Posted by Diana Davies at Police Blotter -- 08/21/2008 at 21 Aug 3:38 PM:

If he had crashed into me on my way to work and I was hurt or killed, I would be very pissed off.

Posted by jan t at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 3:26 PM:

Posted by John A. Olsen at Greeting Cards for Gay Married Couples. at 21 Aug 2:59 PM:

Lovely thought full post Casey... thanks for the thinking and time it took to write it... for me as a baptised at 40 christian.. the "New Testament" Gospel.. is the New Word of God... and so much of the condemnation comes from the rules and regs in the Pentatuch... when you read the rest of the big stories.. Life Of David for instance.. pretty checkered... killed one of his soldiers to get to the centurion's wife etc... So I am with ya.. Love and Grace for our mistakes that is ours for the simple "understanding its available".. the Free Will part is somewhat Lutheran... Martin Luther was all about "free will" theologically although a bigot late in life.... Saul changed to Paul.. so the Sauline Old Testament morphed into the Pauline tradition in the Letters To: department following the book of Acts of the Apostles..

My dear daughter Britta was concieved the very first month Janice and I were married, and she was a "high risk/lost to prior births" age 40 with anovulatory cycles... Gift from God..?? I believe that... gus

thanks for your thoughts and feelings.. Gus

Posted by Casey at Police Blotter -- 08/21/2008 at 21 Aug 2:36 PM:

“Uncivil conversations have no place here. Personal name-calling, belligerence, use of obscenities or other pejorative terms directed at other participants or other similar negative behavior are frowned upon and may result in users' messages being deleted without notice. Be tasteful; write with elegance and style, even in when sarcasm or satire is in use.”

FactVille, please abide by the rules of the blog or find your own little corner of the internet to set up your soapbox.

Posted by John A. Olsen at Hailstorm smacks Spokane just before lunch... at 21 Aug 2:22 PM:

Well, Mary and I having headed south on the Palouse HiWay to Grangeville, on the Bonneville, and the Vespa with the hope/prayer that the weather front that was passing would go over us as we had lunch in an old Kirtland Cutter building that had morphed into a cute little restaurant got fooled. Made it to Latah and a storm similar to above was moving up the Palouse.. we turned our tails the the wind and made it to Rockford before the hail and lightning hit.. ( we sought shelter under an Exxon overhang... Wind still pushing, now again in our faces we rode to past ValleyFord and got drenched along side the road in a 6 minute downpour... Core Temp dropped, the hot bath is warming Mary, who'd resisted the four layers i'd suggested at the outset.. Off to the shower now... and figure out the rest of the day... safe and sound and turned around.. gus

Posted by FactVille at Police Blotter -- 08/21/2008 at 21 Aug 2:09 PM:

I figured if the "expert" is going to school us on one police procedure, he might as well school us on another.

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Quote of the Day August 21, 2008 at 21 Aug 2:04 PM:

"Think, think, think!" said Pooh.

Posted by Casey at Police Blotter -- 08/21/2008 at 21 Aug 1:56 PM:

Posted by Casey at Picture of the Day August 21, 2008 at 21 Aug 1:48 PM:

Posted by Casey at Quote of the Day August 21, 2008 at 21 Aug 1:42 PM:

The Tao of Pooh
The Te of Piglet

I highly recommend both to people of all philosophies and faiths.

“It’s not easy being brave when you are very small.” ~Piglet

Posted by Casey at Greeting Cards for Gay Married Couples. at 21 Aug 1:35 PM:

As my faith is at the core of my life and thus impacts my views on everything else, I shall start there. It is my fundamental belief that the three greatest gifts God gave humanity are (in order);

1: Life, for without this, all else is moot.
2: Free will to chose to follow his path not, for without free will, following His path would be as meaningful as your computer ‘choosing’ to execute the instructions you give it.
3: Forgiveness, for none are perfect or worthy, no, not one.

So, since I believe that God gave you the authority over your own life to follow His instructions or not as you choose, while I will call upon you to repent and follow His path because I love you and don‘t want to see you suffer the consequences separating yourself from God, I can not strip from you the gift of free will that God has given and to try would be a subversion of God’s will.

Additionally, while I could not in good conscience officiate a wedding of homosexuals before God because of my understanding of His Law, I would be honored if any of my homosexual friends or family members invited me to attend or be an usher at the ceremonial joining of their lives, one to the other, in a union of fidelity and love, and would probably be at least a little hurt if I weren’t at least invited, just as I would if they were Jewish, Muslim or Pagan for example.

A final thought on the theological aspect of this issue before moving to the political/patriotic aspect;

Matthew 7:1 & 2; Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Now I don’t know about any of the rest of ya’ll, but I for one don’t want to have to defend myself on judgment day based upon who I have slept with in my life, especially considering that I have never been married, and so I refuse to hold that particular yardstick against any other consenting adults, thank you very much.

When we move into the political arena things become even simpler for me. As I have stated above, my faith impacts my views on all other aspects of my life, and as I have stated in other posts at S-R blogs, it is clear (to me at least) that our constitution and indeed our legal system are based at least in part on Judeo-Christian beliefs, but at the same time, one of the most important principals of our constitution is the right of each individual to worship his or her own understanding of God according to their own conscience, and simply put, not all faiths believe as mine does regarding homosexuality and to force them by law to abide by my faith’s views on homosexuality would be to violate the very rights that I hold so dear for myself.

In both the theological and political arenas, it simply comes down to an issue of hypocrisy for me, and the only thing I loath more than that is racial bigotry.

My apologies for the long post, and as ever, thank you for your consideration.

Posted by Casey at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 12:13 PM:

I have lost friends and family to drunk drivers and to their own drunken driving.

I myself developed a costly (in more ways than simply financially) drinking habit, and drove drunk (for which I am eternally ashamed, especially considering that I supposedly knew better), thus putting my life and those of everybody else on the road with me at risk, as well as seriously contemplating suicide on numerous occasions while under the influence.

I have gotten into numerous drunken fights, some of which involved weapons and were potentially lethal to myself, the other participant and others in the immediate area. (no, I didn’t draw the weapon, but once it was drawn, all pretence at a ’fair fight’ was off)

As a bartender at various points in my life, I have seen all of the above and more disturbing behavior by those under the influence of alcohol.

As an MP in West Germany, I have seen military careers of high ranking officers and NCOs ended by the actions of otherwise outstanding soldiers and family members of soldiers solely because of problem drinking and alcoholism, as well as having to clean up the mess when somebody under the influence killed themselves and others while driving drunk.

During prohibition, numerous American citizens lost both eyesight and their very lives to ‘bathtub gin’ and other poisons sold to them because there was no regulation or quality control, not to mention the drive by shootings, bombings, and outright full-on gang wars that remind me very much of the drive by shootings, bombings and outright full-on gang wars being perpetrated today over drugs.

So while I too would like to poo-poo the premise that regulation of production and distribution of currently illegal substances would save lives, the evidence is clearly to the contrary.

So do we through out all the drug laws and adopt an ultra-libertarian position on drugs? Clearly there are some drugs (ie heroin, cocaine, PCP, etc) that even if they are uncut by other substances can and do kill folks on their very first dose, so I believe the answer to that question is clearly no, but at the same time, legalizing low-level drugs like marijuana that have far fewer black marks against it than alcohol, should be carefully discussed, debated, and decided upon by ‘We The People’ rather than our elected representatives who have been shown to consistently do only that which they believe will secure their next election rather than obeying the will of the people.

Additionally, consider for just a moment how much good the revenue from selling in state controlled stores (just like the liquor stores if not those same stores themselves) could do if even a small portion of it was directed to help those addicted to heroin and the like…

Consider that even with outrageous levels of tax, it would still be cheaper than marijuana street prices and consider how much revenue that would remove from the pockets of organized criminals and terrorists. Suddenly (at least in my view) the hippies don’t sound so ‘dopey’ after all, and we haven’t even touched on the dollar value to our national economy from the legitimate uses for the oil from the seeds and the fibers from the pulp.

