Blow Log

I was walking through the woods this weekend and found this rare natural phenomenon. When the atmospheric conditions are just right, the spirit of old Druids appear in the form of fire spouting from a hollow log.
Thanks to Bob & Cathy for the explanation.

FERGUS SNODDY TRAIL RUN

Uncle Fergus is having his trail run on October 4, 2008. It's time to start training. Virg 'n Mary n' Sally will participate, but to avoid the appearance of impropriety, Fergus has decreed that we will not be eligible for the prizes. Without our competition, some of you will have a chance to win.

McCain Is No Longer a Straight Talker & He's Not Tougher Than Clinton & Obama-Just Dumber.

Urban Cougar! My what Big PAWS YOU HAVE!

I've been called a cougar a time or two, but the big boys in Madison, WI might want to be careful of this big one!

"DNR: Cat is probably a cougar that migrated from South Dakota "
"Recent pawprints found in Walworth County are believed to be from the same cougar spotted 23 miles away in the Rock County town of Milton in January, Wydeven said. The pawprints measured by the DNR lead him to believe the cougar is a young male, weighing about 120 pounds. Although the prints were of different sizes, Wydeven said the smaller print was likely from a hind paw. " Associated Press

I Need To Tell You This Before I Forget-Belly Fat Increases The Risk of Dementia

"A large belly is a bigger risk than family history in increasing the chances of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's, research suggests." When the waist widens, risk of dementia rises
By Denise Gellene, Los Angeles Times

Death Toll Update-U.S. Military Dead in Iraq Reaches 4,000

SO?

"The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was a tragedy - for Iraq, for the US, for the UN, for truth and human dignity" Hans Blix-head of United Nations inspections in Iraq in 2003

Easter Rising 1916

"Lest we forget, it tweren't the Clan Snoddy who oppressed us." -- Michael Collins
Thanks to Dr. Steve.

I'm So Pretty....Oh so Pretty!!! Peace Out!!!!!!!

Selling Our Souls for Oil??? Etihad Airways To Sponsor All-Ireland Hurling Championships! No Burqa's Yet In Camogie.

Etihad Airways, the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates, will sponsor the All Ireland Senior Hurling Championships this year. They were working on a deal for the Camogie championships too, but so far, the lasses have refused to wear burqas no matter how much money they pump in. You go girls.

Happy Marriage-Low Blood Pressure

Happy Marriage, Happy Heart-Study finds contented mates enjoy lower blood pressure

Those love birds Virg n' Mary haven't checked theirs in a while, but they are probably around 100/60.

Bush Still At The Helm But McCain Ready To Stay The Course.

McCain may not know what's going on, but he's as gooda captain as W.

Havasu Canyon Five Years Ago With Good Friends and a Prayer That Didn’t Work.

Five years ago I was in Havasu Canyon with dear friends praying that when we got out that Bush would have come to his senses and this horrible and horribly short sighted war would have been canceled. He’s still defending it today as we approach 4,000 American military deaths and untold loss of national good will and treasure. In his speech today, Bush declared an undefined "strategic victory" and claimed that costs are exaggerated. "[T]he speech conspicuously lacked any references to Iraqi weapons of mass destruction - the removal of which had been the stated aim of the war." I wish I’d stayed in the canyon and that Bush would have stayed in Texas. They appreciate him there. Speaking of canyons, check this one out:

Are You Better Off?

Andy Burnett Bagged Beavers, But Was Married Only To The Mountians & His Buddies.

Conquering the West, without women. It didn't get any bettern that. Walt and Annette seemed to approve, so it must have been ok. Anyway, the beavers are back. Too bad about the buffalo.

Boy George Still Out of It. Thinks War Romantic & Envies Real Soldiers While Economy Tanks & Dead Continue To Pile Up In Iraq.

“Everyone here is flummoxed about why the president is in such a fine mood. The dollar's crumpling, the recession's thundering, the Dow's bungee-jumping and the world's disapproving, yet George Bush has turned into Gene Kelly, tap dancing and singing in a one-man review called ‘The Most Happy Fella.’ . . . [Bush said] ‘You know, I guess the best way to describe government policy is like a person trying to drive a car in a rough patch,’ he said. ‘If you ever get stuck in a situation like that, you know full well it's important not to overcorrect, because when you overcorrect you end up in the ditch.’ Dude, you're already in the ditch. Boy George crashed the family station wagon into the globe and now the global economy. Yet the more terrified Americans get, the more bizarrely carefree he seems. The former oilman reacted with cocky ignorance a couple of weeks ago when a reporter informed him that gas was barreling toward $4 a gallon. . . .Wearing a cowboy hat, he warbled a comic Western ditty at the Gridiron Dinner a week ago - alluding to Scooter Libby's conviction, Saudis getting richer from our oil-guzzling, Brownie's dismal Katrina performance, and Dick Cheney's winsome habit of withholding documents. ... ‘I think 2008 is going to be a fabulous year for the Republican Party!’ he said, sounding like Rachael Ray sprinkling paprika on goulash. That must have been news to House Republicans, who have no money, just lost the seat held by their former speaker, and are hemorrhaging incumbents as they head into a campaign marked by an incipient recession and an unpopular war. If only they could see things as the president does. Bush, who used his family connections to avoid Vietnam, told troops serving in Afghanistan on Thursday that he is ‘a little envious’ of their adventure there, saying it was ‘in some ways romantic.’" from Soft Shoe in Hard Times By MAUREEN DOWD

