.
Hmmmm, now why is it that the catastrophic climatic consequences of global warming put me in mind of Republicans? Just time enough for a quick roundup to round out the Month, the First Quarter, of the new Obamatastic Era.
Sy Hersh tells NPR's Terri Gross that Chee-knee left behind a passel o'spies deep in the bowels of the Obama administration. And this surprises anyone outside of the progressive blogosphere who've been buzzing about it for weeks because????????? Next they'll be tellin' us he still has his hit squad in command. And the destroyed tapes? Well, what do you think that man-sized safe was for? And the undisclosed location?
Meanwhile, back at the Republican dinner party circuit, Newt Gingrich will take the place of the legendary Pleistoscene warrior Palin who's about to learn just what the wolf feels like when the airplane starts circling.
And here in the homeland homestate, the Minnesota 3-judge panel ruling delivers the kiss o'political death for Normie Coleman today. Even Crummy Cornyn's protestations of WW3 won't be enough to halt this train... Oh, and Limbaugh? You're still a Big Fat Idiot, but you do qualify for sandbag detail along the Fargo dikes. Just climb inside...one ton's the scale.
Nothing like a little schadenfreude to take one's mind off the wiles of Mother Nature in the north country.
Oh, and Wall Street banksters? If you think you were invited to the White House for just tea and crumpets and a little sternly worded schmoozing, brace yourselves...you've been warned.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Flood Watch
.
We told ourselves it was just another weekend at the cabin as we drove out of Fargo Friday morning. A disability family, we knew the wise course was to be safely out of the danger zone of the flood of the millenium. Mayor Walaker has enough on his plate, and we are doing our part along with other evacuees so we do not become a distraction on resources.
Heartsore and muscle weary, we left the work of sandbagging and walking dike patrol and all the rest of the urgency of fighting against the river to others to sustain.
We're like the rest of the country now, watching from afar.
But in that, there is much to learn, because truly this is a teaching moment. For those of us of Fargo-Moorhead, where our city leaders and the allies they have in this battle--from FEMA to the National Guard to volunteers from all over the region--the learning curve is swift and essential.
When a permanent floodwall started leaking at the base threatening a school, news reports tell us the response was swift although the river overwhelmed for a time. Now military helicopters drop one-ton sandbags to divert the river's wearing course. A Predator drone patrols the miles-long course of sandbags looking for signs of breach or leakage.
Infrastructure that should have been built along the Fargo river corridor languished since the flooding of 1997. The urgency wasn't there for Fargo as it was for Wahpeton and Grand Forks. It should have been. Hmmmm, what could possibly have diverted all those resources from things like infrastructure since 1997....
Local officials are already at work planning for the recovery and cleanup. Even while watching the weather forecasts and the over three million sandbags that may need to withstand the crashing waves and whitecaps a winter storm could bring. And directing the teams into hot spots to strengthen the dikes.
Multi-tasking. Stepping up to the work that needs doing. Brushing aside the naysayers who prod for evacuating the whole city. Surrendering. Fargo's mayor, and Fargo, will have none of that. Lesson to be learned, America.
When the imminent danger is passed, we'll be going home. We've seen floods before and filled and hefted our share of sandbags. And because we've been richly blessed in ways no financial statement could measure by a lifetime of living in Fargo, we will give back in ways we can contribute. We'll be community activists again.
We'll help rebuild. Students and volunteers and dedicated city staff and leaders have fought to keep the river at bay. Now we'll take the city as we find it and make it better.
One city, one country...we will rebuild.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
We told ourselves it was just another weekend at the cabin as we drove out of Fargo Friday morning. A disability family, we knew the wise course was to be safely out of the danger zone of the flood of the millenium. Mayor Walaker has enough on his plate, and we are doing our part along with other evacuees so we do not become a distraction on resources.
Heartsore and muscle weary, we left the work of sandbagging and walking dike patrol and all the rest of the urgency of fighting against the river to others to sustain.
We're like the rest of the country now, watching from afar.
But in that, there is much to learn, because truly this is a teaching moment. For those of us of Fargo-Moorhead, where our city leaders and the allies they have in this battle--from FEMA to the National Guard to volunteers from all over the region--the learning curve is swift and essential.