One last though before I close. Kindly ask yourself, do you support policies that are clearly and demonstrably rooted in racism? Do even a small amount of research online yourself and you will be slapped in the face by the racist origins of the criminalization of marijuana. It is undeniable and inescapable.

Thank you for your consideration.

Posted by Marty... at Hailstorm smacks Spokane just before lunch... at 21 Aug 12:07 PM:

Posted by Dave Laird at Hailstorm smacks Spokane just before lunch... at 21 Aug 12:00 PM:

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
IDC055-WAC063-211930-
/O.NEW.KOTX.SV.W.0031.080821T1850Z-080821T1930Z/

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
1150 AM PDT THU AUG 21 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SPOKANE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
EAST CENTRAL SPOKANE COUNTY IN EASTERN WASHINGTON...
NORTHWESTERN KOOTENAI COUNTY IN THE PANHANDLE OF IDAHO...
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...RATHDRUM...POST FALLS...

* UNTIL 1230 PM PDT

* AT 1147 AM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PENNY SIZE HAIL. THIS
STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR MILLWOOD...OR 6 MILES EAST OF SPOKANE...AND
MOVING EAST AT 24 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
TRENTWOOD BY 1155 AM PDT...
GREEN ACRES BY NOON PDT...
LIBERTY LAKE...OTIS ORCHARDS AND 7 MILES SOUTH OF NEWMAN LAKE BY
1210 PM PDT...
6 MILES SOUTH OF HAUSER BY 1220 PM PDT...
POST FALLS BY 1225 PM PDT...

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH...PREPARE
IMMEDIATELY FOR DAMAGING WINDS...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...AND DEADLY CLOUD
TO GROUND LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

Dave

Posted by Dave Laird at Quote of the Day August 21, 2008 at 21 Aug 11:56 AM:

You wrote:

I am a fan of Pooh from way back. And this particular phrase for some reason escaped me. I have no idea why because it is a question I ask myself every.single.dang.day!

As a certifiable member of CALF (Certified Aging Long-legged Fatbody) this Pooh-ism spoke to me just now. I already know how long it takes to get fat, so now I want an answer to Pooh's question.

Dave

Posted by Dave Laird at Greeting Cards for Gay Married Couples. at 21 Aug 11:48 AM:

You wrote in part:

Back on the Motorcycles now

Oh? I wouldn't recommend it for awhile. There's a pretty robust thunder boomer moving through Spokane as I write this. However, it appears to be moving through pretty quickly, so dry off the saddle and maybe ride in awhile.

Dave

Posted by J.Grey at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 9:19 AM:

I would be willing to engage in a reasoned discussion about de-criminalizing marijuana. I too think there's too much of the old 'Reefer Madness' thinking underlying the draconian laws currently leveled against that particular substance. Mind you, I'm not in favor of de-criminalizing any mind-altering substance. But at least with regards that particular intoxicant... Well, as I say - I'm at least willing to discuss it.

But as for stuff like heroin, meth, etc...the real life breakers and life takers... No. I'm not in the least bit interested in discussing de-criminalizing those. For the dealers in those kinds of slow poison you won't have to donate the bullet or the time it takes to insert it. I'll happily (gleefully) supply both.

Gus,

I have to share Dan's pessimism. I know at least two previously happy, productive people with their whole lives ahead of them who threw it all away for drugs. So I too have to ask which came first: the fall that leads to addiction, or the addiction that leads to the fall?

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Quote of the Day August 21, 2008 at 21 Aug 9:04 AM:

Posted by Dan at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 8:52 AM:

Do some of them find themselves in the situation that they are in due to addiction, (drugs lead them to street life) or did the circumstances of their life lead them to the addiction?

Posted by Dan at Police Blotter -- 08/21/2008 at 21 Aug 8:48 AM:

I would agree with you in regards to using technology, but then again I don't write the checks.

Pursuits and pursuit policies have changed dramatically since I first began. Many years ago if you had a burned out headlight and refused to stop, game on.

However, such is NOT the case anymore. Reckless driving that is a danger to the public before the initiation of a pursuit will be grounds to chase. Also included are felony offenses.

However, ALL of these pursuits are monitored by a supervisor and when the risk outweighs the necessity of immediate apprehension the pursuit is terminated. Of course weather, time of day, traffic conditions, experience of the officer, speeds, actions of the suspect, etc are all continually evaluated through the pursuit.

As a result, pursuits, don't "go wrong" as often, but on occasion still do.

Posted by John A. Olsen at Greeting Cards for Gay Married Couples. at 21 Aug 8:45 AM:

This is a growth industry.. and as more people become comfortable and move toward lives that are "authentic" the world will be a better place.

Jeanie, when my Lesbian daughter got married two months ago in SFO, I was perplexed... but i now refer to Jacqui as Britta's "Spouse"...

My experience in sharing my joy about this event with all people i've talked to/with has been uniformly accepting and kind.. ( whether it is merely kindness to me, or the general acceptance is hard to judge) but even persons unknown to me will often share a story like yours... "Oh I have an uncle/aunt ect who is glbt.

Back on the Motorcycles now... a bientot.. Gus

Posted by John A. Olsen at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 8:40 AM:

The street people and low income ( including the elderly) often use "substance" to effect some comfort in their life. A lot of us buffer/titer the pain and angst in our lives with legal drugs.. alcohol/Kafe'/Prescription Pain Meds/ Oxycontin etc/

The lower level of nutrition and general health among my clients makes the downhill path to addiction and manipulation a straight slide without many corners...but lottsa bumps...

Likely one third of the folks that dine with us at Shalom each morning, if tested would have had some substance in their system within the prior 24 hours.. ChefGus

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Greeting Cards for Gay Married Couples. at 21 Aug 8:37 AM:

I recently needed such a card though. My ex-husband from many life times ago did get married a week ago to his partner and soul mate of 15 years. I am sincerely happy for him, as this has been a very, very long road for him.

So I went to the store to find just the right card. Holy Moley Bat Man!!!! It can't say wife; it can't say husband; it can't say bride; it can't say groom. . . What to do. What to do. I finally found one that was somewhat generic but also warm. Good grief!

Posted by John A. Olsen at Police Blotter -- 08/21/2008 at 21 Aug 8:26 AM:

Hope the two women and their colaborator's are brought to trial and put in to jail with dispatch. How low is it to steal food from hungry people... where is alice..? ChefGus

Posted by Justice for all at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 8:19 AM:

Mr Grey,

Your Bang Bang approach works for me. I'd donate the rounds. A 9mm was used by my niece to kill herself, while on a Meth run, and the dealers she was with at the time walked.

The criminalization of holding a few grams of Marijuana, to the point of filling our jails with these folks is part of why we are looking at spending 250 M on a new jail complex. There has to be a better and more sane way to help. I do not see marijuana as any more physiologically affecting than alcohol, and is the drug of choice which happens to not be available for purchase at the local liquor stores. Lots of DUI's and deaths to innocents from alcohol. I am wondering what the statistics are for Marijuana affected persons perpetrating deaths on the highways.

JFA

Posted by J.Grey at Police Blotter -- 08/21/2008 at 21 Aug 7:33 AM:

What's the status of the new technology - the sort of 'stop stick' that instead of flattening tires, induces a localized, intense EMP burst that fries the electronics of the car's engine causing the pursued vehicle to lose power and eventually coast to a stop?

I heard about that several years ago and haven't heard anything about it since.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a 'hot pursuit foe.' If the cops act in good faith and to the best of their ability, I for one believe the responsibility for anything that goes wrong belongs solely to the idiot who intentionally decided not to stop for the blue lights and siren.

