Good morning, Netizens…

I’m flying beneath the radar today, actually running to catch up with whatever I was supposed to be doing, and upon reading several comments about Cathy McMorris-Rogers in another message thread, and since one of my anonymous contributors sent me this picture, I thought it fitting and proper to post it.

Ah, Mz. McMorris as you never wanted to see her…

Dave

 

Good morning, Netizens…

Mind you, I never suggested to anyone that we had seen the last of Sarah Palin, former Vice-Presidential candidate, after her failed run for public office went down in flames. In fact, despite losing in the Presidential runoff to Barak Obama and Joe Biden, my instincts all stated strongly we hadn’t seen the last of Palin’s brand of Republican conservatism. I felt that emotion even more strongly after she stepped down from the governorship of Alaska. She simply hadn’t worked out her personal agenda at that point in time, and I believe she is still engaged in that process.

Although Palin is not due to arrive in Coeur d’Alene until approximately December 11 for a book signing, if her appearance at Fort Wayne, Indiana is any indicator of her popularity, her well-oiled public relations machine could catapult her into new heights, this time more or less on her own agenda. Although she has steadfastly avoided any public comments about her Presidential intentions, the fans appear to be actively pushing her in that direction.

Given her popularity, do I think Palin has a chance at the Presidency? A great deal of that depends upon how well President Obama does during the rest of his term of office, based upon my perspective. If the economy continues its downward slide, especially if we have continue involving ourselves in the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I believe her chances of success might go dramatically upwards.

I submit politics is just a pendulum, generationally swinging back and forth from left to right. For several decades it has swung to the right, under Reagan and the Bush generations. Now with President Obama, perhaps it is, depending upon your view, either centrist or swinging to the left. Some critics suggest it has swung far to the left, which might be true; perhaps not.

In the meantime, read “Going Rogue”. It is selling well at the present. It remains to be seen whether it will win new converts to political conservatism.

Dave

with Anu Garg

nettle

(NET-l)

verb tr.:
1. To irritate.
2. To sting.

The verb senses of the word are derived from the name of the plant, any of the various plants of the genus Urtica whose leaves are covered with stinging hairs. The word is ultimately from the Indo-European root ned- (to bind) that is also the source of node, noose, annex, and connect. There’s a British and Australian idiom, grasp the nettle, meaning to tackle an unpleasant or difficult task.

“My questions about the wisdom or otherwise of disbanding the Iraqi army visibly nettled him [General David McKiernan].”
Mark Urban; When Generals Become Unstuck; BBC News; May 12, 2009.

Explore “nettle” in the Visual Thesaurus.

A man’s library is a sort of harem. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

Good afternoon, Netizens…

[Picture of the Royal entrance into the combined Houses of the Lords and Commons, courtesy of AP]

Yesterday in the House of Lords, Her Majesty presented the Queen’s Speech 2009 to both Houses of Parliament. This is what she said:

Continue reading The Queens Speech before the Lords and Commons… »

with Anu Garg

subserve

(suhb-SURV)

verb tr.: To help to further something.

From Latin subservire (to serve under), from sub- (under) + servire (to serve), from servus (slave).

“The decisions were ad hoc in nature and were taken to subserve political expediency.”
H.N. Das; Ethnic Aspirations; The Assam Tribune (India); Apr 19, 2009.

Explore “subserve” in the Visual Thesaurus.

One can promise actions, but not feelings, for the latter are involuntary. He who promises to love forever or hate forever or be forever faithful to someone is promising something that is not in his power. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)

Good morning, Netizens…

As David Horsey suggests in this morning’s cartoon, the world’s leaders are hemming and hawing over climate change like a group of farmers sitting around the Grange after a bad harvest is complete and they are wondering if they have enough profit to buy seed for the next year’s planting. They haven’t solved the problem, but instead constantly poke at it, constantly rehash it over and over again, and maybe if they are lucky, they might even agree on but not solve the issues. You cannot beat Mother Nature when it comes to handing out a good butt-kicking.

 Perhaps worse than that, you cannot get the purported experts upon whose opinions we depend to tell us how bad the climate is or is about to become in another generation or two. One set of scientists are broadcasting doom and gloom, such as how the icebergs in the Arctic and Antarctic are melting faster than ever before, while other scientists say, “Piffle. That is a bunch of poppycock.”