When a permanent floodwall started leaking at the base threatening a school, news reports tell us the response was swift although the river overwhelmed for a time. Now military helicopters drop one-ton sandbags to divert the river's wearing course. A Predator drone patrols the miles-long course of sandbags looking for signs of breach or leakage.
Infrastructure that should have been built along the Fargo river corridor languished since the flooding of 1997. The urgency wasn't there for Fargo as it was for Wahpeton and Grand Forks. It should have been. Hmmmm, what could possibly have diverted all those resources from things like infrastructure since 1997....
Local officials are already at work planning for the recovery and cleanup. Even while watching the weather forecasts and the over three million sandbags that may need to withstand the crashing waves and whitecaps a winter storm could bring. And directing the teams into hot spots to strengthen the dikes.
Multi-tasking. Stepping up to the work that needs doing. Brushing aside the naysayers who prod for evacuating the whole city. Surrendering. Fargo's mayor, and Fargo, will have none of that. Lesson to be learned, America.
When the imminent danger is passed, we'll be going home. We've seen floods before and filled and hefted our share of sandbags. And because we've been richly blessed in ways no financial statement could measure by a lifetime of living in Fargo, we will give back in ways we can contribute. We'll be community activists again.
We'll help rebuild. Students and volunteers and dedicated city staff and leaders have fought to keep the river at bay. Now we'll take the city as we find it and make it better.
One city, one country...we will rebuild.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Michelle Bachmann: Tool or Fool?
.
Minnesota's extra-ordinary Congresswoman is at it again. Calling for "armed and dangerous" wasn't enough for her. Now it's "orderly revolution."
Fabulist? Seditionist? Or self-perceived "hot toddy"?
Discuss.
My take: Michelle B is crying out for parody by Kristen Wiig in a desperate attempt to be beloved by W, who brushed her aside and left her behind....
Either that, or pickin' up the traces of Katherine Harris and putting them on.
.
Minnesota's extra-ordinary Congresswoman is at it again. Calling for "armed and dangerous" wasn't enough for her. Now it's "orderly revolution."
Fabulist? Seditionist? Or self-perceived "hot toddy"?
Discuss.
My take: Michelle B is crying out for parody by Kristen Wiig in a desperate attempt to be beloved by W, who brushed her aside and left her behind....
Either that, or pickin' up the traces of Katherine Harris and putting them on.
.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Flood-in-Progress
.
Evacuations are beginning in Fargo and Moorhead. It's neighborhoods, now, and nursing homes, and even the city's larger hospital complex. People have a city to save, so those at-risk are moving --and being moved--now.
The river is rising, uncharted territory now. Over 40 feet and possibly going as high as 43 feet.
The students of the communities are being sorely tested and responding heroically. Residents on the river's edge and neighbors, too. And new friends from hundreds of miles away....
Heroic, too, are the city leaders, Mayor Denny Walaker, Deputy Mayor and self-described parttime surgeon Tim Mahoney and their city staff. They are our leaders, they are our neighbors, they are our friends. They are making decisions that may cost them their own home.
The reporters on local media [kfgo.com, wday.com] report with dispatch CodeRed alerts of their own neighborhoods.
This is a war zone. The war on water.
The scoundrels are few [don't get me started on the ND Chamber of Commerce smear'n'fear ad campaign against Employee Free Choice wallboarded amid the announcements and news flying thick and fast on the radio this morning].
Four blocks away, a mandatory evacuation near our own neighborhood.
This is our home. This is our heritage.
And we are determined this is our legacy.
The city will win this war.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Evacuations are beginning in Fargo and Moorhead. It's neighborhoods, now, and nursing homes, and even the city's larger hospital complex. People have a city to save, so those at-risk are moving --and being moved--now.
The river is rising, uncharted territory now. Over 40 feet and possibly going as high as 43 feet.
The students of the communities are being sorely tested and responding heroically. Residents on the river's edge and neighbors, too. And new friends from hundreds of miles away....