It's just that I've seen PIT go wrong more than once. So why not throw technology at the problem instead of risking the lives of innocent bystanders and good cops?

Posted by J.Grey at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 7:23 AM:

Yes, drugs are amongst us. They always have been throughout recorded history and so long as the human animal is fallible and prone to weaknesses and addictions, they always will be.

However, I firmly believe that the answer is not to throw up our hands and tell ourselves that the problem is insoluable and therefore there's no point in trying.

I further agree that many drug users are probably more victim than villain - that is until they start victimizing others to finance their own weaknesses. At that point I lose sympathy.

But as to someone who knowingly, intentionally profits from the weakness and suffering of others - drug dealers for example...

Remember that it was a drug dealer that took the life of your friends. It was a drug dealer that ruined the lives of two of mine.

Therefore and with respect to regulating drug dealers - personally, I like the Chinese Method.

Put a bullet in their brain and then bill their family for the cost of the bullet.

Posted by Dave Laird at Police Blotter -- 08/21/2008 at 21 Aug 7:15 AM:

You wrote in part:

is an awesome example of exactly what a PIT looks like. Notice that he does not have to ram him to spin him. Also notice a lack of other units to do post pit...and finally notice besides that the Mustang driver is a pretty good driver, that there are no other units to do post pit to block him in.

That is some good stuff. Thank you for answering my question, Dan.

Dave

Posted by Dan at Police Blotter -- 08/21/2008 at 21 Aug 7:02 AM:

Posted by Justice for all at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 6:35 AM:

Not everyone who is a user knows what is actually in the drugs purchased and so many are at risk for a needless death each time they buy their favorite.

The brown heroin on the street last winter killed a number of my friends but i guess they went out with a smile on their face. JFA

Posted by J.Grey at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 4:10 AM:

Please reassure me that you're being sarcastic. (I admit I'm not very good at getting sarcasm in situations like this. I usually depend on tone of voice as the clue and that doesn't come across well in an internet post.)

Posted by FactVille at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 21 Aug 12:30 AM:

Now to share a bit of timely humor.

Posted by Marty... at The Infamous Weekly Wild Card 08/19/2008 at 20 Aug 9:28 PM:

Posted by Marty... at Quote of the Day August 20, 2008 at 20 Aug 9:22 PM:

Posted by Marty... at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 20 Aug 9:19 PM:

Posted by Marty... at Picture of the Day -- August 20, 2008 at 20 Aug 9:11 PM:

Posted by Marty... at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 20 Aug 9:00 PM:

Posted by Dave Laird at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 20 Aug 7:35 PM:

You wrote in part:

Dave: I like this Police Blotter stuff. Hope you make it a regular feature.

Glad you like it. I fully intend to make it a semi-permanent feature of Community Comment.

Dave

Posted by Cindy H. at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 20 Aug 5:19 PM:

Posted by Justice for all at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 20 Aug 4:57 PM:

There is really no dependable source for good drugs without polutants here in the Spokane core. If we could only trust our dealers it would be a safer life for us. JFA

Posted by Dave Laird at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 20 Aug 3:46 PM:

You wrote:

‘The brown acid that is circulating around us isn’t specifically too good.’ ~Chip Monck, Woodstock

The word I heard on the street recently is there is apparently some PCP that is laced with something really bad, and another source said it was Meth cut with PCP. What amazed me was these two kids were standing there talking about drugs as if they were discussing the latest news in the Wall Street Journal. It surprised even me, and I'm generally not too easily surprised.

However, this street junk is pretty wild from what they were saying. You end up with people who really do some crazy things, even crazier than brown LSD.

Dave

Posted by Casey at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 20 Aug 3:18 PM:

Invite them in and give them some clothes.

“Police believe a tainted and very dangerous batch of illegal narcotics is circulating in the city causing mental problems in the users of the drug.”

‘The brown acid that is circulating around us isn’t specifically too good.’ ~Chip Monck, Woodstock

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 20 Aug 3:14 PM:

If it is my significant other (thus, someone I know, I would think about it for a sec, asking myself what in the world would be the reason for him standing outside, in the front of the house, naked!

If it were Antonio, I would just smile and think to myself, THIS is my LUCKY day!!!

Posted by Justice for All at Afternoon news brief... sans briefs it seems... at 20 Aug 3:01 PM:

If one looks at the police blotter data, the Officers most always get it right. I am impressed, with this "old fashioned/small town sheriff way of dealing with a miscreant drug affected young person. Bravo. JFA

Posted by Dave Laird at Morning Reverie August 19, 2008 at 20 Aug 2:24 PM:

You wrote:

Well that was cheery.

Uh, did you think it was meant to be cheery? I'm sorry if I mislead anyone in writing about war of all kinds, but I remain opposed to war, and especially revolted by nuclear exchanges of any kind.

So, I wrote the story, largely as the outcome of reading Marty's terrific statement about the futility of war.

Dave

Posted by Casey King at Picture of the Day -- August 20, 2008 at 20 Aug 2:19 PM:

Posted by green libertarian at Morning Reverie August 19, 2008 at 20 Aug 12:17 PM:

Well that was cheery.

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Picture of the Day -- August 20, 2008 at 20 Aug 11:26 AM:

Posted by Diana Davies at The Infamous Weekly Wild Card 08/19/2008 at 20 Aug 8:54 AM:

Newspaper endorsements are irrelevant to me, but work quite well with sheep voters.

Posted by Justice for all at The Infamous Weekly Wild Card 08/19/2008 at 20 Aug 8:37 AM:

Moderately encouraged by the close election primary results posted on Jim Camden's politics blog for Mr Ahern and Mr Driscoll. (Mr Ahern is 41 votes ahead. It is Time for some new direction in our sixth legislative district. Mr Driscoll is kind and caring and competent. Mr Ahern seems to be lodged in the 1950's. JFA

Posted by Dave Laird at The Infamous Weekly Wild Card 08/19/2008 at 19 Aug 8:35 PM:

You wrote:

I love Wild Cards. Even thought I've nothing to say, I appreciate the time and space to be wild. Thank you!

Aw shucks! Just when I thought there was a slight chance you would whip something out of your writer's sketch book, some delightful little ditty to make the smoke in the air from the west rise in little whorls and ripples into the night sky.

Something truly wild and unpredictable to keep us all on the edge of our seats, and then leave us laughing.

Shucks! Poot! Fiddlesticks!

Dave

Posted by Dave Laird at Morning Reverie August 19, 2008 at 19 Aug 8:29 PM:

I was sitting in Haufsbrau Haven, a small motel about 100 miles from Seattle, surrounded by my children and grandchildren, having just overeaten to a point only slightly past complete satiation when the lights went out. The microwave oven in the kitchenette gave an odd belching sound, and across the room, the television more or less did the same. Everyone laughed nervously, while some muttered dire deprecations about the power company, but as soon as candles and the lantern from our camping gear were lit, the normal ebb and flow of our conversation continued unabated.

That is until, as I sat listening to my daughter describe her graduation day from the local college,
and gazing out the window across Dunedon Downs North toward where the lights of a nearby small town would normally appear, I saw a miniature sun rise a long ways away, and seeing the horror in my face, my entire family turned and peered out into the darkness at the rising golden globe in the distance. Within a matter of moments, we saw eight more sun-like clouds of fire ascending into the sky, then several more to the South of us.

“It must be Seattle,” my son stated softly to no one in particular. “It is too far away to harm us immediately, but...”

Just as his voice trailed off, a strange rumble, the subsonic vibration of the first atomic bomb to explode in the time of war in the United States, rattled the windows angrily it seemed.

“Is that what I think it is?” my daughter asked hesitantly, clasping her daughters close to her side.

“I'm afraid so.” For a moment there my voice failed at the utter insanity of it all. They said they would use nuclear weapons only as a deterrent, that such a horrid thing as nuclear war would never take place. “We'd better get to planning what to do.”