 Getting scientists to agree with one another is about like getting meteorologists to accurately forecast the weather over a long period of time.

 So what David Horsey is saying is at least partially true. If each of the world leaders are listening to different scientists, each coming to the table with their very diverse opinions, the world’s leaders probably will sit at the Great Table and instead of taking active steps to combat global warming, they make vague, lofty-sounding statements that play well with the “folks back home” while accomplishing very little. Isn’t this what is happening right now?

 Sometimes I wonder when or if the pendulum will swing the other way; instead of global warming will might have global cooling.

 Dave

with Anu Garg

expiate

(EK-spee-ayt)

verb tr.: To atone, to make amends for.

From Latin expiare (to atone for), from ex- (thoroughly) + piare (to atone), from pius (dutiful).

“Is she expiating her guilt for being a neglectful daughter?”
Mark Schilling; Tossing Cash Round Like Confetti; Japan Times (Tokyo); Oct 30, 2009.

Explore “expiate” in the Visual Thesaurus.

The cardinal doctrine of a fanatic’s creed is that his enemies are the enemies of God. -Andrew Dickson White, diplomat, historian, and educator (1832-1918)

with Anu Garg

convoke

(kuhn-VOHK)

verb tr.:
To call together for a meeting.

From Latin convocare (call together), from con- (together) + vocare (to call), from vox (voice).

“They insist that Mr Zelaya violated the constitution by trying to convoke a constituent assembly which they fear might have prolonged his term.”
Post-coup Honduras; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 9 2009.

Explore “convoke” in the Visual Thesaurus.

Books written out of fire give me a great deal of pleasure. You get the sense that the world for these writers could not have continued if the book hadn’t been written. When you come across a book like that it is a privilege. -Hisham Matar, author (b. 1970)

Feel rich??? Several months ago, I noticed a little increase in my payroll check. Not a lot, mind you. But I’m on a “budget” where I notice a few dollars here and there.

 But all is not a fairy tale ending for a lot of people. I’m lucky. I’m not married, I don’t work more than one job, and I don’t receive Social Security benefits. Those who fall into one of those three categories – my sympathies.

From the Spokesman:

 ”Taxpayers are at risk if they have more than one job, are married and both spouses work, or receive Social Security benefits while also earning taxable wages, according to a report Monday by the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration.”

 http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/nov/16/millions-will-have-repay-part-tax-credit/

Jeanie

Good morning, Netizens…

Here we have David Horsey’s cartoon of the day, featuring a lot of journalists all standing in the unemployment line together. Then, at the end of the line we have a young woman dressed in a cheesecake blue bunny costume who is what?

Since I am not interested in the fury taking place yesterday, as I know it is going nowhere at all, let’s see what this girl might be, shall we?

Joe Shogun’s personal secretary?

Granny Grunt when she was much younger?

A resident of East Sprague looking for new turf?

You pick out who she is.

Dave

with Anu Garg

Verbs are special words. They describe action. Nothing would ever get done if it were not for the verbs. Look at a sentence on your screen or on paper — it just lies there listless, a mere collection of random words until a verb comes to infuse life into it. This week we’ll feature five unusual verbs - words for a few things you most likely don’t do every day.

homologate

(huh-MOL-uh-gayt, ho-)

verb tr.:
1. To approve officially.
2. To register a specific model of a motor vehicle to make it eligible to take part in a racing competition.

From Latin homologare (to agree), from Greek homologein (to agree or allow).

Some auto racing competitions require participating vehicles to be available for sale to the general public, and not be custom made for racing. The process of homologation verifies this. The initials GTO listed after some auto names (Ferrari, Pontiac, etc.) mean “Gran Turismo Omologato”, Italian for “Grand Touring, Homologated”.

“Mr Jimmy Gray said: ‘We’ve major issues which appear to be discussed in the press. Decisions are made and then we’re asked to homologate these decisions.”
Labour Group Leader Hits Out; Aberdeen Press & Journal (UK); Jul 9, 2007.

“What was needed was a more streamlined street car to homologate for racing.”
Malcolm Gunn; Parked on the Showroom Floor; Chicago Daily Herald; Oct 18, 2009.