Heroic, too, are the city leaders, Mayor Denny Walaker, Deputy Mayor and self-described parttime surgeon Tim Mahoney and their city staff. They are our leaders, they are our neighbors, they are our friends. They are making decisions that may cost them their own home.
The reporters on local media [kfgo.com, wday.com] report with dispatch CodeRed alerts of their own neighborhoods.
This is a war zone. The war on water.
The scoundrels are few [don't get me started on the ND Chamber of Commerce smear'n'fear ad campaign against Employee Free Choice wallboarded amid the announcements and news flying thick and fast on the radio this morning].
Four blocks away, a mandatory evacuation near our own neighborhood.
This is our home. This is our heritage.
And we are determined this is our legacy.
The city will win this war.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Dear A.I.G., He Quits.
.
Some must reading today, this op-ed in the New York Tmes: Dear A.I.G., I Quit!
Add this to Matt Taibbi's Rolling Stone article that cuts through the jargon b.s. and smoke and mirrors to explain so even I can understand how we got where we are.
And, this commentary over at Oxdown Gazette from Selise: Dear Congress, Your Hearings Suck! [and isn't that Dilbert cartoon great]
.
We have tons of school kids and college students in the process of saving Fargo from going underwater even as I type...they're coming in on buses over 100 miles away, too... we owe the next generation bigtime, and Fargo's experience truly shows that.
Paying them back starts with fixing the same ol' same ol' crap in Washington.
Some must reading today, this op-ed in the New York Tmes: Dear A.I.G., I Quit!
Add this to Matt Taibbi's Rolling Stone article that cuts through the jargon b.s. and smoke and mirrors to explain so even I can understand how we got where we are.
And, this commentary over at Oxdown Gazette from Selise: Dear Congress, Your Hearings Suck! [and isn't that Dilbert cartoon great]
.
We have tons of school kids and college students in the process of saving Fargo from going underwater even as I type...they're coming in on buses over 100 miles away, too... we owe the next generation bigtime, and Fargo's experience truly shows that.
Paying them back starts with fixing the same ol' same ol' crap in Washington.
Wheels Coming Off the Imus Wagon?
.
This morning, RFD-TV censored comedy bits by two of Imus' sidekicks. Admittedly Rob Bartlett's routine as Dice Clay yesterday was beyond raunchy for RFD's audience. But then that's what remote buttons are made for.
In a possibly inadvertent admission, another sidekick, Bernie, bantering with Imus about Neil Cavuto's too busy to appear syndrome, let slip that their touting Fox Business News is a "billboard" that is paid for.
I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, that there's gamblin' in that there casino.
What does this all prove? For one thing, that the media should be as forthcoming about their "special interests" as we want the politicians to be. And that the change and clean-up that this country so desperately needs covers a lot more than Pennsylvania Avenue.
On the bright side, better to be confirmed a whore than thought a fool
.
This morning, RFD-TV censored comedy bits by two of Imus' sidekicks. Admittedly Rob Bartlett's routine as Dice Clay yesterday was beyond raunchy for RFD's audience. But then that's what remote buttons are made for.
In a possibly inadvertent admission, another sidekick, Bernie, bantering with Imus about Neil Cavuto's too busy to appear syndrome, let slip that their touting Fox Business News is a "billboard" that is paid for.
I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, that there's gamblin' in that there casino.
What does this all prove? For one thing, that the media should be as forthcoming about their "special interests" as we want the politicians to be. And that the change and clean-up that this country so desperately needs covers a lot more than Pennsylvania Avenue.
On the bright side, better to be confirmed a whore than thought a fool
.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Mother Nature's Shovel Ready Stimulus
.
Nothing like an impending natural disaster to focus the mind and energies.
Right now in Fargo, we're preparing to face by this weekend what may be the worst flooding on record. Or second worst, to 1997. Whichever, we'll be ready, we'll have exerted maximum effort to guard against it.
High schools and universities have called off classes, volunteers are rallying in the thousands to Fargo Moorhead and our satellite communities. A neurosurgeon works side by side with a county jail prisoner. National Guardsmen—who've already given so much in Iraq—and volunteers from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, and ordinary citizens, neighbors, farmers driving into North Dakota's biggest city. We have 8th graders joining in today for sandbag building, plus giant "spiders" capable of filling sandbags in the hundreds of thousands.