My son, who had tiptoed out of the room shortly after the last sun rose in the sky, came in from outside and announced, “None of our cars start. Judging by what little I know about it, it looks like whoever just declared war on us used an EMP weapon of some kind. That's why the lights went out, and probably anything else that uses solid-state circuitry died at the same time.”

That was four weeks ago. Until now, we have survived as best we can by banding together as families often do. Fortunately the folks that run the motel have been kindly, and although scared half to death themselves, they allowed us to remain in the suite of rooms we had paid for with our credit card, the credit card that no longer was worth a plugged nickel, since not only the lights, but the phones and radios had all fallen silent and unresponsive since just before the first cloud of fire ascended into the heavens.

Since as part of our original plan we had originally planned to go pheasant hunting the next day, we were perhaps better-prepared than some of the other guests at the motel, most of whom simply vanished on foot the next day or holed up in their motel rooms, waiting for their cell phones to ring and subsisting off whatever food they were able to gather in town, which wasn't much after scavengers stripped the shelves bare. Since the ominous clouds and smoke were all drifting the opposite direction from us, we took a chance and hiked back into the mountainous woods behind the motel and almost immediately bagged a clutch of fat pheasants, a few grouse and a fat possum. I had never had possum stew before, but it tasted actually very good but it lasted only a few days.

Just as we were beginning to think we would survive this calamity, the wind changed last week, and despite taking shelter in the motel office's basement, within hours we could smell the demise of the City of Seattle. The smell was revolting, but the radiation only took six hours to make us sick.

As I sit here in the gathering gloom of the day, I said goodbye to my granddaughters, both of whom had been retching and heaving since before daylight. My wife is now comatose, as are both my son and daughter. Only the good Lord knows why he spared me to the end, to write this journal, but I ponder the injustice of seeing my loved ones suffer so.

Perhaps the good Lord, in his/her omnipotence, wanted someone to write the last elegy for mankind, to write a few words on the futility of war. Perhaps God wants to atone for allowing such evil to prevail in the world, and to leave a stern warning to whoever may travel this way sometime in the future.

[Later] It is only a matter of a few hours now. Both the motel owner and I drift in and out of consciousness as radiation sickness is slowly but inexorably taking our lives in brief, miserable spates of consciousness followed by the long, dark tunnel. I hope to see my family again soon.

The End.

Posted by Cindy H. at The Infamous Weekly Wild Card 08/19/2008 at 19 Aug 6:37 PM:

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Morning Reverie August 19, 2008 at 19 Aug 3:21 PM:

Posted by Marty... at Morning Reverie August 19, 2008 at 19 Aug 2:20 PM:

I'm tired of it. War, war and more war. When I think of all the hopes, dreams and futures that have been lost through our (mankind's) folly, I become immensely sad and concurrently angry. I've looked down at the dead and dying in my youth and now that I've aged and had time to reflect on those sights, I often wonder whether or not we've left the cure for AIDS, or some other global problem lying there on the ground. Surely the world would be a better place if all those young men, women and children had been allowed to ripen into maturity. What mother would not have rejoiced at the sight of her son growing old and bringing forth grandchildren? What wife would not rejoice at the sight of a husband returning home after a day at his profession? Think of the brothers and sisters smiling and laughing together at the family gathering. The losses we have inflicted on our fellows truly brings tears to my eyes.

Posted by Dave Laird at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 19 Aug 1:28 PM:

I have some brief comments about what you've said (below):

You wrote in part:

Last, the remarkable response to my post about Still a Newspaperman convinced me I should try to find a place where I could speak with a bit more freedom about the issues facing the industry, something I tried to avoid when my comments might be taken as "official" newspaper philosophy or opinions.

You epitomize the best of the craft, and for the sake of the next generation of journalists still working their ways up through the ranks, you gave them reminiscences of how it used to be, with the stern reminder of the challenges we still face. It was, in my words, probably some of the best damned writing I've ever read about the juxtaposition between the past and future of newspaper journalism.

We'll probably drop the bottom 10 or 15 blogs, add new ones and keep the rest. Community Comment could not be more secure. Most of the blogs referenced here are quite safe.

I also am concerned about the posters who abuse the privilege, some walking that thin line between nuisance and banned loony.

A huge sigh is heard. I speak for Jeanie, John and myself that we spend nearly as much time trying to patrol and enforce standards as we do writing, but that goes with the territory I fear.

Thanks for clarifying things.

Dave

Posted by Dave Laird at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 19 Aug 12:43 PM:

You wrote in part:

Okay Dave, you once deleted my quotation of Sgt. Friday (in the TGIF thread you posted on 11 Apr 6:58 AM) from the movie ‘Dragnet’ for being “inapplicable, hostile and so forth.” Now gl attempts to and threatens to (in his own words) “chase you off again” and accuses me of “outright lying.” Is this gl’s behavior the standard you would like adopted for your blog?

No. That is why, just minutes ago, I marked his comment hidden. It is never suitable behavior in Community Comment to call someone a liar. I'm sorry I didn't see it earlier when it was first posted or I would have killed the message then.

Unfortunately there are only so many hours in the day.

Dave

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 19 Aug 12:10 PM:

I can hardly wait for the new format so Dave and I don't have to put on our sleuthing hats and magnifying glasses to find the malcontents that subtly try their bullying tactics.

Posted by Steven A. Smith at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 19 Aug 11:52 AM:

A couple of questions have been asked here that I think ought to be answered.

First, there is no subtext or hidden mystery to my decision to stop NIAC. I felt its natural lifespan was nearing an end. Time was an issue. I had too-long periods when I just didn't have time to actually engage in the conversation.

Last, the remarkable response to my post about Still a Newspaperman convinced me I should try to find a place where I could speak with a bit more freedom about the issues facing the industry, something I tried to avoid when my comments might be taken as "official" newspaper philosophy or opinions.

There were no legal issues at all.

Second, we are reviewing all of our blogs, as we do periodically, to eliminate those with minimal traffic (again, blogs have natural lifespans) and add new blogs that meet reader/user needs.

We'll probably drop the bottom 10 or 15 blogs, add new ones and keep the rest. Community Comment could not be more secure. Most of the blogs referenced here are quite safe.

One new blog has been set and it will be a terrific draw. I'll formally announce that soon.

I also am concerned about the posters who abuse the privilege, some walking that thin line between nuisance and banned loony.

When we transition to our new web system Sept. 3, we'll require registration for blogs and story comment threads. This will be only a slight one-time inconveience. But it will allow us to better track posters and police the blogs in an effort to keep the dialogue civil, at least.

steve

Posted by Casey King at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 19 Aug 10:58 AM:

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/commcomm/archive/?postID=6849

Posted by Casey King at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 19 Aug 10:51 AM:

Additionally, shall everybody here be held to that standard, or just those you don’t agree with? Nobody can ever be mistaken, only lying and if they (Lord forbid) actually admit when they are wrong, you threaten to “chase you off” because you have judged them to be “outright” lying?

So much for civility.

So much for discussing and debate.

Yeah gl, I get it, you are practicing basic fascism. Vilify, castigate, shout down, accuse of lying, threaten and run off those who disagree with your view…what ever it takes to shut up those you don’t agree with.

Ironic that one of yesterday’s topics was “Discontinuing Columns & Blogs”…gee, it couldn’t possibly be because some folks don’t want to risk making a mistake (again, Lord forbid they should actually admit when they are wrong) and get attacked, bullied and disparaged for it…could it?

From Dave’s original thread opening this blog;

“Uncivil conversations have no place here. Personal name-calling, belligerence, use of obscenities or other pejorative terms directed at other participants or other similar negative behavior are frowned upon and may result in users' messages being deleted without notice. Be tasteful; write with elegance and style, even in when sarcasm or satire is in use.”

