The Devil’s In The Details - Part VI

The Washington Post has a chilling article in today’s edition entitled: “ A Last Push To Deregulate - White House to Ease Many Rules ” - “many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment.”

A flurry of activity at the end of a presidential administration is not unusual. But some of what the Clinton administration attempted to do at the end of their term, had not gone into full effect by the time George W. Bush was inaugurated. So the new Bush administration was able to stop or undo many of those Clinton initiatives. With that in mind, the Bush-Cheney administration is taking steps to ensure that all the changes they want to make will be completed long before inauguration day. Worse still, many of these changes can typically “be undone only through a laborious new regulatory proceeding, including lengthy periods of public comment, drafting and mandated reanalysis.”

With a nod to my previous post: Oy vey is mir!

Thanks to Papamoka (and Michael Boh) for the heads up.

psssst...Do Something!

A Yiddisha Take

The National Jewish Democratic Council, NJDC, has released a quick and clever video which draws a sharp line between Barack Obama and John McCain. Most of the Yiddish words spoken in the video are in common usage. But if you need a little clarification, I’ve listed the translations below, as provided by the NJDC.



Meshugener = crazy person
Meshugeneh! = It’s crazy!
Shmendrick = fool
Yutz = clueless person
Kishkes = guts
Tsores = trouble
Farblondzshet = bewildered.
Schlepping = dragging
Bupkis = nothing
Nudnick = pest
Dreck = dirt
Shonde = a shame, disgraceful
Oy gevault! = Oh for heaven’s sake!
Shtick = comic performance


Mensch = a decent person; a person of integrity and honor!


The NJDC has also released a more serious video, in which the grandchildren of Justice Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice, speak about Barack Obama in relation to their grandfather’s legacy.

The Best Defense...

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
President Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)


Having lived through the distressing and discouraging national elections of 2000 and 2004, I am relieved that the Obama-Biden campaign and many other fine organizations are working hard to ensure that every registered voter will be able to vote in this vital 2008 election. Unlike 2000 and 2004, efforts are already well underway to head off problems at the polls, rather than trying to fix the problems on the fly on election day or, worse still, after the polls have closed.

Here’s a list of organizations and coalitions where you can get accurate information about voting, report problems with voting or get involved in helping to make the 2008 election the exciting, positive, empowering experience it can and should be!

: : Perhaps the biggest clearinghouse/coalition is Election Protection. This is the one with the special phone number: 1 (866) OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683). The website has a wealth of information. And if you experience any problems with registration or voting, you should call the phone number to report the situation.

: : Common Cause and their special project: Protect The Vote

: : People For The American Way Voting Rights Information

: : Vote411.org from the League of Women Voters

: : Project Vote Smart Voter Information by state

: : The American Civil Liberties Union’s Voter Empowerment Program, including access to downloadable Voting Rights information cards for many states.

: : Also The American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project, which was established in 1965, has lots of useful information.


Turn HOPE into reality. VOTE!

Did You See It?

Barack Obama’s half hour program this evening was terrific. If you didn’t have the opportunity to see it, you can watch it here. The United States has been blessed with great presidents during other challenging or perilous times. Let’s keep working hard to bring another great administration to the White House.



“Everybody here’s got a story. Somewhere you’ve got parents who said you know what, maybe I won’t go to college, but I know if I work hard, my child will go to college.

Everybody here’s got a story of somebody who came from another country. They said maybe my grandchild or my great-grandchild they’ll have opportunity, they’ll have freedom.

Everybody here’s got a story about a grandparent or great-grandparent who worked in a coal mine, who worked in a tough factory, maybe got injured somewhere. But they said you know what, I may not have a home, but if I work hard enough, someday my child, my grandchild, they’ll have a home they can call their own.

That’s the story of America...

...I am reminded every single day that I am not a perfect man. I will not be a perfect president. But I can promise you this: I will always tell you what I think and where I stand. I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you when we disagree. And most importantly, I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your own Democracy again.”
- Barack Obama
as heard in “American Stories, American Solutions”

Facts vs. Spin

The news is abuzz this morning with a statement from the McCain-Palin campaign claiming that the mainstream media is working on behalf of the Obama-Biden ticket. The McCain-Palin campaign has accused the Los Angeles Times of “intentionally suppressing” a videotape from 2003, of a farewell dinner for Rashid Khalidi, which Barack Obama attended.

Because the facts seem to be getting lost in the fabricated, eleventh hour brouhaha, here’s a link to the L.A. Times’ response to the McCain-Palin campaign’s accusation.

And here is the L.A. Times’ original report on the evening, published April 10, 2008.


UPDATE: Seth Colter Walls reports on The Huffington Post, that while John McCain was chairman of the International Republican Institute, the group funded “several grants to the Palestinian research center co-founded by Khalidi, including one worth half a million dollars”.

Shall we move on now?

Like A Freakin’ Rug

My oh my! Have they no shame? Apparently not.

Last month I mentioned my frustration with the McCain-Palin ticket, their campaign staff, their spin-masters, their mouthpieces and the entire Big Republican Machine. My anger and frustration has not eased. In fact, it seems to increase in direct proportion to their level of desperation and concomitant mudslinging.