The forecast for the crest is daunting—39 to 41 feet.
The exactitude is still to come...depending on what Mother Nature contributes overnight. It's blizzarding to the west of us. And that's heading our way. Ice jams are backing up the mighty Missouri river, which flows to the south.
But the basin of the Red River [the ancient Lake Agassiz lakebed] is rising fast and furious and the subsoil is still frozen, so there's no mitigation by absorption.
Coordinating the volunteers and city workers are seasoned teams of flood fighters--city engineering staff, cops, city planners, the mayors and commissioners. They are fighting for their homes, too. And the homes and businesses of neighbors. This is what we pay them to do.
This is we, the people.
Government and citizens, teaming up to take on a common challenge. In this case it's a flooding river basin.
It could be securing a border. Or funding schools. Or finding a solution that serves the common good instead of special interests in health care.
But it starts with a government that acts—and plans—for the common good. And a citizenry with a spirit of volunteerism and community service to make it work.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Nothing like an impending natural disaster to focus the mind and energies.
Right now in Fargo, we're preparing to face by this weekend what may be the worst flooding on record. Or second worst, to 1997. Whichever, we'll be ready, we'll have exerted maximum effort to guard against it.
High schools and universities have called off classes, volunteers are rallying in the thousands to Fargo Moorhead and our satellite communities. A neurosurgeon works side by side with a county jail prisoner. National Guardsmen—who've already given so much in Iraq—and volunteers from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, and ordinary citizens, neighbors, farmers driving into North Dakota's biggest city. We have 8th graders joining in today for sandbag building, plus giant "spiders" capable of filling sandbags in the hundreds of thousands.
The forecast for the crest is daunting—39 to 41 feet.
The exactitude is still to come...depending on what Mother Nature contributes overnight. It's blizzarding to the west of us. And that's heading our way. Ice jams are backing up the mighty Missouri river, which flows to the south.
But the basin of the Red River [the ancient Lake Agassiz lakebed] is rising fast and furious and the subsoil is still frozen, so there's no mitigation by absorption.
Coordinating the volunteers and city workers are seasoned teams of flood fighters--city engineering staff, cops, city planners, the mayors and commissioners. They are fighting for their homes, too. And the homes and businesses of neighbors. This is what we pay them to do.
This is we, the people.
Government and citizens, teaming up to take on a common challenge. In this case it's a flooding river basin.
It could be securing a border. Or funding schools. Or finding a solution that serves the common good instead of special interests in health care.
But it starts with a government that acts—and plans—for the common good. And a citizenry with a spirit of volunteerism and community service to make it work.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Monday, March 23, 2009
Flyin' Blind to Integrity
.
Learning of the JPMorgan Chase purchase-in-the-works of luxury corporate jets and a hangar, the mind boggles.
Comes a point when you have to ask, are these CEOs insane? Do they not see what's going on around them? Or are they so selfish, so greedy, so avaricious, so gluttonous that they do not recognize that those of us out here in the real world think of them as pure scum. Thieves. Vampires. And we would not spit on them if they were dying of thirst in the desert.
These are not masters of the universe. These are the most morally bankrupt pack of... words fail me.
.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Solidarity with Suze
.
In the just-because-you-have-the-patina-of-respectability dept:
Doesn't mean yer not a bunch o'bums and grifters.
Suze Orman bluntly tells George W. Bushie it's his fault, give the money back...all of his fortune, all of his family's fortune.
Given Grandpappy Prescott, Pappy Bush and Neil's little S&L debacle, and the last 8 years of Bushie, what's not to agree with.
You go, Suze.
.
The Grass Is Greener
.
