Three cheers for John McCain!..... maybe not

It's pretty sad when you have to distance yourself from your supporters.

McCain's troubles

Friday night beaver

Hillary challenging Texas caucuses

Texas Trouble

This seems to shed a bit of light on the political process as a whole. This year how many states changed their primary voting dates to try and be first in line and have a greater impact? This also doesn't mention the fact that several states have changed their entire primary process. As for Washington state, I see no reason to even bother with a ballot primary for the Democrates when they don't even count. It's just a beauty contest and I don't think that's fair. It effectively locks out anyone not able to attend a caucus from voting even though it would not have mattered here in Washington since Obama won both the caucus and the ballot primary.
As for Texas this challenge comes at a very bad time. The Democratic party in Texas has been regrouping after the dirty tricks of the Republicans who redistricted several areas of the state in their favor effectively shutting out the Dems even though these areas were mainly democratic so I'm told.
As I see it if Hillary's intention is to merely get a clearification of the rules for all involved then that's fine. But, I think her intention here is more one of despiration than understanding. Having lost the last 11 primarys and 13 caucuses she is running out of options. Her attacks on Obama have come down to the point of being petty. Being on SNL and wearing a local native costume when he traveled to Africa have nothing to do with the ability to run a nation and she knows it.
As a side note and a bit interesting, the republicans I've talked to realize that McCain won't win but would rather have Obama in office than Clinton. Oddly they still can't get over the fact that Bill got a BJ while in office.

Did Nancy grow some balls?

Bolas
Nancy Pelosi wants contempt charges brought for the White House for not turning over requested documents.

Bush: US is not headed into recession

That's because we're already in one ya moron.

Just noticing the conditions around my area. One business and a gas station are now closed and I can see falloff at a restaraunt near by. This may be anedcotal but I did notice ten cars parked in the neighborhood and I know many of them are not working and a few had their hours cut. Also I was able to get to my recert class without much trouble. In the last few years it would take nearly a half hour to go six or seven miles at that time of day.

Bushed wacked

Dirty air at 30,000 feet

A University of Washington study has just found what may be the cause of a rather disturbing illness suffered by flight crews and pilots on commercial aircraft. Symtoms include memory loss, difficulty breathing and even tremors. The cause they believe is linked to a chemical additive in jet fuel and lubricants used in aircraft. TCP is an additive used in the fuel to prevent engine misfires and in lubricants for its' fire resistant qualities. More information see: TCP
The reason I'm a bit interested in this story is because I spent over 3 years cleaning Skydrol spills at a Boeing plant here. Skydrol is the commercial name for this hydrolic fluid. The problem the researchers will face is that there are several types of Skydrol used around the world and there are several formulations of the lubricant. Not all contain the TCP. What I've found from my own experience with Skydrol even though the MSDS sheets say otherwise is that Skydrol is a purple liquid that can change to green or yellow over time. It has an acrid chemical smell. It's not something you want to get on your skin as it will melt regular rubber gloves in about 10 minutes. When dealing with chemical spills in confined spaces we always used respiratory protection (minimum 1/2 face mask with carbon chemical filters and bottled escape air). Getting any of this chemical near the eyes would cause burning. The constant smell of this product would make anyone nausious.
Now as no one has complete data on the exposure levels and the fact that people respond differently to different chemicals I'm sure this will take some time to solve. Dr. Furlong at the UW plans to study blood samples of flight crews from around the world now that he has isolated the cause.

Another reason to hate republicans

A portion of 60 minutes was not aired last night in Alabama and Florida. That segement dealt with the conviction of the former governor of Alabama (a democrat) in a case that should have been thrown out. After seeing what these slimey rethuglicans have done none of them should hold office. Carl Rove is not finished messing up this country, he's just lurking in the background adding to the injustices he perpetuated while acting as Bush's brain.
Full story at Huff. Post
I can't begin to put in words the outrage here so I'll just say I feel sorry for Ms. Simpson and what she is about to go through.

What's killing the bees?

