close reading as it contains some rumors, and some facts: http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2009/06/regime-change-iran-movement-se/

Thus far, nobody in authority has stepped forward to admit nor deny any of these allegations. However, given we have both major Iranian and several other web sites all stating this to be true, we can be relatively certain that major political unrest in Iran doesn’t start in the streets, but may extend fully to engulf the top of Iran’s government including the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khameini.

The election is ostensibly over, and perhaps for the moment Ahmadinejad has won, but it does appear that the battle for the hearts and souls of all of Iran is far from over. It may have just begun.

Dave

Continue reading The Big Dog of Iran under fire? It seems so… »

Good morning, Netizens…

Oh? This picture of the day reminds me of the gathering of the Huckleberries Online Faithful held in Idaho recently which, to my opinion, beats this picture down pat. Not to be outdone by the residents of Seattle in their brash, irreverent parade celebrating the arrival of summer, one of the Huckleberries Online Faithful came to HBO’s party fashionably attired in a dress adorned with condums.

While we may not have had naked bicyclists who tended to stand out in the parade, nor some of the more esoteric entries, that memory of the condum dress will stick in my memory forever.

Dave

Continue reading Oh? We’ve had better on our side of the line… »

Good morning, Netizens…

In this picture, (June 21, 2009 AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) an Iranian woman living in Germany weeps during a protest against the results of the Presidential elections in Iran and post election violence, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday. Which brings us to our quote of the day:

In politics you must always keep running with the pack. The moment that you falter and they sense that you are injured, the rest will turn on you like wolves.
R. A. Butler (1902 - 1982)

Continue reading Quote of the Day — June 22, 2009 »

with Anu Garg

Have you ever taken a vacation that’s planned to every nanosecond? At 9:37 we visit the Garden of Standonburg and spend an hour and 18 minutes there, then we reach the Pamponi Museum at 11:09, and then …. Well, that’s not a vacation, is it? Sometimes it’s best to let yourself roam through what may come, with no plan, no schedule, no rules, no aim, and nothing to guide except a free mind and open heart.

This week’s AWAD is prepared in just that spirit. A word tickles our fancy and leads us to some others that bring forth new sights. We skip some of them, move ahead or perhaps take a leisurely stroll through the dictionary. There’s nothing common among the words selected — at least as far as we know. There’s no theme to constrain our word choices during the next five days. Or maybe that’s the theme.

eleemosynary

(el-uh-MOS-uh-ner-ee, el-ee-, -MOZ-)

adjective: Relating to charity.

From Latin eleemosynarius, from eleemosyna (alms), from Greek eleemosyne (pity, charity), from eleemon (pitiful), from eleos (pity).

“The Guzmans started their non-profit organization, Path of Hope Foundation, 18 years ago. Their single goal: to care for the poor who live near their corner. The Thanksgiving dinner is one of their eleemosynary events.”
Lynn Seeden; Free Thanksgiving Dinner Feeds 1,400; Orange County Register (Santa Ana, California); Dec 4, 2003.

To freely bloom - that is my definition of success. -Gerry Spence, lawyer (b. 1929)

Continue reading A Word A Day — eleemosynary »

Good evening, Netizens…

From the AP Wire

Here is an AP picture of the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain as it approaches Busan in South Korea.

WASHINGTON: Senator John McCain, who appeared today on CBS’ “Face the Nation” stated the U.S. should board a North Korean ship it is tracking if hard evidence shows it is carrying missiles or other cargo that violates the U.N. sanctions and resolutions.

The South Korean news media reported Sunday that the ship was sailing toward Myanmar via Singapore. However, several sources told members of the news media that North Korea seldom exports anything but weapons.

The Obama administration has said it’s prepared to confront ships believed to be carrying contraband materials from or to North Korea, but would not try to forcibly board them.

If there is valid, hard evidence indicating this ship is carrying missiles or other weapons of mass destruction (or parts thereto) should the United States forcibly board the ship? The difficult part about answering this is do we have hard evidence that anything illegal is going on?

If this were your call, what would you do?

Dave

Continue reading How about a good game of Chicken? »