Setting aside the jokes that a Senator named Grassley [get it? graaaaaassss--with a heavy emphasis on the a and the s's..... and, oh, wait, got a little sidetracked there....] is the designated opponent for the new attitude articulated by Attorney General Holder about ceasing and desisting of hounding and prosecuting medical marijuana providers in states where medical marijuana has been legalized, there is this to contemplate:
Isn't it interesting that Farmer Grassley [and don't get me started on the effort to restore growing hemp--which has nothing at all to do with gettin' high, but a whole lot to do with a history of the timber industry getting rid of the paper resource aka c-o-m-p-e-t-i-t-i-o-n that was used for centuries] has taken it on himself to made medical decisions on behalf of families like ours.
Medical marijuana has been established as valuable for mitigating the effects of chemotherapy, and other medical uses like glaucoma treatment. Maybe that's it...a little medical marijuana might clear up Grassley's inability to see the evidence before him.
Or to see as far as his own mirror.
Because there's more than a whiff of hypocrisy in a Senator attacking a proven medical treatment like medical marijuana, and then
Setting aside the jokes that a Senator named Grassley [get it? graaaaaassss--with a heavy emphasis on the a and the s's..... and, oh, wait, got a little sidetracked there....] is the designated opponent for the new attitude articulated by Attorney General Holder about ceasing and desisting of hounding and prosecuting medical marijuana providers in states where medical marijuana has been legalized, there is this to contemplate:
Isn't it interesting that Farmer Grassley [and don't get me started on the effort to restore growing hemp--which has nothing at all to do with gettin' high, but a whole lot to do with a history of the timber industry getting rid of the paper resource aka c-o-m-p-e-t-i-t-i-o-n that was used for centuries] has taken it on himself to made medical decisions on behalf of families like ours.
Medical marijuana has been established as valuable for mitigating the effects of chemotherapy, and other medical uses like glaucoma treatment. Maybe that's it...a little medical marijuana might clear up Grassley's inability to see the evidence before him.
Or to see as far as his own mirror.
Because there's more than a whiff of hypocrisy in a Senator attacking a proven medical treatment like medical marijuana, and then
Friday, March 20, 2009
Flood Waters Be Risin'
.
There'll be lots of shovel work in Fargo this weekend...folks filling sandbags, preparing to defend the city against the predicted flood. 1.5 million sandbags, to start.
We've hefted more than a few over the years, growing up in this community. There's work to be done.... and this is how it goes hereabouts: Everybody, from bankers to students to Teamsters to ladies clubs. Everybody pitches in.
No dallying, no whining for a bonus, no what's in it for me...well, there was that cluster the last time that sat on their decks watching volunteers save their asses. But rumor is they didn't have what it took, riff raff, they're long gone. Along with a scurvy BCBS exec and his severance more lately. And good riddance. But that's another story.
Keep a good thought for Fargo and the small towns and cities up and down the basin of the Red River of the North. Floodwaters heading our way in coming days. We've been here before. We've kept 'em at bay. We will again.
And go, Bison!
.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Letter from Roxana Saberi's parents
.
The parents of Roxana Saberi have written an open letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran, asking for their daughter's release for humanitarian reasons. In local news reporting, including a new article in the Forum, Roxana's father expressed grave concern for his daughter's well-being.
Reza Saberi, with North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan, is slated to be interviewed by National Public Radio Saturday to discuss his daughter Roxana's situation.
.
The parents of Roxana Saberi have written an open letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran, asking for their daughter's release for humanitarian reasons. In local news reporting, including a new article in the Forum, Roxana's father expressed grave concern for his daughter's well-being.
Reza Saberi, with North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan, is slated to be interviewed by National Public Radio Saturday to discuss his daughter Roxana's situation.
.
Roxana Saberi's Imprisonment Continues
.
Despite hopes that action to release her would be taken before the Iranian New Year, Roxana Saberi still is imprisoned in Iran.
Now that the Iranian New Year celebration has begun, essentially the whole country goes on holiday for two weeks. A holiday that Roxana will not share.
Roxana's father, in a local television interview, said the New Year celebration was Roxana's favorite. He has not been able to speak to her since their March 9 conversation, a brief one that was monitored by Iranian officials.
North Dakota's Congressional delegation are all taking a personal interest in Roxana's circumstances, as is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And everyday people from bloggers to the North Dakota legislature which will introduce a resolution of support for the efforts to gain her release.