Okay Dave, you once deleted my quotation of Sgt. Friday (in the TGIF thread you posted on 11 Apr 6:58 AM) from the movie ‘Dragnet’ for being “inapplicable, hostile and so forth.” Now gl attempts to and threatens to (in his own words) “chase you off again” and accuses me of “outright lying.” Is this gl’s behavior the standard you would like adopted for your blog?

Posted by Dave Laird at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 19 Aug 9:23 AM:

You wrote:

Last week we saw the ending of Steve Smith's "News in a Conversation," and just now posted on Daily Briefing, Cheryl-Anne Millsap's column, "The Home Planet," will be discontinued, due to lack of budget.
Does this worry you, dear readers, that some of our blogs on the S-R might see the end of their days?

This is perhaps the most-painful part of the transition that Steve Smith was describing earlier in NIAC. The resulting loss of creative talent and the severe changes in personnel is heartbreaking to watch, but the Blogs? If we see any changes in the Blogs, it will simply be a cutting-back of the number of hours for some of the paid staff members, perhaps. That is my “best guess”, such as it is.

Having read most of the blogs in Steve's new web site, I am satisfied that the transition from NIAC to a Blog he owns and controls creates an abundant number of new possibilities, in particular for him to discuss the changes to the newspaper industry as a whole as they take place.

The budget right now is killing newspapers right and left. Other talented writers are leaving the newspapers in droves, but not leaving journalism, I believe. As the Spokesman's first all-volunteer Blog, one that has indelibly put its own “mark” if you will on what a Blog can be, Community Comment has no budget. What we do have is an opportunity for creativity, one which I will leave others to judge for good or ill.

As its creator, I for one hope I never see its demise. I continually strive to provide that creativity that justifies its continued existence. Yes, I think we may see some of the blogs simply fade away, but we will see lots of new unforeseen developments, such as the use of Twitter to cover a criminal trial. Did you see that coming? I know I did not, and thus I did not foresee the incredible success story that has evolved in the preliminaries of the trial. Talk about readership!

Yes, the readership seems to be the power that drives Blogs now and into the future. That makes sense from a marketing point of view. The difficult question, one that Steve Smith probably asks himself every day, is how does the paper translate all those blog hits into revenue? Can the SR generate enough revenue to pay for the creativity?

Dave

Posted by FactVille at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 19 Aug 9:12 AM:

So far this year the Seattle Times has lost 7% of its workforce, sold lucrative property at the South end of Lake Union and sold other newspapers (assets) to keep afloat.

Rumor also has it that NIAC was also discontinued for some long ongoing legal liability reasons.

Posted by J.Grey at Iran Launches Satellite into Space... at 19 Aug 4:26 AM:

I freely admit that I'm 'whistling in the cemetery' because this all scares the hell out of me. But deep down, I'm basically an optimist and I therefore believe that even lunatics aren't necessarily stupid. I think that there's a big difference between rhetoric and threats made to get your way versus actually carrying out those threats.

Furthermore, if you're right and I'm wrong - if Iran can't be trusted with nukes and ICBMs - to be blunt, I think it's pretty much game over anyway.

Look, if Iran can't be trusted with them, how does the rest of the world prevent them from getting them?
If you're right and the world community would 'blink' at their use against Israel or Washington DC or whatever (and I don't think you are - more on that in a moment), that same community of nations certainly wouldn't allow military force to prevent Iran from obtaining them in the first place. And what other option is available to prevent it? If Iran is really bound and determined to posses them, that is.

However...

Would you support that action if it were one and the target was Israel? Do you think the world community wouldn’t immediately call for restraint and condemn any nuclear retaliation on our part, let alone turning Tehran into the ‘Glass-topped parking lot’ you mention? Do you believe Russia and China wouldn’t threaten immediate retaliation if we did?

Now here's some cock-eyed optimism for you. I don't think the world would call for restraint. Or if they did, I'd be willing to be it would be after the fact. And not from any higher call to nobility or morality either. I think it would be a case of pure enlightened self-interest. No matter how great their differences or how jealous they are of their own agenda, I think the leaders of the world would realize that the nuke that fell on Tel Aviv today could be the nuke that falls on Moscow or Beijing or London or Paris or Berlin tomorrow. I think they'd realize that any nation crazy enough to deploy nukes is a 'mad dog' and there's only one way to deal with a mad dog.

And I think that's the message that the world needs to take to Tehran. "Build them if you want, we probably can't stop you. But if you use them, you die." I really and truly think that's the only hope we have for the future.

Posted by Cindy H. at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 18 Aug 8:40 PM:

Posted by Casey King at What to do when it is this HOT! at 18 Aug 7:19 PM:

Note the projected lows for Friday Night and Sunday Night in particular… 91...for the night time low!

Posted by Casey King at Iran Launches Satellite into Space... at 18 Aug 6:51 PM:

Jeff, from President Ahmadinejad’s own speeches on Israel I suggest that Iran can not be trusted to be dissuaded by the concept of MAD. I further suggest that radical Islam’s love of murder via suicide attacks be they bombs or planes (including women and children who are taught that this is a direct ticket to Heaven) also negates the concept of MAD as a deterrent. Perhaps more importantly, can we take the chance?

“How many ICBMs will Iran be able to field? (Which is to ask; should worst come to worst and the world can't awaken to the danger before Iran gets at least a few - how many will the world ultimately allow Iran to build?) I think at some point even Russia and China will become uncomfortable to the point that they say, "Enough" and mean it.”

Isn’t one, too many? Regarding Russia and China becoming uncomfortable and finally saying enough and meaning it, would that come before or after Israel disappears in nuclear fire? One of our cities? Do you believe either Russia or China would shed a single tear over either?

“Do they launch? It won't be a pre-emptive 'decapitation' strike against NATO. With a few dozen warheads, it can't be. With only a few dozen first-generation ICBMs, I suspect even the land-based leg of our 'Triad' will survive. (And the SSBNs most assuredly will.)”

Again, one is enough to kill literally millions, and is completely indiscriminant. Additionally, what’s to prevent them from selling the ‘few dozen warheads’ you mention to other, even more radical regimes than that of Iran?

“As a result and as we used to say at the height of the arms race, the inevitable retaliation will be sufficient to 'Make the rubble of Tehran bounce several times.' 'Glass-topped parking lot'. '10,000 degrees in the shade.' Etc, etc.”

Would you support that action if it were one and the target was Israel? Do you think the world community wouldn’t immediately call for restraint and condemn any nuclear retaliation on our part, let alone turning Tehran into the ‘Glass-topped parking lot’ you mention? Do you believe Russia and China wouldn’t threaten immediate retaliation if we did?

“Now, are the 'wild-eyed mullahs' crazy enough to risk that?”

Going strictly by the words spoken from their own lips, the answer is clearly yes.

“Let's remember that these are the guys who love to strap bombs on women and children and send them off to glorious martyrdom. But nuke the U.S., nuke NATO, nuke Israel, and there'll be no place to hide. It'll only be a question of how many of the faithful you'll take along with you because pushing that lunch button is your own death as certain as putting a bullet through your brain.”

Note the statements by the mullahs in jails around the world, and again, do you honestly believe that the rest of the world will tolerate us launching even a ‘limited’ retaliatory nuclear strike if we were struck by a solitary nuclear ICBM? What if Israel were hit by one nuclear bomb? Would we respond at all other than to impose yet more economic sanctions and Useless Nations resolutions?

“And as I say, I'm optimist enough to believe that nobody's crazy enough to want that or to risk that.”

‘"I must announce that the Zionist regime (Israel), with a 60-year record of genocide, plunder, invasion and betrayal is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene," Ahmadinejad said.’
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkqvlPndHPxXMqNzQLCQAPNyxbdQ

Still think so Jeff? I wish that I could agree with you but am afraid that you are sadly mistaken on this score and again ask, can we afford to risk it?

Thank you for your consideration.