With climbing fuel prices, the shift to producing corn for ethanol, and the droughts in various parts of the country and the world for that matter this comes as more disturbing news to add to the storm of a bad situation. Our food production relies on the lowly honeybee to pollenate the crops that feeds this nation. Scientists have found viruses,mites, and pesteside residues in the remaining dead bees yet they can not say whether these are a cause or just the result of some other factor. The bees are dissapearing in record numbers and nobody can figure out why.
I saw the first airing of a report by 60 minutes on this last fall and had mistakenly thought that a cause had been found and a solution was soon to come.

Missing Bees

Good news I found the mailer that was sent out

Hate to say it but I don't see anything here that's not true.

Hat tip to the Ohiodailyblog

Ralph throws his hat in the ring

What is this guy a secret agent for the republican party? McCain calling Nader. McCain calling Nader.... Helllllp!
But alas I think it's too late for Mr. Nader this time around. He should have come out long before this. The preparations for the 08 political season started a year ago with Biden being the first to announce his run.

Side note: Anybody out there from Ohio have a copy of the Obama mailing? If so could you scan it and post it? I'd like to see what all the fuss from Hillary was all about. Hat tip in advance.

Blogstorm March 19,2008

Another internet war protest for your consideration. I'm sorry to report that I'm skeptical of anything short of a major work stoppage like those in France will get anything done. Think about that for a minute. The streets nearly empty, no one buying or selling. Near silence like a graveyard. And as an added bonus have a lights out night. That by itself would save 20 million barrels of oil.

War Protest
http://march19-blogswarm.blogspot.com

Sorry blogger is running like sh*t

The least of John's worries will be the bimbo

The plot thickens. Thanks to a link at Skippy's. McLame has some splainen to do.

This just gets better
http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2008/02/mccain-promised.html
It seems you can not bow out of accepting public money if you've used the promise of public money to secure a loan to finance your campaign.

Happy birthday to me

Hard to believe this blog turned one yesterday. Time flies when you're having fun. Only forgot because I'm still working on legal issues for a relative back east. Birthdays funerals and weddings all seem to bring people together.

It's Friday

I was looking for a combo beaver and McCain shot but couldn't find one. Oh well. How about a rat photo for Renzi eh Py?

Another one bits the dust

Rick Renzi Arizona republican is facing a 35 count indictment or wire fraud, money laundering and using his office for personal gain. If convicted he could get over 40 years but we know how that works. Figure less than 20.
Rethuglicans

Why John McCain can't be president

Some things to consider about John McCain if you are even remotely considering voting for him. If you think Bush's background was bad...

EDUCATION
Graduated from the Naval Academy 5th from the last. Was not fond of authority and was one of the few to make the "Century Club" by receiving 100 demerits for his conduct.

EARLY EXPERIENCE
Crashed three aircraft before doing his tour in Vietnam.

VIETNAM
Was a prisoner of war for over 5 years and tortured for much of that time. So brutely tortured that he is unable to raise his arms over his head.

MARRIAGES
His first wife was an exotic dancer in Florida.
He fooled around with his second wife while married to his first.
His first wife Carol Shepp has been erased from the internet. Try Googling her
His second wife was into drugs and stole vicodin from her own organization

BUSINESS ASSOCIATES
Was involved with Charles Keating taking junkets and large contributions.
Sent a card of regret to Joe Bonano NY crime boss for not attending his birthday party

RELIGION
Claims he is a Baptist although he has not been baptised in that church something the church insists upon


Maybe we should require a psych evaluation before these people can run for office. An individual with this troubled past should not be in a position of power. An individual having been tortured for five years. Think about that for a moment. We don't need anyone in the office of president who has PTSD and you know as well as I do that the effects can show up years later. Couple that with his erratic voting record and the fibs he's now perpetuating and you get the picture.

Additional info on McCain can be found at The Skeleton Closet
(I've only been able to verify about 95% of this information)

More on the economy

Talk about being in a no win situation. Uncle Ben must think you can fly this economy like a jet fighter. Unfortunately it's more like a 747. People keep talking like there's an upcoming recession. Got news for them we're in a recession. And it's the worst of both worlds. Gas and food are going up and people are being laid off and cutting back on their spending which in turn will continue the cycle. As I mentioned before if Ben cuts rates too low then foreign investors pull more money out of this economy hence no money to pay our national debt and the Ponzi scheme can no longer continue.
The worst of both worlds

Mc and Vicki?

