They're Baaaack!

Hide the children!

SUV hits, kills toddler in driveway

Global Warming Update - Twin Cities
9/29/06 Observed high temp - 62
9/29/05 Observed high temp - 62
9/29 Record high temp - 89 - 1897

Reevenj!!!

As far as I can tell, the only benefit I derive from having a tv in our bedroom is that I get to catch a bit of the most mind-numbing mush available - the local and network news. The doodleheads they feature on these brainless programs reliably make me feel as though I've made it in life.

But enough about the news anchors...

As I emerged from the shower this morning, I saw that a bitter retiring Ohio teacher attempted to take "revenge" on her school by placing an ad in the yearbook that took the form of a caustic mock report card grading the students and administration. She was able to do this because she doubled as the yearbook advisor.

The story and video are here. When you watch the video, remember this was her immortalizing coup de grace, her final "Fuck You" to all the little shits and incompetent administrative busybodies that made her miserable for 35 years.

And she couldn't fucking spell "inconsistent" correctly. Plus, she, the yearbook advisor, placed her ad on the backside of a page memorializing two students killed that year. The school couldn't simply rip out the page, so they plan to sue her for the cost of reprinting 400+ yearbooks - around $20,000.

Now, she'll only be remembered as a moron.

Global Warming Update - Twin Cities
9/27/06 Observed high temp - 58
9/27/05 Observed high temp - 77
9/27 Record high temp - 88 - 1987

El Diablo!

I'm a sucker. If someone or something pesters me enough, I'm eventually breaking down and buyin' what they're sellin'.

This held true with Blogger Beta. Every time I logged in, this damned site begged me to upgrade to the Cialis of blogging services - bigger, harder, stronger, longer Blogger Beta. I, of course, dutifully complied and for God Sakes somebody help me!

The image upload rarely works, and when it does it's impossible to format. But what really drives me nucking futs is the that the fonts indiscriminately change on me. If I were more conspiracy-minded, I'd think the liberal fruitcakes that run Google are punkin' me.

Which gets me to the point of this post. Group-think, and the conspiracies it spawns, makes me nervous. This is why I left The Left long ago. But Group-think is not confined to that side of the aisle. When every solitary soul in a room parrots the identical lines, I feel uneasy, regardless the political leanings.

For instance, although I vote Republican, I became quite jittery attending a Bush rally in my town last year. And when I read yesterday that Jerry Falwell proclaimed that Hillary Clinton running as the Democratic presidential nominee in '08 would motivate Evangelical Christians to oppose her more than if the devil himself were running, I became queasy.

I never understood the Clinton hatred. And although Bill's embarassingly childish tirade on Sunday nudged me in that direction, Clinton Haters have made my list of Group-thinking Vehicle Nazis.

Global Warming Update - Twin Cities
9/25/06 Observed high temp - 66
9/25/05 Observed high temp - 66 (Earth is taking 'er easy.)
9/25 Record high temp - 91 - 1920

One Event, Two Stories

This is telling. Today I read that motorcycle-riding gunmen shot dead Afghanistan's Ministry of Women's Affairs chief. I believe the contrast in the reporting of this event provides an instructive look on how two news organizations view the global struggle in which we find ourselves.

First, from CNN:

"There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting... Taliban insurgents have killed numerous government officials as part of their war against the government and foreign forces supporting it."

Then, from Fox News:

"Two gunmen on a motorbike killed Safia Ahmed-jan outside her home Monday in apparent retribution for her efforts to help educate women, officials said...

Ahmed-jan was known for being an active proponent of women's rights in this former Taliban stronghold... In Kandahar alone, Ahmed-jan had opened six schools where almost 1,000 women learned how to bake and sell their goods at market. She had also opened tailoring schools for women, and clothes made there found their way to western markets...

...When the Taliban regime ran the country women were banned from schools and couldn't leave their homes without a male escort."