Your Tax Dollars at Work at Yellowstone National Slaughter House.

America's last, free-roaming herd -- the descendants of the 23 buffalo that were given sanctuary in Yellowstone park after the mass eradication of this species in the 19th century are being slaughtered. The Bush Administration is turning America's greatest national park into a killing ground for hundreds of American buffalo. . . .every week, more are being herded into cattle trucks to be slaughtered.
This winter alone, more than 1,000 wild bison have been brutally killed by the National Park Service and the Montana Department of Livestock -- or shipped to slaughterhouses.
And come May, newborn calves are just as likely to be killed as their mothers.
To speak out, click here.
We've taken a few people and cultures along with the buffalo- Sing it Buffy:

Thanks to Buffy Sainte-Marie for Now That The Buffalo's Gone. Thanks to Jane for the tip.

Oh All Right! By Popular Demand, Even If Written By an Englishman-Here's Danny Boy!

God Also Bless & Keep Tim Finnegan & Thad Quill.

God Also Bless & Keep The Prims of Kilkenny,The Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, and Johnny McEldoo.

God Bless and Keep You and Me, and Mother Machree This St. Patrick's Day.

Thank You For Your Service Admiral Fallon. I Wish We Were Still On Your Watch.

Adm. William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (Centcom), unlike some, was no "ass-kissing little chickenshit." Admiral Fallon had said war with Iran would not happen on his watch. Who knows what will happen now. "Some of his public statements were guarded, but it was no secret that he had differences with the kind of impulsive belligerence that seems to characterize the Bush administration, especially Dick Cheney." from Fallon Leaves: Will Iran War Follow? by Alan Bock Meanwhile, American military dead in Iraq approach 4000.

Free Tibet

Tell your congress people to do something by clicking here.

When The Democrats Get In, Well Fall In Love Again

AND THERE'LL BE HAPPY DAYS

In the meantime, if you need a vacation, turn up the volume and go to Florida with Prudie and Rhetta Cupp, L.M., and Jim:

On this Day in 1964 - Despite Dearth of Evidence Dallas Jury found Jack Ruby guilty of killing Lee Harvey Oswald as James Carville Looked On.

I Miss Frankie Miller-Here's "Black Land Farmer"

There's a bit of Busted on this one too. I couldn't find Family Man but you can get the lyrics here.

Ferraro Helps Democrats Form Circular Firing Squad Again-Hope They’re Shooting Blanks.

If Geraldine Ferraro had said Clarence Thomas would not be in the position he’s in “if he were a white man,” she’d have been right. She’s wrong in saying it about Barack Obama and she knows it. So does Hillary, but she’s still giving the statement her tacit support. I can’t say whether Barack would be in the position he’s in"if he were a woman of any color." Women have it rough in our culture. That’s one of the reasons I admire Hillary and Geraldine and that I’ve tried so hard to be for Hillary. However, I fear that Hillary would be no more than a C+ chief. She, like Uther Pendragon, is too wrapped up in her own needs to be great. Obama could be great or he could be a flop. With this kind of crap coming out of the Clinton camp, I’m about ready to give him a chance. I just hope it doesn't elect McCain/Romney. Equality for women & people of color will be set back even further.

"No remedy for evil but only for the image of it as they conceived it to be."

"Standing at the edge of a winter field among rough men. . . . Watching while they opened up the rocky hillside ground with pick and mattock and brought to light a great bolus of serpents perhaps a hundred in number. Collected there for a common warmth. The dull tubes of them beginning to move sluggishly in the cold hard light. Like the bowels of some great beast exposed to the day. The men poured gasoline on them and burned them alive, having no remedy for evil but only for the image of it as they conceived it to be. The burning snakes twisted horribly and some crawled burning across the floor of the grotto to illuminate its darker recesses. As they were mute there were no screams of pain and the men watched them burn and writhe and blacken in just such silence themselves and they disbanded in silence in the winter dusk each with his own thoughts to go home to their suppers."
From The Road by Cormac McCarthy

In Defense of Samantha Power.