I'd give them the benefit of the doubt except that there's a Wa Po article that says Vicki went from a secretary to a partner in a few years. And it looks like she bragged about her connection to McCain in dealing with clients.

The financial state of our country. eeek!

First a city

Then a state
I'm thinking about the fundementals of budgets here. Whether it be a city,a county, a state, or even your budget they all seem to work the same. Now consider where the income comes from in a city or state. Taxes ofcourse, but then consider where those taxes were generated. Corporations and individuals and some income on investments fills the coffers. The main drain on the economy came at the top. A national debt that will take years/decades to pay. Add to that the insane lending practices by banks and the resulting subprime mess and the "perfect storm" is brewing. And don't listen to those who say we can borrow our way out of debt. It's much like someone saying I can eat myself skinny. It just doesn't work. So stop for a minute and consider where the income from your city or state originates. Is it from manufacturing, farming, or a service industry? I don't see many bright spots here. The bulk of manufacturing is tied to housing and automotive in some way or other. Housing is taking a beating at the moment as did automotive just last year. The service industry will be taking a hit soon as other industries tighten their belts. Farming may fair better as we all have to eat, but farmers will get dinged with rising fuel costs, tighter lending practices and cuts in subsities.
The stock market has been trying to kid itself back to a bull market but the underlying aspects of the economy say otherwise. Far be it from me to pee on somebodys parade but how could anyone expect us to get out of this mess when the government has cranked up the presses, lowered interest rates and dumped more money (albeit borrowed) into this economy than any time in history. Don't believe me take a look in the back of your 1040 book and notice how we're borrowing 9% to pay off an 8% debt. If that doesn't say something about our situation I don't know what would.

Oy!

I did my refresher course for Haz Mat. The good news was that I got 100 on the test. No biggy I've been doing this so long I could give you the answers off the top of my head. The bad news was that our monkey in chief refused to reauthorize CERCLA which is the act that pays for most of the clean ups at large toxic waste sites. That in it's self would be bad enough but as part of the haz mat class we saw a video about a mine clean up over in Colorado. So, while I was perusing the web on articles about Shrub not resigning the Superfund reauthorization I came upon this article about what I had just seen in the video.
Bushwacked again
So it looks like the mine will not be cleaned up until we get a new president in the white house and it can't be a republican.

I guess you can't trust Wikipedia anymore

A California judge has put an injunction against Wikileak a website that posts whistleblowers documents as evidence on corporate and governemnt possible wrong doings. They requested that Wikileak remove all info from the server leaving a blank page. While digging further into the story I came upon a BBC story about how the CIA has been caught changing Wikipedia pages.

Wiki wacki

Site taken offline

The only problem is that the site (Wikileak) is still online and there are still backdoor links and mirror sites out there. This is going to be a real embarresment to the Swiss as that's the origin of the company in question exposed by Wikilink.
Another thought comes to mind "A doilly for your mind". Thank you Tommy and Dick.

Food prices

This is a bit of concerning news.
A while back fellow blogger mentioned that wheat prices had gone up to nearly $20 a bushel. I've checked other market prices and noticed that investers are boosting the price of just about every food stuff. The real kicker comes in about 12 to 18 months when there is a shift in production mainly from the increased use of corn for ethenol. Add to that the effect of investers and we can expect a bumpy ride in prices. This has been a real killer for beef prices as the combination of increased feed costs and several recalls have raised those prices as well. Bottom line might be a $10 box of cereal and beef at $15 a lb. I've already seen cereal at over $5 and beef at $10. My only hope in all of this is that it's a short lived problem.
For a real overall picture check the following info:
Comodities

Government here to help again.

One of the largest beef recalls in recent years 143 million lbs. and the Agriculture Dept. is now making it official. Only one problem most of the meat has already been consumed!
Beef
The schools in our state stopped serving beef last month after this info came to light. I don't know if another supplier has been found yet, I would assume so.
I'll let you know about other wonderful news items after an upcomming recert class. The instructor of that class has the pleasure of having people from several states send him under reprorted news stories.