Global Warming Update - Twin Cities
9/24/06 Observed high temp - 65
9/24/05 Observed high temp - 67 ('06 two degrees colder than '05)
9/24 Record high temp - 89 - 1935

Pack it In!

I read an unconfirmed report this morning that Bin Laden may have died in Pakistan last month from typhoid. Details are very sketchy and it doesn't appear to be true, but this got me thinking - what will the left's reaction be when this scourge is indeed wiped from the earth?

Over the past five years, every Republican attempt to tout any success in the War on Terror or, God forbid, aggressively prosecute it, has been met with the same tired refrain: "Yeah, but we haven't found Bin Laden."

When he does perish, is that it? Do we disband the TSA, the NSA, the CIA and Homeland Security, finally kill the Patriot Act and bring our boys home from Afghanistan and Iraq?

Dems have painted themselves into a corner on this one. The man will die - it will be interesting to watch their response.

Global Warming Update - Twin Cities
9/22/06 Observed high temp - 59
9/22/05 Observed high temp - 67
9/22 Record high temp - 95 - 1936

California

California announced yesterday that it's suing the nation's six largest automakers for causing Global Warming. From the referenced article:

The lawsuit does not seek a specific claim for damages. The complaint said the state is spending millions of dollars on planning, monitoring and making infrastructure changes to address "a large spectrum of current and anticipated impacts.''

Hey Callie. Speaking of "infrastructure changes", did GM and Honda make you build this?
What a crock. Fucking lawyers.

Going forward, I'm going to report on our anticipated cremation by following the daily climate reports as posted on the Twin Cities' National Weather Service site. At the very least, this exercise will force me to post more frequently. Maybe it'll assuage some unnecessary fears.

9/20/06 Observed high temp - 58
9/20/05 Observed high temp - 83
9/20 Record high temp - 91 - in 1895, 1908, 1931

Looks like we'll live to see another day. Phew.

Dems Question Timing of 9/11 Commemoration

As most of America steps back to reflect on the horrific events that exploded on this day five years ago, many Democratic lawmakers are beginning to grumble about 9/11’s proximity to November elections.

“Sure, it was the most devastating attack on American soil and nearly 3,000 of our fellow countrymen were crushed or incinerated, but do we have to acknowledge it now?” asked Kent Conrad (D-ND). “I mean, September is so darn close to November. It’s just not fair.”

Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) agreed. “I guess I understand the need to remember, but hell, I can’t remember where I slept last night. What’s the big deal if we move it to, say, Christmas?”

Others, like Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), demanded a solution. “In George Bush’s America, only Republican candidates are meant to feel as though they care about the 'transnational Islamo-Fascist movement hell-bent on crushing Western Civilization,'" she said while wiggling two fingers from each hand for mock quotational emphasis. "Commemorating 9/11 on September 11th only feeds this disunity. I call on the president to change the date of this annual event or cancel it altogether.”

John Murtha (D-PA) was more pointed: “Observing 9/11 so close to election time is a failed policy concocted by neo-con chickenhawks to QUESTION MY PATRIOTISM!”

Whispers are surfacing in Democratic circles about forming an independent council to examine the matter, but former Vice President Al Gore believes he has an immediate solution. “Why not swap 9/11 with Earth Day, which falls on April 21? After all, every day is Earth Day.”

Asked if every day could be 9/11, Gore exclaimed tersely, “Fuck no. You want to prey on our fears?”

Beta

Experiencing some minor difficulties converting to Beta. Come back soon, ya hear?

Hmmmmm...

Yesterday's Star Tribune editorial page featured the following mature, enlightening, nuanced cartoon from Tom Toles:

And in an interestingly poignant juxtaposition, this bit of trivia appeared on the opposite page in the same edition:

"In the early 1900s, when cities had multiple newspapers, an estimated 2,000 cartoonists were at work. Twenty years ago, close to 200 cartoonists still were employed. Today, the number is less than 80, according to the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists."
- Media Ethics, spring volume, 2006

Yet another one of those things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmm, courtesy of my favorite paper.