But it appears that until the holiday passes, the only option for Roxana is to pass yet more time confined in a prison near Tehran.
.
UPDATE: I've just spoken to Roxana's father, and I shared with him the concern and caring that people have expressed here and at Oxdown.
He will be talking with local media this afternoon about his open letter to the leadership of Iran. As soon as links to video are available, I'll post them.
One suggestion for those who want to help -- contact your Senators and Congresspeople and ask them to support the North Dakota Congressional delegation--Senators Dorgan and Conrad and Representative Pomeroy--in the efforts to bring Roxana home safe...and soon.
I'd add, ask the national media to pay attention, too.
It's time to bring Roxana home.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Despite hopes that action to release her would be taken before the Iranian New Year, Roxana Saberi still is imprisoned in Iran.
Now that the Iranian New Year celebration has begun, essentially the whole country goes on holiday for two weeks. A holiday that Roxana will not share.
Roxana's father, in a local television interview, said the New Year celebration was Roxana's favorite. He has not been able to speak to her since their March 9 conversation, a brief one that was monitored by Iranian officials.
North Dakota's Congressional delegation are all taking a personal interest in Roxana's circumstances, as is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And everyday people from bloggers to the North Dakota legislature which will introduce a resolution of support for the efforts to gain her release.
But it appears that until the holiday passes, the only option for Roxana is to pass yet more time confined in a prison near Tehran.
.
UPDATE: I've just spoken to Roxana's father, and I shared with him the concern and caring that people have expressed here and at Oxdown.
He will be talking with local media this afternoon about his open letter to the leadership of Iran. As soon as links to video are available, I'll post them.
One suggestion for those who want to help -- contact your Senators and Congresspeople and ask them to support the North Dakota Congressional delegation--Senators Dorgan and Conrad and Representative Pomeroy--in the efforts to bring Roxana home safe...and soon.
I'd add, ask the national media to pay attention, too.
It's time to bring Roxana home.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Financial Crimes Task Force Demand Letter
.
While the House committee grills Liddy about the AIG bonuses, while Bushie flies to Canada to crack jokes about his 8500 square-foot, $3 million house, while Obama says the buck stops with me and lashes out against the greed culture, two Senators have today launched an effort to have an Enron-style task force get to the bottom of the whole financial fiasco that has crippled the American economy. Maybe it's a nicely worded letter, but still the two Senators are cutting through the sturm und drang with a pointed request. From a press release just issued by the Senators:
While the House committee grills Liddy about the AIG bonuses, while Bushie flies to Canada to crack jokes about his 8500 square-foot, $3 million house, while Obama says the buck stops with me and lashes out against the greed culture, two Senators have today launched an effort to have an Enron-style task force get to the bottom of the whole financial fiasco that has crippled the American economy. Maybe it's a nicely worded letter, but still the two Senators are cutting through the sturm und drang with a pointed request. From a press release just issued by the Senators:
DORGAN, CANTWELL PUSH FOR FINANCIAL CRIMES TASK FORCE
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) are urging the nation’s Attorney General to establish an Economic Crisis Financial Crimes Task Force dedicated to investigating and prosecuting any criminal behavior that was involved in the events that caused our financial crisis.
The Senators pointed out that a similar task force was created in connection with the Enron scandal, and it was instrumental in bringing criminals to justice. Given the magnitude of the current economic crisis, Dorgan and Cantwell believe the creation of a Financial Crimes Task Force is necessary to shore up confidence in the economic system.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Irish Wish for AIG
.
St. Paddy's Day wish for AIG and the rest of the vandals and berserkers and barbarians still holding sway from the era o'Bushie...a curse still in play.
.
To the vandals of AIG and their minions near and far,
May the spirit of the Irish come crap upon your car.
You destroyed the American economy and now you whine
Oooh, oooh, them bonuses must be mine.
Yet while your eyes widen and your conniving brains spin
We've people living in tents and praying for regular meals ag'in.
'Tis a good time to be Irish or living with one, too.
'cause then I can take this moment to send this wish to you...
All of you, you know who you are.