Friday night

This is just too wierd. No other comment necessary

Everything's okay I'm from the government I'm here to help

Here's a clash of government agencys that's sure to please. Who would you believe?
CDC on formaldehyde
FEMA wants to hand out emergency trailers for housing to the people who've lost their homes to the tornadoes. Only problem, the trailers are new and still outgassing formaldehyde. CDC has been studying the problem since Katrina but the final report hasn't been published yet. A little background about the CDC. I get a lot of good info from their website for what I do for a living, but I have to say they are very conservative on their approach to health issues. An example is the info they put out on mold. According to them mold might cause minor respiratory problems in people prone to allergys, yet I've seen at least four cases in the last few years of extreme reactions from mold exposures to the point where individuals were bleeding from the nose and ears.
(For some reason the link above will not work and when I went back to the yahoo story from their main news site it was changed)
Here's the code for the original article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080214/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/toxic_trailers;_ylt=Ap_lAx9gXbEz4Hj.8PtvdHis0NUE

So what can you do it you get stuck with one of these trailers? Ventilate as much as you can. Open the windows during the day as much as possible. I realize it's cold outside but the gas level rises the longer the doors and windows are closed. Turn on any vent fans and run them constantly especially when you sleep. Try to spend as much time outside the trailer as you can. If you experience burning eyes and shortness of breath get out of the trailer and see a doctor and let him/her know that you are living in one of these trailers and you suspect formaldehyde exposure.
To be quite honest I don't recall exactly how long it takes to outgas formaldehyde. My educated guess would be between several months to a few years depending on factors like ventilation and humidity. The CDC doesn't give any information about that issue.

When the oil runs out

Cool car


I had considered a gas electric like the Toyota Prius until I saw this little critter. The thing about the Toyota is the batteries need to be replaced at a cost of $7000. The air car gets 120 mpg, gets a power kick from a small engine and would cost much less than any hybred on the road now. Oh, did I mention it runs on compressed air.

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse

After reading about the telcos getting away with illegal wiretaps I happened upon this little ditty:

Spying

And for those of you who thought Chavez was bluffing about cutting off the oil...
Hugo cuts off oil today

One last item of note a wonderful example of poorly trained police officers in Florida.
Don't jaywalk in this city
Wonder if they got their training in L.A.?

various items

Chavez planning to stop oil to U.S.

For those out there who have investments in oil futures it looks like they are about to go up. Check the oil prices Monday.

The Bush budget

Looking at the federal budget brought no rays of sunshine. It seems that any scrap of benefit to most Americans was cut from the budget and sent to Iraq. This is not the final budget as it's not yet been approved but it will give you an indication of the mind set of this misadministration. So if you are having problems sleeping you might consider reading this budget, but I warn you it might cause nightmares. But if you're a war monger it could cause priapism.

Blast! blogger isn't working right but I'll post this anyway so it isn't lost.

Short attention span

A quick search of the U.S.news about the tornadoes in the south late Friday night revealed... nothing, nada, zip! Went to the BBC news and there was a story under Americas. As usual The BBC does a better job of all reporting. If you want to find out what NBC ABC and CBS did not mention then you know where to go.
For some reason eblogger wouldn't let me post an aftermath scene of the tornado so I thought I'd just post this soggy beaver instead.
I hope we can get a little feedback from the aid organizations down there just to know help is actually getting there.

More good news from disaster

This little guy was thrown 150 yards by a tornado and is still going strong.

Kyson Stowell, 11 months, is shown in a hospital in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Feb. 7,...

A call for help

My friend and fellow blogger Monkeyfister has asked for help for the people down south in dealing with the tornados. He's has some awesome and scary photos of the storms on his website.

I'd like to direct your donations to the following web site:
Donate here

I can't say enough about the good work these guys do. They were some of the first on the scene after Katrina feeding people and providing food and water to the people down there. You can say what you will about other organizations but with the Salvation Army over 90% of what you donate actually goes to those in need. They already have their mobile kitchen in action in the area and are waiting for direction from local emergency managers to go to other areas.

If you're not sure about the above link or by chance someone has messed with it feel free to google them and go there directly. You know how such things bring out the best and the worst in people during these times.

In all the wreckage

ap photo

A little good news. Courtney Loveless finds her grandmother's cat.

