Newclipping of the Day :: George Bush III

Thanks to CURTIS for posting this. You folks pass it along. I think it's sad that McCain has drunk the Kool Aid. I remember when he was a kinda viable statesman.

Newsclipping of the Day :: Our Hollywood Ambassador, Sharon Stone

Count the number of times the word nice is used in
THIS STORY. Oh Sharon Stone. I am very concerned about how to think and what to do about you because I don't like what you say. Poor woman.

Preach It, Brother Bill

We need more citizens like Bill Moyers.

Newsclipping of the Day :: Our Facade of Democracy, Part II

Well, it looks like something is actually happening with the massive Pentagon program to plant happy smiling pro-war cheerleaders as far as the eye can see. Unbelievably, overwhelmingly--by a margin of 384 to 23--the U.S. House of Representatives last Thursday voted an amendment to the latest bill to fund another big chunk of Bush's Phony War that includes a provision to force the GAO to investigate the hundreds upon hundreds of fake false phony idiotic planted positive news stories about the war, by Penatagon-paid propagandists. I haven't heard about it for lo these 4 or 5 days now because there has been nada, nothing, nien, ZILCH about it in the news or in newspapers. I didn't read the NYTimes this weekend, but i bet there was nothing there about the bill. If any of you know otherwise, please let me know.

HEREis the story from Josh Silver writing at the Huffington Post, with some significant links to a few other stories about the bill.

Of course, Bush is threatening to veto (Senate version not ready yet apparently), but a margin like this--as it should be--is beyond veto-proof.

I am so glad this issue is getting traction, however slowly. I suppose the mainstream outlets, given their complicity in the propaganda, will obfuscate, bury and cover up till the end, and may never actually cover the story. That is fine, they are no longer needed.

It is depressing to me how the entire apparatus of big media can be so under the control of an Executive. Are they private companies? What, exactly, does that mean anymore? How can the the actual facts be so manipulated? How can Americans be so incredibly deep in denial that they don't see what has happened in front of their eyes?

Steven is yelling from the other room that Sharon Stone is quoted in numerous Chinese News sites as saying that the recent tragic earthquakes in Sichuan were "karma." No doubt she has drunk the Hollywood Kool Aid too, and believes China has been unfair to Tibet, and commits human rights abuses. As if we are even qualified to discuss such matters after Warrantless Wiretapping, the Patriot Act, Abu Graib, and Guantanamo Bay. Amazing the people who open their mouths. Wonder if she is getting some Pentagon Payola too?

Message to the spirit of Dwight D. Eisenhower: it has happened. Help.

New Fence & Gate

We finished the gate last night (in the rain...grrrrr), and the fence is all substantially complete, except for a few trim items to cut and complete. Otherwise it is done. Now on to the back fence, deck, and planning the stone/brick pathways through this and the plantings. This fence will connect around to a back fence which will then connect to a deck off the screened porch, and the kitchen. The ultimate goal is to just be able to open the kitchen door and let a future doggie outside. Many things have to be moved/relocated/gotten rid of (such as the yuccas stabbing away at me while i work on the fence), Steven is working that all out in his head. Part of the solution involves us going to dig up lots of weeds (they are gorgeous weeds) from Laiyee's hill to plant next to the house. They do really well in full sun. Maybe Steven will post some pics of the few we already have near the back of the new fence.

The REALLY hard part is the prep work for the pathways, flagged patio, and pea gravel paths and parking area. We have ALOT of digging to do to properly prepare a lower gravel bed, then sand, then pea gravel or stone or brick. Somewhere in there is a permeable fabric layer--to keep mud from squishing up. Particularly if we're going to put cars on it, our rather bog-like backyard is going to need some work to keep the mud from squishing up. It would almost be easier (and probably cheaper) to put in concrete, but we've been resisting that, mostly for aesthetic reasons, but also to just avoid sealing in another big chunk of our tiny .1 acre of earth. Anybody have any advice for us on this? We were going to go to the library and see if we can find a book or a dvd or something. I found a few DIY websites, but find a bit of conflicting information (such as where the permeable layer goes).

Fred Sanford Deaccessions

Ok, so we had ALOT of visitors this morning and sales so fast it all got really confusing and crazy. Reminded me of my days selling espresso at intermission at the Fox Theatre. Now there's a steady stream, but not 40 people at any given time packed in. Even an emergent butterfly visited (but didn't buy a damn thing).

Guess i have to get back out there. Really wish i were working on my bamboo fence!

Garage Sale Tomorrow

And we are tired of getting ready for it. Last night Laiyee came and advised us on prices. She is what KJ called a Garage Sale Evangelist, going every Saturday to all the sales she can and connecting, via cellphone, with her entire regional army of other G S Goers. We know, because the few times we've distracted her and asked her to do something with us on a Saturday morning, her phone will ring incessantly with news from the field and the soldiers out at all the Garage Sales, busily finding this or that for Carolyn, Dottie, Gwendolyn, or Bob. My sign is not nearly as groovy as the ones i made for Mom and BC several years ago, but it will be functional to block the driveway AND announce us to everyone driving down State. Anyhoo, Laiyee brought us some lovely Peonies from her yard. And we had not one, but TWO desserts: individual strawberry rhubarb cobblers, and a wonderful flan that Laiyee made. Lastly are some glamour shots of our gal, Al Gormie. Isn't she a doll? Oh, and wait (there were lots of pictures to download), here's a pic on one of our Robin babies, stuck in my car one morning. He was learning to fly!

Latest Craft Project :: Preps for Doggie??

Hi everyone! Here are some progress photos on the first of 3 series of fences. This is our east side yard, where, this weekend, we got about 60% complete on putting in a bamboo fence. We still have to do a bevy of mitre cuts on bamboo pieces at the numerous end points, and then outfit the cedar trim boards all over (visibly mocked up in some of these photos). Not to mention building a gate. Next will be about a third of the back yard, which will connect to this side yard as a big "L" shape, AND to the kitchen door. We recently passed the 2 year anniversary of Dear Departed Trotsky's untimely death... and being aware of it made us aware of just how much Trotsky would really have wanted us to have moved on to another canine companion by now. We miss the clomp clomp clomp of his elbows bashing the floor as he clambered under the bed every night at bedtime. And his banter with the cat. And his desire to go on twelve walks a day. His unconditional love. His cheeriness always. Ok, well, so that is why we are building these fences, so that hopefully sometime this summer, we will adopt another doggie, hopefully from the Athens County Shelter. And when we don't want to do the 1oth or the 12th walk that day, we'll be able to just open the kitchen door and say OUT. Or better yet, just have a doggie door in it and he/she can let themselves out!

Newsclipping of the Day :: Obama's VeeP Shortlist

Love it.

Our Facade of Democracy

Arianna Huffington has nailed THIS STORY. Our mainstream media totally enforces blackout on stories--however huge--of its choosing. Our media is more supple and compliant with the forces of power than Mussolini's was. The time is SO ripe for new media to supplant these dinosaurs who've ensured their own calcification, irrelevance, and demise. Rest assured, when Obama or Clinton becomes our next President, this switch will work only in the OTHER direction, our mainstream media only making up negative press out of thin air for Democrats. We are all going to have to stop subscribing to the CNNs and MSNBCs and FOX news of the cable/satellite ether--en masse--to make a difference. That's another thing that has been squashed by the Big Business machine here: bill proposals that would allow us to choose each and every channel we would like to receive, support, and pay for.