Your craven greed and recklessness and avarice runs beyond the bar
of human decency and there should be just reward.
Not bonuses and big bucks lives, but a coat of feathers, richly tarred.
Yes, on this day of St. Paddy's here is my wish for the likes of you.
An indictment from Fitzgerald and the sting of his shillelagh, too.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
St. Paddy's Day wish for AIG and the rest of the vandals and berserkers and barbarians still holding sway from the era o'Bushie...a curse still in play.
.
To the vandals of AIG and their minions near and far,
May the spirit of the Irish come crap upon your car.
You destroyed the American economy and now you whine
Oooh, oooh, them bonuses must be mine.
Yet while your eyes widen and your conniving brains spin
We've people living in tents and praying for regular meals ag'in.
'Tis a good time to be Irish or living with one, too.
'cause then I can take this moment to send this wish to you...
All of you, you know who you are.
Your craven greed and recklessness and avarice runs beyond the bar
of human decency and there should be just reward.
Not bonuses and big bucks lives, but a coat of feathers, richly tarred.
Yes, on this day of St. Paddy's here is my wish for the likes of you.
An indictment from Fitzgerald and the sting of his shillelagh, too.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Three Critical Days for Roxana Saberi
.
News of any kind has been scant in the imprisonment in Iran of Roxana Saberi. Today, her father has told Fargo's Forum newspaper that the next three days will be critical toward the goal of her release.
Roxana Saberi grew up and attended schools in Fargo-Moorhead and began her journalism career here, one she continued while studying for her master's degree in Tehran. Now, that reporting may have led to her imprisonment these past six weeks.
The Saberi family attorney will be trying to determine if any actions have been taken in her case by Iranian officials. The Iranian New Year is approaching and Saberi's father says if no action is taken before that, she will be spending at least two more weeks in the prison.
Human Rights Watch and professional journalists' organizations as well as global media have appealed for her release. The family is also trying to work through the Japanese Embassy (Roxana's mother is Japanese).
For the Saberi family, the waiting is not idle...but it continues....
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
News of any kind has been scant in the imprisonment in Iran of Roxana Saberi. Today, her father has told Fargo's Forum newspaper that the next three days will be critical toward the goal of her release.
Roxana Saberi grew up and attended schools in Fargo-Moorhead and began her journalism career here, one she continued while studying for her master's degree in Tehran. Now, that reporting may have led to her imprisonment these past six weeks.
The Saberi family attorney will be trying to determine if any actions have been taken in her case by Iranian officials. The Iranian New Year is approaching and Saberi's father says if no action is taken before that, she will be spending at least two more weeks in the prison.
Human Rights Watch and professional journalists' organizations as well as global media have appealed for her release. The family is also trying to work through the Japanese Embassy (Roxana's mother is Japanese).
For the Saberi family, the waiting is not idle...but it continues....
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Friday, March 13, 2009
Remember to Thank a Union
.
If you've got the weekend off. If you've got health care for your family. If you consider yourself part of the middle class, even if times are tough...thank a union.
In the words of two plain-spoken Maine Republicans, America needs the Employee Free Choice Act [no matter what George McGovern and Warren Buffet may say]. America needs workers who are protected by the bargaining power of unions.
This appeal in honor of my original hero union man, my dad, a lifelong member of the IBEW, and for my son who just learned that picket lines and striking for workers' rights aren't just the stuff of dissertations, but real life challenges whatever the outcome.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
If you've got the weekend off. If you've got health care for your family. If you consider yourself part of the middle class, even if times are tough...thank a union.
In the words of two plain-spoken Maine Republicans, America needs the Employee Free Choice Act [no matter what George McGovern and Warren Buffet may say]. America needs workers who are protected by the bargaining power of unions.
So while you're out and about this weekend, one of the 90% still employed but enjoying your weekend...do more than thank a union. Drop a note to your congresspersons and ask them for speedy passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.Who brought us the weekend? Unions. Who rose with unions? The middle class. It just makes sense. Tens of millions of workers would join a union if they could. The problem is that if they try, and their employer resists, workers have only about a 20 percent chance of success.