On the storms in Tennesee a call for help

As you may or may not know there were some very bad tornados in the south yesterday. When most of us were focused on the primarys the south was getting creamed with bad weather. Once again our msm gave only a brief blurb with some short footage of what happened. The rest of us in the country have no real picture of the damage. If you can help then pop over to:
Monkeyfister's to get the full story and details.
I'll be helping out as soon as I've finished dealing with a dying relative back east. Man when it rains it pours but life goes on.

Below is a post monkeyfister left in my comment section when I discovered the storm last night (Tue).




monkeyfister said...
I got called into work today, so no pix from me, but, I've got plenty of film footage, and links to storm-pron at my place. What I DO have is a desperate plea for help for any blogger who will promote it out of their comments, and my thanks:

Whilst we're waiting for George's Promised Prayers to roll in, down here in the Tornado-Stricken Mid-South, I might recommend some DIRECT HUMAN INTERACTION.

This Is My Best First Start To Help My Region.

As Scout Prime is to NOLA, I am, suddenly, to the Mid-South area (I LIVE here, and was Live-Blogging these horrible storms all night), and have started to get the help-ball rolling down here. Some of you know where I work. I started a Food Drive there today for the Mid-South United Way Food Bank.

As the area affected is so broad and detached, and everyone in the Country was distracted by politics last night, as yet, there is no central assistance hub set-up. So, at the link, above, you'll find the two agencies with the broadest radius to help the area right now. Both take DIRECT donations.

A small-blog swarm on that (or this) post would be greatly appreciated by more people than just me. I can't describe how wide-spread the damage is down here. It's enormous. The Media, per usual, is only just now waking up to the situation, after their Super-Duper-Let's-All-Wet-Our-Pants-Together- Tuesday Political Hangover. Like NOLA, these are REALLY poor folks down here, and have nothing, and nowhere to go.

A short post about this at YOUR Blog, linking either to my post, above, or directly to the two Orgs mentioned in the post above, would sure be a big help, and would be greatly appreciated by many people who are relying on help. They are all that we have right now.

I just donated a deer's worth of ground venison, along with the 100 pounds of rice and quart-sized ziplock bags that they said that they needed at the United Way Mid-South Food Bank, when I phoned them this morning. Their pantry is BARE, and I'll be loading them up with all the potatoes, rice, veggies, bags, and other staples that I can fit in my truck tomorrow.

This is serious Red State country, and a flood of help from the DFH Left would REALLY make a big difference in a number of good ways.

I thank you all in advance.

Click Here for more about what's going on down here. It's all that I am writing about right now. Help is needed.

Your humble peer,

Monkeyfister

February 6, 2008 8:08 PM

Tornadoes

Bad weather hit the south this evening and there was no mention on the news. I would not have known about this had it not been for our fellow blogger Monkeyfister who was hunkering down at his home in Tennesee. Said he'll post pix tomorrow.

Southern storms
found this on BBC news

Glad to here you're safe Monk!

Primary results?

Watched part of the results on a couple of channels tonight. I just love how (fill in your station here) "they" predict the out come of a race with just 16% of the vote in and then acted shocked when the vote changes just an hour or so later. I've said it once and I know I'll say it many more times before the main elections "demand a hand recount" and do not use the machines. If your state uses those electronic monstrocities tell them you'd rather have a provisional ballot (paper). How many times have you gone to the store and had an item scanned with the wrong price? Happens to me at least once a week.

Drunky McStagger strikes again

photo via americampolitics.com


Here's a follow up to Bush's legacy and I didn't even have to write it myself.

Robin the hood strikes again...In reverse!

Yep. We'll just give em 50 cents with one hand while we got the other hand in their back pocket takin their wallet. Hold out your hands everybody.

Wild beaver

Though I'd go back to adding Friday wild beaver shots for your amusement

Bush's legacy

Someone commented in a post below how I'm no expert and just a "whinning liberal". Well I've never claimed to be an economic expert. The information I get is from the experts and I just pass it on in this blog. And I must say it doesn't take a genious to see bad economic policys and their results. Nobody can go out, spend massive amounts of money, and expect to keep a roof over their head. So like a teenager with his first paycheck in hand and mom's credit cards our wonderful president went out and blew the check and maxed out the cards. He didn't stop there though. He got more cards and maxed them out as well.
So here is what he left us with:

The real problem