It's not what she said, it's where, and to whom she said it. The Obama campaign probably did " fuck up in Ohio." She's also correct that Hillary can be a "monster" and she's probably "stooping to anything." Hillary would do almost anything to win, as would most politicians who reach this level. I too can"just look at her and think, 'Ergh'" and agree that "The amount of deceit she has put forward is really unattractive."I don't like it, but she's still the best candidate and would make the best president of those who have a chance to win.

Samantha Power is a good, smart, compassionate woman who told truths, which a lot of people believe, under stress, at the wrong time and place to the wrong people. She did not use good political judgment, and didn't help the Obama campaign, but what she did was not dishonest and deceitful, which is more than I can say for some of the things the candidates have said. She's said some damned smart things too which were selfless and for the common good. Give a listen:

Attitudes

"Can I have a motorcycle when I get old enough?"

"If you take care of it."

"What do you have to do?"

"Lot's of things. You've been watching me."

"Will you show me all of them?"

"Sure."

"It is hard?"

"Not if you have the right attitudes. It's having the right attitudes that's hard."

"Oh."

From Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig.

Thanks to Dick for the reminder.

Moving On

"The country wants change. Here's how it happens. People talk it to death for decades and then somebody crosses the line and suddenly the line doesn't exist anymore. Men would not accept women in management and then, lo and behold — Women in Management! Accepted. (THUMP.) The country is not going to elect a black man president until one day it does and we all wake up the next morning and go to work and that's that." The Old Scout-In Defense Of Stepping Out Of Line by Garrison Keillor

“Senator McCain is 71 and most likely he will be the last Old Guy presidential candidate for all of you boomers. Goodbye, Great White Father in Washington. It happens as you age: Other people get younger. . . .It's a long throw from Mr. McCain's 71 to Senator Obama's 46 and that may be the big invisible issue in the fall: Do we feel better with Papa at the helm or the whiz kid brother? It's a visceral choice you make without thinking too hard about tax policy or judicial appointments. For people like me who think the war in Iraq is a horrible wrong turn, it's an easy choice, but the election won't be decided by people like me - it'll be decided by people who could go either way and who make up their minds at the last minute. . . .I do, however, believe in the big leap by which you skip a mess of complicated trouble and move on into the future. Johnson's Civil Rights Act, Nixon's trip to China, Gerald Ford's pardon of Nixon, the demolition of the Berlin Wall - great moments when we turned the clock forward.
That hope for the leap forward seems deeply felt this year. And that's why people are looking at the skinny guy. They don't want to be replaying old tapes next spring. They just can't bear the thought of going through the past seven years all over again.”
From The Old Scout-Why They Are Looking at the Skinny Guy by Garrison Keillor
I hope Garrison's right about people not wanting a replay. I certainly don't. I could listen to this one over and over though:

Grace

Coming Together & Letting Hillary & Obama Do What They Do Do Well

I asked James the Bruce about whom he supported for president. He responded in a way only he can:
I have been conflicted and given money to none. I voted for O'bama. I think he is closer to my views - a greater departure from the status quo. However, his candidacy is a risky one for the party while at the same time a great one for an informative and perhaps a mind-set altering debate, with McCain. O'bama would likely either blow McCain away or be blown away. Either way the country would be treated to a concentrated debate about the issues without distractions of the type that a Hillary race will be full of - mainly Bill stuff. I have thought for some time though that the ideal candidacy would be Hillary/O'bama. Maybe that is now in the cards. It would take a miracle for McCain to beat that ticket. Hillary would beat McCain on the war and international policy because she is not all that different - which most will find reassuring - yet she will be seen as likely to be more aggressive about getting us out and less likely to get us in somewhere else. Country wants out but it does not want to run out. McCain has archaic views of what is important in world affairs. No one but the McCain and some on the right believes that military power is a useful tool for diplomacy any more. You have to have it but you have failed if you have to use it, more so if you use it when you don't have to. Economic prowess, moral authority and credibility are what matter. All diminished under the Bush presidency and not likely to be restored by a McCain presidency. On the economy, given the way things are headed, and memory of the Clinton prosperity, McCain will have not a chance. Bush might as well be running? Does anyone think that Bush's tax cuts have brought us prosperity as a nation now? Health care, a non starter. What else is there driving middle of the road voters? O'bama would turn out the voters and carry both houses for the party. Hillary could send O'bama around the world mending fences while she kicked ass on the hill. She is smart, knowledgeable, tough and moderately progressive. While it will not be a revolution, it will feel like it. Imagine competent government aimed at promoting the country's interest rather than an incompetent one aimed at serving a small part of it. A woman and a Black man - she can clean house while he mends the country's soul. It is what the country needs, it would be great fun.

