tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68028582008-07-05T19:53:44.539-04:00Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comBlogger1113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-85303191830388929192008-07-05T19:02:00.004-04:002008-07-05T19:53:44.602-04:00

Via Raw Story: TALLAHASSEE - A black Republican group has put up billboards in Florida and South Carolina saying the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican, a claim that black leaders say is ridiculous. The National Black Republican Association has paid for billboards showing an image of the civil rights leader and the words "Martin Luther King Jr. was REPUBLICAN." Told about the

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-50789314630150043502008-07-04T07:41:00.000-04:002008-07-04T07:47:10.714-04:00

Monday, Darla emailed that Edgar had been killed by a fox or an owl. These pictures were once in chronological order, but even that didn't tell the story of a sweet, sweet cat friend who would have been eleven years old next month. Edgar loved to drink Darla's tea, sit cozily in boxes and cuddle up to Darla. Edgar was very vocal. If he was outside, he'd tell you he wanted

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-58047968498442834872008-07-03T08:07:00.005-04:002008-07-03T08:40:05.426-04:00

If this is the best our government and the airline business can do to simply function in their jobs, perhaps both deserve to fail. It was at this precise moment I lost sympathy for the struggling airline industry. I don't mean workers like flight attendants, mechanics and pilots, for whom I have the utmost respect. No, I mean the policymakers who are so goddamn stupid they won't back down

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-74804489371654321812008-07-02T08:49:00.005-04:002008-07-02T09:34:34.317-04:00

Sunday, Pete was in the kitchen, spraypainting the radiator silver, while I re-tied the beans. Beans grow like you wouldn't believe unless you've grown beans and even then they can surprise you. So there I was: folded in half and playing with string. I straightened my back for a stretch and noticed a neighbor launching himself down his back steps with a box containing a brand new push mower

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-81548673510528187152008-07-01T08:14:00.002-04:002008-07-01T08:28:38.533-04:00

I stand with you, General. In other news: stop talking about "electing a commander-in-chief." We don't elect a commander-in-chief. We elect a president, and when diplomacy fails, the president assumes these powers. This title, as it is now tossed about, should be a badge of shame and failure. Don't use these words, and don't participate in the fetishistic rightwing framing.

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-7054273360800506432008-06-30T12:24:00.003-04:002008-06-30T12:40:26.621-04:00

I avoid using phones if at all possible. It's not that I have some tinfoil hat theory or think they're giving me cancer. Nope: on the phone, I might be just plain stupid. Pete, who spends more time with me than anyone I didn't gestate myself has, calls me every day at my desk. Pete: I just called to hear the sound of your voice! Tata: [Insert sound of post-pre-verbal stage person trying to

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-71570231602040592452008-06-28T21:51:00.003-04:002008-06-28T22:58:04.092-04:00

Via Firedoglake, we see the New York Times couldn't be more ambivalent about the Bureau of Land Management's two-year freeze and study of - get this - the environmental impact of large-scale solar power projects on public land. Look at the distancing language not at all in action here: DENVER — Faced with a surge in the number of proposed solar power plants, the federal government has placed a

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-122801721955505712008-06-26T21:59:00.004-04:002008-06-26T23:22:18.423-04:00

This commercial warms my icy heart, combining as it improbably does my loves beee-YOO-teeful mermaids and totally spotless bathrooms. Bless my buttons, so old am I I only saw color TV at Grandma's house until I was in high school. Imagine (or remember) what Adam West looked like in gray tights! Black and white left a little too much to the imagination. Even so, every graytone commercial for

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-61364083199110554752008-06-26T10:03:00.002-04:002008-06-26T10:23:31.740-04:00

Oh, Jesus Christ: The White House in December refused to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled, telling agency officials that an e-mail message containing the document would not be opened, senior E.P.A. officials said last week. The document, which ended up in e-mail limbo, without official status, was the E.P.A.’s

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-71005602623738725542008-06-25T07:50:00.006-04:002008-06-25T10:41:52.781-04:00

This is a real New York Times article dug up from the archives. Someone who is not me did the digging, though this article is on microfilm less than thirty feet from my desk at work. Two days ago, a commenter on Shakesville thought she was tearing me to pieces by saying my personal hindsight was not 20/20 vision. I laughed out loud in my living room. Because I've written my every stray thought

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-66259846635028285542008-06-24T08:59:00.004-04:002008-06-24T09:53:34.377-04:00

Addendum to obituaries of George Carlin: it is still impossible to have an honest conversation about the wars in which our country is engaged. Most people have something to protect, and it isn't always what it might seem. Case in point: in the days following Hurricane Katrina, my co-worker Ellen asked if I thought the rescue missions were taking a bit long to launch. This interested me because

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-15122190801730093932008-06-23T08:11:00.001-04:002008-06-23T08:14:03.445-04:00

Oh George. I miss you already.