Go to where the silence is and say something. -Amy Goodman, investigative journalist, columnist and author (b. 1957)

Good morning, Netizens…

This Nov. 11, 2009 booking photo made available by the Hillsborough County, Fla. Sheriff’s Office shows Joshua Basso. Florida police say Basso, arrested for repeatedly calling 911 looking for sex, claimed it was the only number he could dial after running out of cell phone minutes. (AP Photo/Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)

Florida police say he was arrested for repeatedly calling 911 looking for sex. Basso purportedly made sexual comments to the 911 dispatcher, asking if he could come to her house. Police state that the 911 operator hung up, but he called back four times.

Basso was arrested about 15 minutes later at his home late Wednesday and charged with making a false 911 call. Basso reportedly told officers that he didn’t think he would get in trouble for calling 911.

I think this probably qualifies for today’s strange news, but of course to Basso it might seem even more bizarre because he’s currently in jail, with no bond, no attorney and no cell phone. Maybe he’ll think next time before he solicits a 911 operator for sex, do you think?

Dave

Good afternoon, Netizens…

Sergeant Brad Thoma of the Spokane Police Department was recently charged with drunk driving and hit-and-run after leaving the scene of an accident at Farwell and Highway 2.

For a brief moment here, let us pretend like we were in fantasy land. Let’s pretend I am blitzed out of my gourd, driving my perennial van down Farwell Road near Highway 2 and I hit the back of a woman’s Ford Ranger. Rather than face the music, I simply drive away, but since lots of people know me, it isn’t long before the gendarmes arrive at my house and I am taken into custody. Within less than a week, because I seriously feel sorry for the woman whose car I hit, I pay for her expenses in getting it fixed.

Since this is fantasy land, we can use the fast-forward button, and then we come to trial. What kind of a sentence would I get? You can bet there wouldn’t be any visiting Whitman County Judge for me, no sir. The deferred sentencing? No way. I was drunk as Three Lords and they reserve the best cell for me to spend 90 days, mostly because I never have had any drunk driving citations ever.

Now we substitute Sergeant Brad Thoma of the Spokane Police Department for yours truly and look at how the picture of justice changes. Did I get the same justice as Sgt. Brad Thoma? Would you?

I want the same set of criminal justice for everyone, including police officers who violate the law. Have we gotten there yet?

Dave

Good morning, Netizens…

Through the razor-sharp drawing of David Horsey, this morning we fire right off with President Obama and the War in Afghanistan. Recently President Obama sent his “think tank” of advisors back to the drawing board, suggesting that he didn’t feel he had enough options on the table. Some will quickly agree, it takes more guts and sheer belief in oneself to make such an unpopular decision than it does to make a decision that the majority supports.

What we also have to remember is that President Obama inherited both the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he simply has to decide how best to conclude them. He is going to conclude them, one would hope, or perhaps he will be doomed to leaving them for the next Presidential campaign.

Not that they particularly make good campaign material. I personally think President Obama needs to make getting Americans back to work his top priority, thus fixing the economy.

 Now that we’re back to writing in my favorite word processing application again, that seems to be the question of the day. What do you think should be President Obama’s top priority?

Dave

Good morning, Netizens…

Earlier Jeanie mentioned offhand that she uses Wordpad in Windows to cut-and-paste into the administrative panel and when I tested it (using the only Windows box I own) it worked just as it should NOT. I should never be held captive against my will to using Windows. I have spent about a fourth of my adult life fighting against being pushed into using proprietary software routines, and I simply will not buckle under to it now. I owe Jeanie a box of cigars for her idea.

 Wine, the Windows emulator, is one of the most hotly-contested software applications that has been created in the last decade. Sitting at my Unix prompt, I can run some (not all) Windows applications just as if I were running Windoze. In my frustration I had forgotten about Wine’s emulation of Wordpad for Windows, until just a short time ago. Presto! Although some functions, such as cutting and pasting URL’s to the Internet remain to be seen, I have it working.

Write in Open Office, cut-and-paste into Wine’s Wordpad and then paste it into the online form.

It does seem to be working. I’m so glad. Now I can get back to the actual job of writing for the Blog.

Dave

Good morning, Netizens…

This is Friday the 13th, supposedly an unlucky day, and probably a good day to
turn off the alarm clock, call in sick or otherwise go hide beneath a rock
somewhere that no one would ordinarily find you. On second thought, since we
are about to receive a gift of snow from the heavens above, perhaps that isn’t
such a bad idea after all. After observing how people drove yesterday on the
West Plains, and then again this morning the pandemonium atop Snoqualmie Pass,
which happens to be closed Eastbound currently due to slide-offs, maybe this
would be a good day to simply call the rest of the day off.