Case in point: all the talk about Barack Obama as a tax and spend liberal, anti-small business, a Socialist/Communist/Marxist/fill-in-the-blankist and now, direct from John McCain’s lips: “Redistributionist in Chief”. Every time I heard one of these ridiculous attacks I used to just mutter “Lying Sacks of @#%$”. Now, I launch into a chorus of “Lying Sacks of @#%$” - sung to the tune of “There’s a Tavern In the Town”, perhaps better known as “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes” - to which I’ve added the verse: “Liar, liar pants on fire”. It’s very liberating. Feel free to join in.

So, since most of these attacks are on Barack Obama and his tax plan, here’s a link to the Obama-Biden Tax Calculator. You can quickly key in your facts and see the truth, not the spin from the BRM, et al.

Exceptional

You know I am a proud and happy voter, but this election is extraordinary, exceptional and profoundly special. It’s said a picture is worth 1000 words. George has posted one of the coolest photographs of this presidential campaign and it speaks volumes! (Be sure to click on the image to see the larger version.)

Home, Again

Things around here have continued to feel a bit chaotic. My attention to my own blog and all the fascinating blogs I love to follow has been spotty at best. It reminds me of the period at the beginning of 2008 when we had far too many spinning plates in play. At that point, the plates were connected almost exclusively to our elderly relatives (our “ERs”). Now, while our family members are still in the mix, it feels as if someone is offstage, flinging new plates, Frisbee-style, to our waiting, wobbling poles! “Lookout! Here comes a sagging barn beam!”

But we’ll keep breathing, keep taking it all one day; one plate at a time. Meanwhile, here are a few more photos from our trip to Maine:


Winter Harbor from Schoodic Peninsula

Geddy’s Restaurant (and moose) on Main Street, Bar Harbor

Patterns in the sand, Seal Harbor

Autumn color along the Jordan Pond Carriage Road

Home

We came back home yesterday after our getaway to Acadia and Bar Harbor. The good news is that in tonight’s heavy rain with gusty winds, our new roof is keeping us snug and dry. More good news is that Roger managed to raise the barn floor nearly all the way back up in Chuck’s workshop. But the bad news is that the main support beam which runs under the entire barn is in trouble. It’s in sufficient trouble that we’re grateful the workshop floor gave way - a sort of canary in the coal mine. To be on the safe side, we have to keep the car out of the barn until the rest of the repairs can be made. We’re hoping that we can get everything set to rights by the end of this week.

So if we had a spare 1.495 million dollars just laying around, maybe we’d buy the “last lot on Shore Path” in Bar Harbor, Maine. Of course then we’d still need to check under the sofa cushions for loose change so as to build a house on that last lot. But think of the view. I know I’m thinking of that view right now...

Revocation Of Our Independence?

Purple Ronnie has a wonderful post up which is devastatingly funny - - - and just plain devastating!
Enjoy!
Thanks Veronica!

You Meet Such Interesting Folks While Traveling

White Tail Deer

Herring Gull

Common Mergansers

Acadia National Park is awesome. I must have mentioned that it is very accessible. You can drive around in a vehicle and experience the park without feeling as if you are missing out on everything. Or, if you are able, you can climb cliffs, scramble on rocks, hike challenging trails or traverse the Carriage Roads by foot, bike, horseback or cross country skis “if the weather be good”!

Monday, we walked about seven miles on one of the Carriage Roads. Looking at the topo maps, Chuck thinks the rise in elevation was about 300 feet. The bag I made worked great. Both Chuck and I carried it at different times and it was very comfortable and functional. The next day we drove over to the Schoodic Peninsula. Because we were a little achy from the day before, we figured we’d take it easy. But those amazing pink granite rocks on the point called out to us. So off we went climbing and jumping like a couple of kids - human or goat! By the time today dawned, we felt less like kids and more like old goats! As a result we promised ourselves a more low key day.

That’s how we came to be driving sedately on the Park Loop Road this morning. Just past the entrance gate, I spotted a couple of White Tail Deer grazing off to the side of the road. By the time we drove very slowly up nearer to them, they had slipped further into the woods. I stopped the car and Chuck snapped the photo above.

Farther along Park Loop I pulled over to the left hand side of the road to visit with a very accommodating Herring Gull. I swear, last year one of his buddies was in the exact same spot and was just as much of a professional model. Over a span of about four minutes I snapped 22 photos!

Oh, and while we were over at Schoodic yesterday, we spotted this flock of Common Mergansers gliding through the water alongside the Schoodic Loop Road. Between the great wildlife and the friendly Obama-Biden supporters who stop to chat with us because they see our buttons or bumper stickers, we’re meeting all sorts of interesting folks on this trip!

It’s Beautiful - Really!

Looking out from Cadillac Mountain toward the Cranberry Islands

Attempting to upload photos with an intermittent internet connection has me gnashing my teeth! I finally got this one to load by copying the image and shrinking the file size in Photoshop.