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-64641836527167631102008-06-21T16:43:00.009-04:002008-06-21T21:24:25.223-04:00

Today's the Solstice, the year's longest day and the last day of the 180 days project, which went the way of the dodo when foliage blocked the view. I couldn't even be mad about it because: Hello! Foliage! My friend drew a labyrinth on the lawn of a church, so I went and walked it on my way to work. At its center, I left a bottle I've carried with me since 1996. It used to contain amber oil but

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-17006224559623127132008-06-20T06:52:00.003-04:002008-06-20T12:41:30.353-04:00

I am sitting at my desk in a brown and tan dress I bought Sunday when my former mother-in-law died. Interesting coincidence: the husband of my co-worker drowned in the Atlantic in a storm, which is a lot easier to explain than drowning in one's garage, for instance; even so, there would have been significantly less need for explanation if he'd been wearing a life jacket. Probably. And now I'm

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-21596930916638585722008-06-19T22:10:00.004-04:002008-06-19T22:35:48.967-04:00

Milbank: William "Jim" Haynes II, the man who blessed the use of dogs, hoods and nudity to pry information out of recalcitrant detainees, proved to be a model of evasion himself as he resisted all attempts at inquiry by the Armed Services Committee. Did he ask a subordinate to get information about harsh questioning techniques? "My memory is not perfect." Did he see a memo about the effects

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-23813874757783687312008-06-19T08:19:00.005-04:002008-06-19T09:13:03.458-04:00

Governor Bobby Jindal State of Louisiana Dear Governor Jindal, I was delighted to learn that SB 733, the LA Science Education Act passed votes in both houses of the Louisiana legislature, and that you intend to sign it. Your determination in the face of logic has always impressed me, like that time in college you exorcised demons from a woman. When I was in college, that's not what we called it

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-12140743073631603022008-06-18T18:33:00.003-04:002008-06-18T18:38:30.933-04:00

I need to catch my breath. This is not the song I went looking for, but I couldn't resist the dreadful eighties hair and makeup. I love Thomas Dolby with my whole black heart. The other song: maybe I'll get to that later.

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-23306715434827536552008-06-17T06:40:00.003-04:002008-06-17T10:20:20.488-04:00

Yesterday, through an absolutely unreproducible series of circumstances, Daria and I missed the funeral. Auntie InExcelsisDeo and her daughter Monday drove like Jehu and skidded to a halt in the Jewish Cemetery, dressed like they were going to the beach. Monday was wearing her sister Sandy's clothes, so I hope the word JUICY wasn't printed across her butt. We were all caught flat-footed by the

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-50104729430562861102008-06-15T21:56:00.004-04:002008-06-15T23:12:47.716-04:00

This afternoon, I walked around and around a store until I forced myself to pick something unobtrusive and in normal colors like gentle brown and quiet tan. I tried it on and was only moderately horrified. Even so, I hesitated. Finally, I took this monstrously overpriced gunnysack to the cashier, a woman of some taste and - judging by her blouse - terrible eyesight. I bit my lip. Tata: If I were

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-35703713590808352702008-06-14T20:48:00.002-04:002008-06-14T21:20:32.395-04:00

I've been a little distracted, for which I apologize. Let's revisit this moment from Miss Sasha's wedding. In the lobby, we line up and march in. Sharkey's got me by one arm and good thing because I keep trying to sprint in silver brocade slippers with an adorable kitten heel. I sit down next to my former Mother-In-Law, who couldn't be more marvelous if she were dipped in gold. Sharkey slides in

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-31956052555486631002008-06-12T07:44:00.002-04:002008-06-12T07:54:31.500-04:00

Hat tip: that guy in the next cubicle who also sends me This Modern World.

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-9917402157695698022008-06-11T18:39:00.003-04:002008-06-11T19:28:00.224-04:00

After a brief vacation, hiking in the Great Outdoors, Johnny, our Southwest Bureau Chief reports: Unintended side effect of trip: work feels like an unforgivably criminal waste of human potential. I'm positive that I am the only person who has ever felt this way. Really. You betcha. Image: Johnny, used courtesy of the artist, who has a great future ahead of him illustrating staff meetings.

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-86340329447628343732008-06-10T13:16:00.002-04:002008-06-10T13:21:05.249-04:00

It's Tuesday, 100 degrees and Sharkey is predictable. Tata: Golfing? Sharkey: Tonight, after work. Tata: Daria says your going to play golf is the funniest thing she's heard in years. Sharkey: What can I say, I'm a funny guy. Tell her I appreciate her concern for my wellbeing. Tata: She's got pneumonia so you'll be pleased to hear the laughter almost killed her. Sharkey: You're right, that IS

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-41771863507058241402008-06-09T22:50:00.004-04:002008-06-09T23:04:42.601-04:00

I love this gorgeous image. I love the expression on his face. I love the determination in her jaw. I love the unity of purpose. I love the vivid purple of her dress. I love that they're approximately the same height. I love the simplicity of We. I love the confidence. I love their belief in one another. I love their handsomeness. I love the firmness of trust. I love this image. I love this image

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6802858.post-72377418147759648852008-06-08T20:48:00.002-04:002008-06-08T21:04:39.911-04:00

Pete and I have been working up to tiling the bathroom. I've never tiled before but after some instruction, I did the simple stuff while Pete cut tiles. We worked like a dog team for hours and tiled two-thirds of the shower in bright white with one slim, light gray stripe. The improvement over what we're replacing is vast. Also today: I cut our lettuce down and tomorrow, I'll plant three kinds of

Tatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639571609720073406noreply@blogger.com