At the request of Ryan Pitts, I am discontinuing the use of Open Office to
cut-and-paste much of my writings/musings and falling back to Plan B, a plain
ASCII text editor called Jed, because, like Microsoft Word, Open Office
contains far too much “chatter” in its headers, even when you are simply
cutting and pasting text between windows. You may notice a minor difference in
how it appears now, but probably not. Since I “live” as much of my time in my
text editor as I do in Open Office, this is not really any skin off my hide.
However others who cannot live, it seems, without Microsoft Word, Jed gives me
all the power of Office less the rattling bits of HTML code that clog up the
works.

So now we march onward into this morning’s news, hoping that my solution to
the HTML problems inherent with cutting and pasting text have solved the
problem for Ryan’s sake, and that I no longer am leaking any abhorrent pieces
of code in my writing.

Dave

with Anu Garg

Trojan horse

(TRO-juhn hors)

noun: Something or someone placed in order to subvert from within.

In the legendary Trojan War, the Greeks left a large hollow wooden horse at the gates of the city of Troy. The Trojans took it inside. Greek soldiers hidden in the horse came out at night and opened the gates of the city, allowing the Greek army to enter and conquer the Trojans. In computing, a Trojan horse is a program that, while seemingly useful, steals passwords or does other damage to computers.

“Ministers appear determined to use the Coroners and Justice Bill as a Trojan horse with which to smuggle authoritarian measures on to the statute book.”
Resist These Attempts to Make Justice Secret; The Independent (London, UK); Oct 22, 2009.

Explore “Trojan horse” in the Visual Thesaurus.

Literature becomes the living memory of a nation. -Alexander Solzhenitsyn, novelist, Nobel laureate (1918-2008)

Good morning, Netizens…

[Portions AP Press, Salt Lake City Tribune]

Tuesday night Salt Lake City, Utah City Council passed legislation that bans discrimination against gays in housing and unemployment, and the legislation was passed with the endorsement of the Mormon Church. This is not to say the Mormon Church is suddenly getting warm and fuzzy over gay rights; in fact last year their strenuous involvement was key in the passage of California’s Proposition 8, which bans gay, lesbian and transgender relationships.

Generally speaking, Utah lawmakers tend to “toe the line” when the church makes a policy decision, as over 80% of lawmakers and the governor are Mormons. In the past the church has stated that traditional male-female marriages are central to God’s plan. Gays are welcome in church, but must remain celibate to retain church callings and full membership.

In keeping with that, in August 2008 the church issued a statement saying it supported gay rights related to hospitalization, medical care, employment, housing or probate as long as they “do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.”

However, the passage of this city ordinance is no guarantee that either county nor state legislative bodies will pass similar laws, according to the Salt Lake Tribune (http://www.sltrib.com/ ).

However, Stan Penfold, a gay man and the director of Utah Aids Foundation, has won the race to fill Salt Lake City’s District 3 council seat. Plus there are three openly-gay state legislators.

The statute, as crafted, requires annual reports by the city’s Human Rights Commission on the effectiveness of the statutes.

Dave

with Anu Garg

hobbyhorse

(HOB-ee-hors))

noun: A favorite pastime, a pet project or topic; an obsession.

The everyday word hobby is a shortening of the term hobbyhorse. A hobbyhorse is a child’s riding toy, consisting of a stick with the shape of a horse’s head on the front. It was called hobbyhorse, probably from the name Robin or Hobin usually given to a small horse. The word is often used in a metaphorical sense as “to ride one’s hobby-horse” meaning to pursue a pet topic.
Also see cheval de bataille.

“Charleston was my father’s ministry, his hobbyhorse, his quiet obsession, and the great love of his life.”
Pat Conroy; South of Broad; Nan A. Talese Books; 2009.

Explore “hobbyhorse” in the Visual Thesaurus.

The test of a democracy is not the magnificence of buildings or the speed of automobiles or the efficiency of air transportation, but rather the care given to the welfare of all the people. -Helen Adams Keller, lecturer and author (1880-1968)

Good afternoon, Netizens…

It is Veterans Day 2009, and now that I have cleared my desk of various other things too cumbersome for discussion, I am going to lean heavily on what this day should mean to us all. The AP picture of President Obama walking among the tombs of our fallen Americans somehow spoke to me, but this was just the beginning.