I'm whipped. So I’m off to bed and on to more adventures here at Acadia tomorrow. But to get a feel for what we’ve been up to, you can read my posts from our trip up here last October - and see actual photos too! Yesterday we hiked up a Carriage Trail so you can get an idea about that here. And today we went over to Schoodic so you can read about that here!

Yes! She Really Said That!

You can listen and watch Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R - Minnesota) on Chris Matthew’s show Hardball by clicking here. 


Then, if she reminds you of a bleak moment in American history, say something in the 1950s and a guy named Joe, send $5.00 to her opponent Elwyn Tinklenberg. (Yes, that’s his real name.)

I have to tell you, clicking the “Donate” button on El’s page felt almost as good as when I recently made a little contribution in Governor Palin’s honor.

Do You Remember 2000 & 2004?

Please forgive the brevity and the shouting:

If you are a registered voter here in the United States,
READ THIS ARTICLE!
Next, pop an antacid and then:


psssst...Do Something!

Temporary Maniacs

Well, Maine-iacs would be kinder and more accurate. We’re up in Bar Harbor and Acadia in Maine for a few days. We’re staying in a different motel than we usually do and unfortunately our internet access is a bit spotty. But it’s sunny and there seems to be plenty of bright fall foliage left on the trees, as opposed to carpeting the ground. I’ll snap pictures and do my best to upload them tonight.

We had a bit of an adventure over the weekend. Our barn was restored (read: brought back from the brink of disaster) about ten years ago. It has three bays and a loft. The center bay is where we garage our Subaru. The right hand bay used to hold our other car until we became a one car family. The left hand bay is where Chuck has his workshop. Chuck stepped through the doorway from the center bay into the workshop and the floor gave way beneath him! He’s fine. But the floor dropped a good six inches. We crawled around under the barn with flashlights to get a clearer sense of what the heck had happened. It’s ugly but repairable. At least that’s what Roger, one of the guys (read: miracle workers) who restored the barn a decade ago, said when we called him. He’ll stop by this week to see what’s needed and we’ll all get to work on it when we return.

And no, we refuse to rename our home “ The Money Pit”!

Don’t Shred The Constitution!

I value The Constitution of the United States of America. Truth be told, I love it. But I’m worried about its health and well being.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is helping people let the candidates know that they are “Constitution Voters”. As the ACLU explains it: “By pledging to be a Constitution Voter, you can make sure that the next president will be committed to restoring the Constitution and the fundamental freedoms it protects. When we step into the voting booth this November, our leaders need to know that the Constitution will be the first thing on our minds.”

Click on the link to sign the pledge and send the message that you’re a Constitution Voter!

A Life In Pictures

Page 32 of the ObamaScrapbook.com

Kent of @issue posted about a remarkable digital scrapbook of Barack Obama’s life. Some creative individual has created 57 pages chronicling Barack’s family and his political career. It is a warm, unique tribute to a fascinating man, with a uniquely American story. Neither Kent nor I know who the devoted and prolific digi-scrapper is - but we’d love to coax her/him out to accept the applause!

Just click on the link to begin turning the pages of Barack Obama’s Scrapbook...

Making It Up As I Go Along

I’ve been working on a sewing project. Usually I can imagine the project very clearly from start to finish, even if I’m winging it along the way. This time I’m making a small messenger style bag out of recycled/repurposed fabric from clothing. I know what I want it to look like at the end, but I am having to slog through every single intervening step. So far it’s all working out, but my brain cells are working overtime. Either that or I’m sleep deprived and fuzzy headed - or both!

UPDATE: It’s finished! It’s funky and quirky but I like it. So does Chuck. That’s good because it all started with an idea to have something bigger than a belt pack and smaller than a back pack for either of us to use on short hikes. Especially when we go off on the Carriage Trails in Acadia National Park up in Maine.


I made the outside body from an old pair of Chuck’s canvas weight walking shorts. I lined the bag with corduroy from the legs of a pair of Chuck’s retired slacks. The flap is the back pockets of a torn pair of Chuck’s dungarees. To give it a little more body, I added a layer of quilt batting behind the lining fabric. For now, we’re clipping the “store bought” shoulder strap through the shorts’ belt loops. That strap normally is attached to our laptop bag. We love that in addition to the main pouch, it has eight other pockets to stash things in.

Time Travel

At lunch today, Chuck and I met up with some former colleagues, most of whom we haven’t seen in 17 years. We all used to be together in an office where everyone worked hard, but knew how to celebrate together as well. It really was one of those amazing and rare environments where we all felt like family. Sure, there were some odd ducks (Umm, we might have been a couple of those!), but it was a wonderful bunch of people. The place where we worked shut down after a long struggle to remain viable and we scattered to other jobs and lives. But all this time, a small group has been meeting for lunch, twice a year. About a month ago, Chuck bumped into one of the gals at a meeting and she extended an invitation. This afternoon we joined the group and the years fell away.

Go Joe!

Here’s a video of Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden with his wife Jill and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Scranton, Pennsylvania this past Sunday. The whole speech is worth watching. But if you’ve only got a minute and you want to experience a truly rousing moment as only Joe Biden can deliver it, move the slider on the video to 30:30 or (for the truly impatient!) 32:30. You’ll be glad you did!




GET UP!!!