Posted by zelda at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 18 Aug 5:48 PM:

http://www.stillanewspaperman.com/

Posted by JBelle at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 18 Aug 5:31 PM:

...and the link to Steve Smith's blog is....?

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 18 Aug 5:13 PM:

Posted by Bill at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 18 Aug 4:11 PM:

But like it or not online media is the way most people are moving. The elimination of online features with a more conversational tone like the blogs is a dumb idea. It just leave more of gap between the Spokesman and >40 crowd.

I also really enjoy Ms. Milsap's column. I hope she continues to write in some way.

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 18 Aug 4:05 PM:

Posted by zelda at Discontinuing Columns & Blogs at 18 Aug 3:41 PM:

BTW, I'm just finishing John Darnton's new murder mystery "Black & White and Dead All Over" -- a satirical novel about the deadly politics inside the NY Times and newspapers in general. Very funny, if you know enough about the NY Times, Rupert Murdoch, journalism lingo, etc. Maybe it's a new sub-genre of fiction -- "newspaper gothic."

Towards the end, one of the veteran reporters declares, "News is NOT a conversation!"

Posted by J.Grey at Iran Launches Satellite into Space... at 18 Aug 2:27 PM:

How many ICBMs will Iran be able to field? (Which is to ask; should worst come to worst and the world can't awaken to the danger before Iran gets at least a few - how many will the world ultimately allow Iran to build?) I think at some point even Russia and China will become uncomfortable to the point that they say, "Enough" and mean it.

So (and again, I admit this is the optimist in me speaking): A few dozen first-generation ICBMs for Iran. Okay. What do they do with them?

Do they launch? It won't be a pre-emptive 'decapitation' strike against NATO. With a few dozen warheads, it can't be. With only a few dozen first-generation ICBMs, I suspect even the land-based leg of our 'Triad' will survive. (And the SSBNs most assuredly will.)

As a result and as we used to say at the height of the arms race, the inevitable retaliation will be sufficient to 'Make the rubble of Tehran bounce several times.' 'Glass-topped parking lot'. '10,000 degrees in the shade.' Etc, etc.

Now, are the 'wild-eyed mullahs' crazy enough to risk that?

Let's remember that these are the guys who love to strap bombs on women and children and send them off to glorious martyrdom. But nuke the U.S., nuke NATO, nuke Israel, and there'll be no place to hide. It'll only be a question of how many of the faithful you'll take along with you because pushing that lunch button is your own death as certain as putting a bullet through your brain.

That's not bluster. That's not saber rattling.

That's how it will be.

And as I say, I'm optimist enough to believe that nobody's crazy enough to want that or to risk that.

Posted by Casey King at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 18 Aug 2:03 PM:

Posted by Casey King at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 18 Aug 1:57 PM:

Per Aviation News;

“…Just as in Operation Desert Storm the IrAF escaped north of Baghdad. This time, the IrAF knew better than to flee to Iran, because in 1991 this plan failed to safeguard precious airframes after Tehran refused to return over 100 front-line aircraft.”
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk/iraqsVanishingAirForce.html

I am in error on this aspect of my argument, and acknowledge my error. However in the above referenced article, it does state that Iraq did have an air-force. Now shall I take your error and declare that you “have no grasp of the facts, or you simply wish to deceive?”

I am able to admit when I’m have overstated my case and/or am simply wrong gl, can you? Or shall we hold you to the same standard you hold others to?

The number of coalition of nations currently in Iraq is 20 in addition to America btw, not 10, but as a matter of curiosity, how many nations were there in Russia’s ‘coalition?’ One including Russia?

Posted by Casey King at Iran Launches Satellite into Space... at 18 Aug 1:17 PM:

Well, considering that is the first step in launching an ICBM that can reach not just to Israel and Europe, but to America, and also considering that they are hell bent on producing weapons grade fissionable materials as fast as possible (we can agree that they are in fact producing weapons grade fissionable materials, right?), um, yeah, that concerns me tremendously. But I suppose we need another 17 UN resolutions, 3 Presidential administrations and a decade’s worth of failed diplomacy before we can do anything about it or encourage our allies to do anything about it though…

…anybody else out there that thinks as I do, that we simply don’t have that much time?

…anybody out there that doubts for a second that if President Ahmadinejad got his hands on an ICBM, he would use it?

…anybody out there that still thinks a national missile defense shield is a ‘luxury’ we can afford not to build?

Posted by Casey King at Musharraf steps down from helm at Pakistan... at 18 Aug 1:08 PM:

Posted by Casey King at Israeli's recognize humanitarian effort by Free Gaza... at 18 Aug 1:06 PM:

Imagine for one moment the outraged denunciations and demands that such programming be pulled (rightly so) if BigBird, Elmo, and Bert and Ernie were teaching such lessons on PBS, and yet somehow many Americans ignore this systematic teaching and institutionalization of racism, hate and violence in preference to the whitewashed propaganda accusing Israel of the very actions the ‘Palestinian’ terrorists commit on an ongoing and daily basis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWIFhKYiMqU&feature=related

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1693.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFz8DwvJP6Q

As an aside, and just out of curiosity, if Israel were to suddenly and decisively flood into ‘Palestinian’ territories, targeting housing complexes, roads and rail lines, civil air and sea ports, then sign a cease fire promising to withdraw their Army but leave Israeli ‘Peacekeepers’ behind, then not only didn’t withdraw their troops and never actually stopped shooting or advancing while simultaneously making threatening statements that Syria and Iran could expect the same treatment and had better be paying attention unless they ‘straighten up’…would the world community stand idly by making threats of economic sanctions and ejection and non-inclusion in trade groups?

Posted by green libertarian at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 18 Aug 12:56 PM:

Among his many other mistatements of fact, Casey said, twice in fact, that the Iraqi air force fled to Iran at the commencement of hostilities in 2003. Storm.

Bzzzzzt, WRONG. They had no air force. What planes they had they buried in the desert, or were inoperable.

In 1991, at the start of hostilities, over a hundred Iraqi air force jets did go to Iran, and these air craft were never returned to Iraq.

If you repeat a lie, it's rather likely you have no grasp of the facts, or you simply wish to deceive.

Posted by JeanieSpokane at What to do when it is this HOT! at 18 Aug 12:30 PM:

Posted by Dave Laird at Iran Launches Satellite into Space... at 18 Aug 12:27 PM:

You wrote:

Are you sitting in the CNN newsroom as you write today? Yeah - this concerns me and the bubbling unrest that the earth is experiencing right now - Iraq war, Georgia war, Pakistan change of command, Olympics in China being somewhat unsportsmanlike in a lot of areas - sheesh - I want to go back to bed and start over.

I totally agree, Jeanie. I want to go back to bed and start all over again. However, as I was sitting here this morning, the news stories just kept coming at me. As fast as I would get a good picture and the story, another one would come along. I haven't even gotten out of my chair since it all began.

This sucks!

Yes, I am going back to bed. Perhaps by the time I reawaken from my nap everything will have smoothed out. Not bloody likely, but it's a wish.

Dave

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Picture of the Day August 18, 2008 at 18 Aug 12:23 PM:

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Iran Launches Satellite into Space... at 18 Aug 12:03 PM:

Posted by Dave Laird at Quote of the Day August 18, 2008 at 18 Aug 11:39 AM:

Yes, this quote was probably no less than that of William Gaines who created and launched Mad Magazine decades ago. Alfred E. Neuman, best known for his toothless grin and slogan, "What me worry?" once reigned as the epitome of humor and satire in print.

Dave

Posted by Dave Laird at What is your favorite music? at 18 Aug 11:26 AM:

You wrote in part:

The carbine saw cutting steel does remind me of a few of my favorite Motorhead tracks, though.