Initially I was going to write about the local observations of this day taking place in various places around Spokane, from the tribute paid to Vietnam Veterans at the Vietnam Memorial at Riverfront Park to the many memorials being held at various cemeteries throughout our region. Then I realized how many other Blogs and newspaper articles and pictures were posted across the nation about these events, both local, regional and national.

Then a quiet voice, one of our unsung Veteran-heroes, spoke to me in e-mail and said, “Without Veteran’s day, we wouldn’t have any of the others. Don’t thank them for their service, everyone serves. Thank each one for their sacrifices.”

Then yet another voice, Bob Kirkpatrick, stated with typically great wisdom, “An empty chair sits starkly obvious as families sit down to dinner today.”

Recently KREM-TV broadcast a highly-leveraged series of news articles, all of which sought public support to send World War II Veterans to Washington, DC so they could attend the WWII Veterans Memorial. At the time, I thought to myself, how nice of Randy Shaw to organize and accomplish such a task, but then thought, what about the homeless Veterans who fought in Viet Nam? What about their contribution? What about their need to go to “The Wall” and commemorate the veterans and perhaps friends who sacrificed their all in an unpopular war? Is/was the War in Viet Nam still that unpopular?

I cannot help but wonder if the dead, who lay in row after row in the cemetery where President Obama walked today could speak to him, what would they say?

I submit if such a thing were possible, in one voice, Veterans both living and dead would say, “We gave the ultimate sacrifice so that yet another generation of Americans could continue to live free. It was our duty, and we are proud that someone, anyone, would remember where we once made our stands.”

And on those thoughts I solemnly raise my hand to my heart and salute them all, both living and dead, always hoping someday we will see an end to war but knowing how many have died trying.

Dave

Good morning, Netizens…

[Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]

Last month the International Olympic Committee chairman announced that Brazil will host the 2016 International Olympics. Late yesterday the electrical power for most major cities in Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, went out, casting an estimated 60 million people into darkness. Say, we understand power outages in Spokane, Washington, don’t we?

Twenty-some years ago I traveled across the Brazilian Rain Forest and it made a lasting impression on me. Big bugs, big snakes, but even bigger rain storms that seemingly swept in out of nowhere, with lightning that never seemed to stop. According to various sources, a severe storm compromised the power lines between the dam, the giant Itaipu hydroelectric dam, which exists on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It knocked power out to most of the major cities of Brazil and portions of Paraguay for what news sources suggest were between 2 and 5 hours.

Hooligans ran rampant through the streets of Rio, but no official records of their arrests have been released. Look on the bright side: the hookers could no longer take credit cards. Yes, they do that as Brazil is a modern, emerging nation.

Okay, let’s spin this ahead a few years, shall we? The Olympics are underway and millions of tourists are in attendance. Am I crazy in worrying about the fragile electrical infrastructure during the Olympic games? Maybe by then they will have fixed things; perhaps not.

Dave

with Anu Garg

stalking horse

(STAH-king HORS)

noun:
1. Something used to mask the true purpose.
2. A candidate put forward in an election to draw votes from another or to conceal another’s potential candidacy.

After the former practice of bird hunters of hiding behind a horse (or a decoy) until he had reached within close range of prey.

“The escalation of war in Afghanistan may be only a stalking horse for an even larger war in Pakistan as the United States seeks to secure the nukes there.”
Michael Lerner; Say No to War in Afghanistan and Pakistan; San Francisco Chronicle; Oct 8, 2009.

“Pollsters say Mr. Daggett is hurting Mr. Christie more, by siphoning off anti-incumbent voters. And some talk-radio hosts are asking if he is not a stalking horse for Mr. Corzine.”
David M. Halbfinger; Independent Candidate Stirs Up the Governor’s Race in New Jersey; The New York Times; Oct 11, 2009.

Explore “stalking horse” in the Visual Thesaurus.

If it weren’t for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn’t get any exercise at all. -Joey Adams, comedian (1911-1999)

Good afternoon, Netizens…

Eric John Rick Vogel, a former radio announcer in Libby, Montana, will not be broadcasting any more shows for awhile. That’s because he is doing 40 years at the Montana State Prison for sexual assaulting five out of his seven children. I’ve been following this case closely as it wove its way through Lincoln County Courts in Libby, thanks in part to Steve Thompson’s insistence.