Progress & Paradise Lost

"As an educator, I would like to express my strong opposition to any extension of Eighth Street that would negatively impact Northwest Arkansas Community College's Living Nature Laboratory. With its pond, post oak stand and small area of savannah, this area provides students access to tiny patches of ecosystems that are rapidly disappearing from this area. The idea of destroying such a uniquely accessible outdoor classroom to build a highway is absolutely abhorrent. Bentonville and the state of Arkansas have other alternatives. There is no need to destroy the Living Laboratory."
--Teresa O'Brien, Letter to the Editor, Benton County Daily Record, Shamelessly copied verbatum From The Iconoclast's Quote of the Day. Thanks for spreading the Word Jonah.
Amen Teresa. Take it away John:

Elvis Made His TV Debut On "Louisana Hayride" On This Day in 1955.

March 5th was a lucky day for the ElvisPresley. In 1955 he made his TV debut on The Louisiana Hayride. He sang Blue Moon of Kentucky and That's All Right Mama. In 1960 he was discharged from the Army.

It wasn't so lucky for Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins who were killed on this day in 1963 in a plane crash following a benefit concert.

Bye Bye Huckabee. Last Goofball Leaves Presidential Race (Not A Day Too Soon) But Doesn't Drink The Kool-Aid.

Can someone get Huckabee off the stage and end the most painfully embarrassing concession I think I've ever heard? I mean, put him out of my misery. Huckabee seems to have forgotten that this isn't the end of a grand, hard-fought race. It was a farce that everyone indulged because Huckabee's sort of a feel-good wingnut and had a good sense of humor. When he started on to 'Victory or Death' riff at the end I thought he might be about to end with a stunning crescendo of a ritual suicide. But apparently it was Victory or Death (or windy concession speech), the lesser known original version of the line. Huck! by--Josh Marshall in TPM Thanks to Judge C.

Don't forget that the people voting for him were/are the foundation of the Bush presidency, they are studious devotees of conservative talk radio from coast to coast, where they get their civic and history lessons they missed in school. They also are the financial foundation of the country's great mega churches and TV ministries, without which the country would have no culture other than consumerism.

We are only beginning to feel the pain from the Bush's economic policies, the hangover has arrived, the great party to which only the top few percent of Americans was invited is now over. We are going to need more scripture in the coming months than we heard last night to get us through this economic mess. So, McCain might want to keep Huckaby near by. Especially as his cure for the economy is to cut taxes?!? That brings prosperity every time, right?. Lets all pray.
Wall Street economist on the tube this morning said the US economic situation was so depressing he has moved to Asia. -from James The Bruce

Based On Exit Polling, Virgil Projects Substantial Clinton Wins In Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island. Vermont Too Close to Call.

With polls open only another 9 hours, Virgil has established a clear trend and projects Hillary the winner in Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island.

Ohio (Agrees With Jack-Nothing Sexier Than A Woman You Have To Salute In The Morning.)
Clinton: 64% Obama 30%

Rhode Island (Quahog Gets Hillary Out From Under Quagmire.)
Clinton: 61% Obama 33%

Texas (Kinky Vote Comes Out for Clinton.)
Clinton: 68% Obama 31%


Vermont (Green Mountain Boys Unsure About Women.)
Clinton: 51% Obama 48%
Well, upon reflection, and having received this post, I could be off a bit. ""Recent exit polls show that both Clinton and Barack Obama are leading a tight race in Texas and it is too soon to tell who will take that state. However, Ohio is looking good for the former First Lady, where she maintains a slight lead."

Little Boxes By Pete Seeger (Another Red Named Pete Who Should Be In The Hall of Fame) Is One Of My Most Requested Songs

This just in from Sammy."The PBS series American Masters featured Pete Seeger last Wed. I happened to catch it and enjoyed it immensely. What an inspirational fellow! I wish Virgil could have seen it. I have no doubt that it would have resulted in some creative postings. At any rate, I got to looking around at some of the youtube stuff on old Pete and here's a good un. (Did you know that Pete and Road Hog were in the Navy together)?" I did know it Sammy, and I thought I'd already posted it. I guess Old Virgil had the card turned upside down. That don't bother Old Virgil none. Thanks for the tip.



Pete Seeger was a man of principle and risked prison & ostracism for his beliefs. "Seeger refused to discuss allegations that he was connected with communist activities or had participated in functions allegedly sponsored by the Communist Party. The refusal was not based on a claim of constitutional privilege [unlike that chickenshit Bush], but generally on Seeger's expressed belief that the questions were either 'improper' or 'immoral" United States v. Seeger, 303 F.2nd 478 (1962)

Good for you Pete. Nice job saving basic freedoms for us all. Thanks again to Sammy for the info.
Speaking of nice saves by a Red:

When The Phone Rings At 3 a.m. Do You Want John McCain Answering? Not Unless He's Better Than He Is During The Day.