Oh, drat. That serves to demonstrate my utter convulsive lack of generational sensitivity. The only visual I am getting from the name "Motorhead" is a brief memory of meeting Jeanie's significant other gentle giant once upon a time. (laughing to myself)

Any man who can pick up an entire engine block with one hand has to qualify as a motorhead, no?

Dave

Posted by Diana Davies at What is your favorite music? at 18 Aug 10:01 AM:

The carbine saw cutting steel does remind me of a few of my favorite Motorhead tracks, though.

Posted by Marty... at Picture of the Day August 18, 2008 at 18 Aug 9:13 AM:

Posted by J.Grey at What is your favorite music? at 18 Aug 9:12 AM:

'Weird' jazz? Vince Giraldi is 'weird'?

Posted by Dave Laird at What is your favorite music? at 18 Aug 8:59 AM:

You wrote:

As long as you stay out of the medicine cabinet and top drawer of the night stand, I think it's okay. Not that the contents of those would provide an even deeper insight, but... never mind.

Oh! Ah. Hmmph. Uhhh...

That is the first time you have ever caught me speechless, Diana. I think I'll simply go with your idea of 'nevermind'. 8-)

Dave

Posted by Diana Davies at What is your favorite music? at 18 Aug 8:45 AM:

Posted by Dave Laird at What is your favorite music? at 18 Aug 8:22 AM:

You wrote:

I don't consider myself a snoop and honestly couldn't care less what people do. But when I'm invited to someone's home, I casually check out the CD rack and book shelf. It can be a fascinating study of friends and acquaintances, as in, "Wierd jazz, Jeff? I had no idea!"

It's tougher nowadays, since everyone has their stuff on the iPod.

I plead guilty, yer Honor, to the charge of always scanning bookshelves when I visit someone's home. It tells me a lot about them, and it also may give me an edge when it comes to finding a common ground of discussion.

The same applies to music somewhat, but their books tell me much more about them.

Dave

Posted by Diana Davies at What is your favorite music? at 18 Aug 7:47 AM:

It's tougher nowadays, since everyone has their stuff on the iPod.

Posted by Dave Laird at What is your favorite music? at 18 Aug 6:42 AM:

You wrote:

Dave, this is interesting. I think you can tell a lot about a person from their music and books.

Such eclectic favorites here!

Oh, my! Do I dare open Pandora's Box and create a message thread called my Top Ten Favorite Books? I think, once time permits me, I shall. I'll wager the answers to that message thread will be as eclectic and expansive as our collective tastes in music.

"Someone STOP me!" (The Mask)

Dave

Posted by J.Grey at What is your favorite music? at 18 Aug 5:00 AM:

New Age.

'Fusion' Jazz. (But I'm particular. Four musicians playing four different songs at the same time and calling it jazz... I'd rather listen to a carbide saw cutting steel.)

50's-60's 'oldies'.

Posted by Diana Davies at What is your favorite music? at 17 Aug 9:16 PM:

Such eclectic favorites here!

Posted by Casey King at What to do when it is this HOT! at 17 Aug 9:00 PM:

Posted by Marty... at What is your favorite music? at 17 Aug 8:54 PM:

How could you have missed T. Texas Tyler's "Remember Me"? Try as I might, that song pops into my head about twice a year.

What are my favorites?

Just about anything Baroque

Acoustic folk from before 1965.

Just about everything by Kiri Te Kanawa.

Sentimental "Heimat" songs in German.

Beatles, of course.

Tirolean yodeling.

'60s Italian pop.

Most barbershop.

Sometimes late at night when the mood strikes me the heavier the metal the better. Dunno what it is, but there are times when it's the only thing that works for me.

Early Judy Collins and Emmy Lou Harris.

Dave Brubeck, most anything.

Oscar Peterson, ditto.

Early J. J. and Kai.

Anything by the Weavers.

The list goes on.

Posted by Marty... at What to do when it is this HOT! at 17 Aug 8:35 PM:

Posted by Cindy H, at What to do when it is this HOT! at 17 Aug 6:40 PM:

Posted by Dave Laird at Quote of the Day August 17, 2008 at 17 Aug 3:10 PM:

You wrote:

I have never tried to be dummer on purpose!!!!!

I can be dumer than that by accident, but sometimes when I am deliberately trying to be dumb I end up being funny instead.

Dave

Posted by Dave Laird at What is your favorite music? at 17 Aug 3:06 PM:

You wrote in part:

How can you stop at ten?

I simply cannot. Because it is simply too hot outside to wander around, I turned on the TV and there was Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" playing and I started all over again...

Because we all forgot Broadway Show Tunes in our various lists, myself included.

Music Man, the entire score. I can sing almost any part of the score.
Oklahoma most of the lyrics in memory, but no copy left that is legible.

You mention South Pacific and then you open up that entire Rogers and Hammerstein collection, of which I have a few.

But then you touch Benny Goodman, Cy Zentner, the impeccable Glenn Miller Orchestra and so many more. How could I ever forget Glenn Miller?

No, with a minor in the history of American Music, the list could go on to herculean heights, and I'll bet your lists could go on and on, too.

Dave

Posted by Casey King at What is your favorite music? at 17 Aug 2:35 PM:

“…
You drag it around like a ball and chain
You wallow in the guilt; you wallow in the pain
You wave it like a flag, you wear it like a crown
Got your mind in the gutter, bringin everybody down
Complain about the present and blame it on the past
Id like to find your inner child and kick its little (banned word)

Get over it
Get over it
All this (banned word) and moanin and pitchin a fit
Get over it, get over it…”

7; Back in the USSR by the Beatles

“…
Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
They leave the West behind
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
That Georgia's always on my my my my my my my mind…”

8; The Imperial March composed by John Williams

*Instrumental*

Yeah, go ahead and make of it what you will and perhaps we shall even take a wild-card thread to discuss the implications some time…but isn’t brutal honesty fun?

9; That’s showbiz by Reverend Horton Heat

“…
You work, practice, woodshed,
Suffer for your craft,
Do the old soft shoe till your feet bleed
Sing mammy till your throat swells
All the while smiling though your face hurts.

You do this for ten years
And the day after the back page of some local rag says your great
You see somebody better, and younger than yourself
And he closes the show with a gag he stole from you,
And that's showbiz…”

10; Have you forgotten by Dave Worley

“…
Have you forgotten all the people killed?
Yes, some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?
All the loved ones that we lost
And those left to carry on
Don't you tell me not to worry 'bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?…”

Ask me again tomorrow and my list will have no doubt changed… Dianna is right, 10 is simply not enough.

Posted by Casey King at What is your favorite music? at 17 Aug 2:34 PM:

1; Amazing Grace, for without it I am damned.

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see…”

2; Don’t Tread on Me by Metallica

“…
So be it
Threaten no more
To secure peace is to prepare for war
So be it
Settle the score
Touch me again for the words that you’ll hear evermore...

Don’t tread on me…”

3; The Man In Black by Johnny Cash

“…
And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side…”

4; Sweet Georgia Brown as preformed by Benny Goodman

*instrumental*

5; Capitalism by Oingo Boingo

“…
You criticize with plenty of vigor
You rationalize everything that you do
With catchy phrases and heavy quotations
And everybody is crazy but you

You're just a middle class, socialist brat
From a suburban family and you
never really had to work
And you tell me that we've got to get back
To the struggling masses (whoever they are)
You talk, talk, talk about suffering and pain
Your mouth is bigger than your entire brain
What the hell do you know about
suffering and pain . . .”

Posted by Diana Davies at What is your favorite music? at 17 Aug 2:28 PM:

Queen - Freddie Mercury was magnificent on everything.

Beatles - obvious reasons.

Andrea Bocelli - makes me cry at the cheesy "Con Te Patiro".

Mozart's Requiem - lovely, impossibly brilliant.

Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers.

Asleep at the Wheel, the early stuff before they went so mainstream.

Beach Boys - basically everything after Brian Wilson lost his sanity.