For the record, here is his prison picture:

http://app.mt.gov/cgi-bin/conweb/conwebLookup.cgi?docid=3003839

Dave

with Anu Garg

horse latitudes

(hors LAT-i-toodz, -tyoodz)

noun: Either of the two belts around latitudes 30 to 35 degrees N or S, marked by high pressure, and light variable winds.

Of uncertain origin. There’s a story, not very convincing, that when stuck in such a region of calm with little wind to get them across, sailors threw their cargo of horses overboard to save on rations and to lighten the load. Another conjecture is that the term is derived from Spanish golfo de las yeguas, literally, mares’ sea, alluding to the unpredictable nature of the mares. A related term is doldrums, the calm area in an ocean around the equator.

“Newspapers are emerging from the doldrums of July and August and gathering wind in their sails again as they sweep southwards through the horse latitudes of autumn, their masts (and metaphors -Editor) creaking from the renewed strain of events.”
Frank McNally; An Irishman’s Diary; The Irish Times (Dublin); Sep 18, 2009.

Explore “horse latitude” in the Visual Thesaurus.

Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: “Because the animals are like us.” Ask the experimenters why it is morally OK to experiment on animals, and the answer is: “Because the animals are not like us.” Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction. -Charles R. Magel, professor of philosophy

with Anu Garg

It’s a sign of our historical dependence on horses that our language is filled with terms, idioms, and other references about them. When the locomotive came out, it was called an iron horse. And when the automobile was invented, it was named a horseless carriage.

Today, we use many horse-related terms metaphorically, from horse-trading (hard bargaining) to horse sense (common sense). A political candidate might turn out to be a dark horse (someone little known who gains unexpected support). One might change horses in midstream (to change opinion in the middle of action) or ride two horses (have two allegiances or follow two courses).

This week we’ll look at five terms related to horses.

horse-and-buggy

(HORS-uhn-BUG-ee)

adjective: Old-fashioned; outdated.

Referring to the era before the invention of the automobile, when people often traveled in horse-drawn buggies.

“‘You can’t continue to run a space-age company with horse-and-buggy methods,’ said Angelo Rosati.”
Gina Thackara; Business Lessons Basic to Survival; Scranton Times (Pennsylvania); Oct 2, 1996.

Explore “horse-and-buggy” in the Visual Thesaurus.

Don’t surrender your loneliness / So quickly. / Let it cut more deeply. / Let it ferment and season you / As few human / Or even divine ingredients can. -Hafez, poet (1315-1390)

Good morning, Netizens…

Picture Credit : AP/Mukhtar Khan

Has it been that long?

A Kashmiri woman gathers up leaves in Srinagar, India, Sunday. Kashmiris collect the leaves in the fall which are then burned in fire pots in winter to keep themselves warm.

It was slightly over a decade ago that I once gathered the maple and elm leaves from my Stevens County property down where the creek babbled among the rocks and built up a huge stockpile of leaves each fall as fire starters for the firewood I gathered each fall. I fondly remember gathering the leaves and firewood each fall, easily spending three or four days of each week working hard preparing for winter.

Then in the heart of winter, I always kept a nice fire going in the double barrel wood stove, which did an excellent job of keeping my cabin warm all winter long. Despite what Avista tries to tell those of us that have actually experienced living in the country, my heating costs in those days were scarcely half of what they are now, even including the cost of operating the wood splitter and maintenance. However, those quiet afternoons spent gathering leaves and wood were some of the most-introspective and calming times of my adult life.

For an unfortunately short period of time I could hold the world at bay, sitting atop a tree stump in the clearing amid my pile of leaves and my freshly-split firewood.

Dave

Good evening, Netizens…

Who is this man? Obviously he is Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the gunman who went on a shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 people and wounding countless others. However that nor any of the other facts surrounding Hasan’s life can explain why he acted as he did.

Yet this afternoon, reading in various places on the Internet I have heard him called a recent recruit to Muslim faith, a “sleeper” terrorist, perhaps part of a covert terrorist group intent upon more crimes, and the list of possibilities goes on and on. At least based upon what few facts we have about Hasan, perhaps none of the allegations are true. The FBI, Army military authorities and local and state police are still attempting to put together a cogent picture of what motivated Hasan, a psychiatrist, to “come unglued” and start killing people.

At present, on Friday evening, he is in a coma at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio in critical condition.

What little we know is Hasan is an American born in Virginia of Palestinian parents. Hasan graduated from medical school at the Uniformed Services University in 2003, said Sharon K. Willis, speaking for the school.

He then entered a psychiatry residency program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which he completed in 2007. He returned to the university for the disaster and military psychiatry fellowship in 2007. The first phase of that fellowship is earning a master of public health degree, which he completed in 2008. He completed the fellowship program in June. A month later, Hasan reported for duty at Fort Hood.

There is a considerable amount of evidence, mostly from his neighbors in the apartment complex in which he lived, that he was a gentle, caring and kindly person who most viewed as a decent man.

If Hasan lives we may actually get some answers about what motivated the man. If he dies of his wounds we may never know what motivated him to kill some of the people he was sworn to help.

 

Dave

with Anu Garg
Photo Credit: Lee Valley Tools

spurtle

(SPUR-tl)

noun: A wooden stick for stirring porridge.

Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Latin spatula, or from sprit (a pole to extend a sail on a ship).

There’s a word for everything. And there’s a contest for everything. There is one for making porridge, grandly named, The Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship, held annually in Scotland.

“I know hardly anyone who eats anything much in the morning. … No one yet has owned up to stirring porridge with a spurtle, pouring milk over blocks of desiccated wheat, or even blasting a banana to a pulp in the blender.
Nigel Slater; Oat Cuisine; The Observer (London, UK); May 19, 2002.

Understand this, I mean to arrive at the truth. The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it. -Agatha Christie, author (1890-1976)

Good afternoon, Netizens…

How can I say this succinctly enough? Electrical power, which went out in the downtown core this afternoon, has been restored.

Thus far no one seems to have a clue what caused the major outage, the second or perhaps third similar outage in the last 60 days.

Enough already!

Dave

Good morning, Netizens…

As David Horsey points out, President Barack Obama may have an earful after the ballots are counted. Or maybe not, depending upon how much political joss can be derived by either the Democrats or the Republicans who successfully ran for election back East.

I have two schools of thought when it comes to post-election day news, which is probably why I didn’t have much to say about the election until it more or less was settled.

The first school observes that, at least in the Pacific Northwest, we nearly always have a tradition of holding election night parties in one of our favorite community bars, some of which last well into the night in tightly-contested elections. Based upon previous year elections, these occasions depend heavily upon a candidate winning in the ballots, for it they are not ahead in the ballot count, people tend to simply drift away to go somewhere else for their drinking. Since I staunchly abstain from drinking, I am about as embarrassing as a fat man at a foot race, since I am sober.

The other school, which the vast majority of citizens seem to favor, is simply sit transfixed in front of their televisions awaiting to hear which candidates and referendums won, and by how much, or even better, simply go to bed and await the morning news the next day after the ballots are counted. This is particularly true in the midst of this Recession, when some folks do not even have jobs and can no longer afford a trip across town to celebrate or cheer their candidates onward.

Initiative 1033, one of the most-hotly contested issues on the ballot, yet another test of Tim Eyman’s will versus that of the voters, seems certain to be headed to defeat. The voters will have to live with the free-wheeling spending habits of State Government, which may or may not be a good thing in the year of huge budget deficits and national recession.

Of course, if you take the tentative defeat of 1033 in stock, you might also contemplate the race between Mike Fagan and Amber Waldref for City Council District #1. I wondered from the beginning how many voters noticed the relationship between Fagan and Tim Eyman, and would vote accordingly. Now that Amber has cleaned Fagan’s clock, it will be interesting to watch the City Council as she assumes Al French’s former City Council seat. All I ever have asked of voters is that intelligent informed voters need fill out their ballots; everyone else need not apply. With slightly more than 50% of the registered voters casting their ballots, perhaps that happened this time.

Having spoken, I will only comment that I fully support Referendum #71. It is time we got the government out of our relationships, married or otherwise, and it appears to be winning. Now watch. Someone on the religious right will unquestionably sue to overturn or alter its intent.

As for the ballyhoo about President Obama and the purported effects of Republican wins in New Jersey and Virginia, I question the importance of their wins. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Dave