Tony Bennett's Christmas Album.

The Lovin' Spoonful Greatest Hits.

Bad Company - Paul Rodgers is now fronting for Queen and touring this year.

How can you stop at ten?

Posted by J.Grey at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 17 Aug 1:13 PM:

I could have said that better. By 'the safe money bet' I meant let's pick and choose our battles - diplomatically, tactically, whatever - and thus advance the cause and honor the commitment we most assuredly owe in the most efficient manner possible.

I didn't mean we should (or in good conscience could) just shrug and walk away saying, "Oh hey... That looks hard and more than a little dangerous. Not our concern. Good luck with it. And oh by the way, when are your troops coming back to Iraq?"

We need to step up to the plate. Now. Today. And Europe needs to step up too. But I still believe that when we do step up, we need to pick our battles carefully so as to get the most efficient 'bang for the buck'.

It's not going to do anybody any good if we provoke something that's going to take us all down in flames.

Posted by JeanieSpokane at Quote of the Day August 17, 2008 at 17 Aug 1:02 PM:

Posted by Dave Laird at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 17 Aug 12:33 PM:

You wrote in part:

But hey, when you get this unpleasantness resolved, would you mind terribly sending your troops back to Iraq to help us there? We could really use your support.

Thanks for understanding.

I could not have stated it better.

Dave

Posted by Dave Laird at What is your favorite music? at 17 Aug 12:31 PM:

I finished my list of favorite songs/albums/CD's, which was partially-based upon the number of hours I listen to the various albums and CD's, and in my haste to finish the job, I left a lot of old music out of the list. I drive a considerable number of miles each week, and I always have a selection of music at the ready, tunes to make the time go faster. However, here are some who didn't make the “Big List” that probably should have been included:

Emmylou Harris (Three or four CD's)
Allison Krause (several old CD's, 1 relatively new)
Too Hot To Handle, a Bluegrass band from Newport. An incredible female vocalist.
Mariam Makeba (an all-African choir singing in their native language, very haunting)
Crosby,Stills,Nash,Young and Taylor (et al) four CD's including two Steven Stills CD's
The Moody Blues (now there's a CD that ages me!)
Music of the Orient (a mixed bag of Thai, Korean, Chinese and Japanese choirs singing a capella for the most part. Again, very haunting when you're driving down a foggy road at night.
Perry Como (2 CD's released posthumously) You probably wouldn't understand why...
John Prine – my God how could I ever forget John Prine? 5 CD's
Brad Keeler – Spokane Bluesmaster extraordinaire
John Denver He made a lot of beautiful music and yes, I occasionally listen to it.
Del McCoury's Band
Johnny Cash and his family 6 CD's
Marriage of Figaro
Don Giovanni
The Stanley Brothers
Chet Atkins live in Nashville. Recorded by a friend.
Janis (everything she ever recorded, some on reel-to-reel tape.)

That's just the stuff that is in my office closet. There are stacks of other things downstairs in the server room in boxes, some still on reel-to-reel Ampex tapes. Tennessee Erny Ford anyone? Flatt and Scruggs, Pavarotti, 1990 rendition of La Traviata as performed by Chicago Philharmonic, Moonlight Serenade by Mario Lanza. I almost got sued for making illegal copies of some of the one-time stuff I have on tape.

So, there's a good overview of the things I forgot in my Top Ten...

Dave

Posted by Casey King at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 17 Aug 12:19 PM:

In the mean time our Georgian allies are killed and their sovereignty is trampled.

Sorry Georgia, I know you came in answer to our call for help and fought, bled and died next to us for our national interests and we would surely love to help, but the thing is that we’re just not sure we can win… It’s just not a ‘safe money’ bet.

But hey, when you get this unpleasantness resolved, would you mind terribly sending your troops back to Iraq to help us there? We could really use your support.

Thanks for understanding.

Posted by Dave Laird at Thoughts on Unity in the Community... at 17 Aug 10:43 AM:

You wrote:

Here's the web site... it has been up and running for ten years, and I was on the committee for several months last year and it just sorta "went away"... and has been defunct, as has the Spokane Human Relations group...

Take a look at the web site... take a look at the funding for both groups... and draw your own conclusions...

http://www.spokanehumanrelations.com/

No Bang for the Buck here.. gus

There must be a severed relationship here, between the organization you just sent me to and the Human Rights Commission, John. As far as I can recall, Ben Cabildo never had anything to do with Spokane Human Relations, but he did serve as the Chair of the Spokane Human Rights Commission, I believe.

Are these two agencies the same or differing? The Spokane Human Rights Commission appears to be administered by the City of Spokane these days.

I'm a bit confused now.

Dave

Posted by J. A. Olsen at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 17 Aug 6:10 AM:

Well lest we forget: "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq.. a stellar example of where and how our military forces have been squandered.... 3800 plus ( i think) of the deaths in Iraq have been suffered AFTER "Mission Accomplished".. And mr bush rattling, and mr McCain rattling their similar phrase that "No one should Invade a sovereign nation, etc etc." is pretty hollow rhetoric... Some shining example we continue to set...

The Russians won this little event with minimal loss of life ( for the Russians)...

Rollin Rollin Poland.... gus

Posted by J. A. Olsen at Thoughts on Unity in the Community... at 17 Aug 6:05 AM:

Here's the web site... it has been up and running for ten years, and I was on the committee for several months last year and it just sorta "went away"... and has been defunct, as has the Spokane Human Relations group...

Take a look at the web site... take a look at the funding for both groups... and draw your own conclusions...

http://www.spokanehumanrelations.com/

No Bang for the Buck here.. gus

Posted by J.Grey at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 17 Aug 6:03 AM:

It's pretty clear that we both agree that - as I've said several times now - the time for mere words has passed. It's time for concrete deeds. I guess in the end I'm just more conservative in what I think those deeds ought to be.

I'm conservative because in the background in all of this looms the nuclear specter. For me at least, that colors every other decision. Once the nuclear threshold has been crossed, there's no, 'Oops. Wait. Let's reconsider.' It's game over with no saved-game feature to fall back on.

So I guess what I most want here is to see us carefully choose to fight the battles that we're sure we can win. I want us to go with the 'safe money' bets, at least at first.

Let's get a few of those victories under our belt, let's get Georgian territorial sovereignty assured and get the armies back behind their start lines, and then let's see if we can't negotiate a resolution.

Posted by J. A. Olsen at Thoughts on Unity in the Community... at 17 Aug 5:59 AM:

Another topic for discussion that has been funded in the past by the Mayor's office is: "The Spokane Regional Task Force on Human Relations"

A bit of study of it's history as the Spokane Regional Task Force on Race Relations" now morphed into "Human Relations" with better consideration for the "Community of Other".

There used to be a web site for the SRTFHR and it seems to be yet another non functioning/defining the mission sort of effort at Human Relations in this county. Resuscitation of these efforts has not been even a Low priority... and is intimately linked with the Police Oversight/Ombudsman issues and efforts. ChefGus

Posted by Casey King at Boats to sail from Cyprus... at 17 Aug 12:00 AM:

Speaking exclusively for myself, my answer is no, count me with Israel.

Posted by Casey King at Picture of the Day ... August 14, 2008 at 16 Aug 11:23 PM:

...that Russia invaded Georgia and attacked Georgia’s oil pipeline at the southern end of the nation while the territories they are supposedly ‘protecting’ are at the northern edge of Georgia and directly bordering Russia.

Regarding deploying the U.S.N. to find and be prepared to destroy Russia’s subs, I understand that I am oversimplifying again, and please see my deferment to your bailiwick above on this issue as well. In this case I would then instruct the Navy to do it’s absolute best on that score and to make damn sure that nothing creeps up the coast on us. As I understand it, our submarine stealth and detection abilities blow theirs out of the water if you will forgive the pun.

I’m gl