This is because the current system for forming a union is unfairly tilted in the employer's favor.
That's just wrong. It's un-American and one more example of greed and power run amok.
This appeal in honor of my original hero union man, my dad, a lifelong member of the IBEW, and for my son who just learned that picket lines and striking for workers' rights aren't just the stuff of dissertations, but real life challenges whatever the outcome.
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crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Roxana's Two Minutes
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Roxana Saberi, currently imprisoned in Iran, finally had a scant two minutes to talk to her parents in Fargo Monday. She is, she told them, unharmed.
The family's attorney met with her Sunday and his recounting of that meeting to her father was also limited to two minutes.
Roxana is a student in Iran and has reported from there for the BBC, for NPR and others. Initial reports said she was arrested for buying a bottle of wine. Later, that was changed to say that she was arrested for reporting after her press credential stopped in 2006.
There have been big events hereabouts this week—in sports, in weather—but this is news that needs recounting.
There have been big events in the world this week—spree shootings, preening pundits pontificating on politics, Bristol's breakup. And the big media maw scoops 'em up and moves quickly on to the next.
We'd all do well to remember that real events keep on keeping on. They happen to real people. And one of those people is Roxana Saberi.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Roxana Saberi, currently imprisoned in Iran, finally had a scant two minutes to talk to her parents in Fargo Monday. She is, she told them, unharmed.
The family's attorney met with her Sunday and his recounting of that meeting to her father was also limited to two minutes.
Roxana is a student in Iran and has reported from there for the BBC, for NPR and others. Initial reports said she was arrested for buying a bottle of wine. Later, that was changed to say that she was arrested for reporting after her press credential stopped in 2006.
There have been big events hereabouts this week—in sports, in weather—but this is news that needs recounting.
There have been big events in the world this week—spree shootings, preening pundits pontificating on politics, Bristol's breakup. And the big media maw scoops 'em up and moves quickly on to the next.
We'd all do well to remember that real events keep on keeping on. They happen to real people. And one of those people is Roxana Saberi.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Marchy Madness
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Watch for it...the official according to Prairie Country declaration of the Cinderella team in the 2009 NCAA Tournament is the North Dakota State University Bison.
Last night, the Bison beat Oakland -- yes, Oakland! -- with a last second 3-pt shot to win 66-64.
You heard it here first...the Bison will be the team to watch. The incredible story of the little university that could rise from Division 2 to Division 1AA and enter the NCAA in our first year of eligibility.
Something to cheer about in these times.
.
Now back to our previously scheduled digging out of the blizzard.....
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crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Watch for it...the official according to Prairie Country declaration of the Cinderella team in the 2009 NCAA Tournament is the North Dakota State University Bison.
Last night, the Bison beat Oakland -- yes, Oakland! -- with a last second 3-pt shot to win 66-64.
You heard it here first...the Bison will be the team to watch. The incredible story of the little university that could rise from Division 2 to Division 1AA and enter the NCAA in our first year of eligibility.
the Bison became the first NCAA-recognized team since the 1970 Long Beach State squad to advance to the Big Dance in its first year of eligibility.Oh, and ESPN? Get it right. It's not N Dak State. It's NDSU. And it's the Bizon, the Mighty, Mighty Bizon...
Something to cheer about in these times.
.
Now back to our previously scheduled digging out of the blizzard.....
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Monday, March 9, 2009
Four-Letter Words Downsized
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Well, you knew it had to happen. The GOP has finally downsized the four-letter word.
I started thinking about this today, driving around in the pre-blizzard on black ice, tuning in local [Fargo] talk radio for the latest road reports. A caller diverted from the topic of the local Blues giving their execs beaucoup big salary increases to repeat a FOX LIE that Veep Biden and the AFL-CIO kept the press out of a speech he gave them.
Never mind that FOX itself already debunked its own LIE. But then you can't really call it debunking if they keep on repeating it, now can you?
FOX has taken on a new meta-strategy. RAP. Oh, not the Michael Steele kinda rap. Well not exactly.
The FOX RAP is Roger's Anti-American Propaganda. 'cause make no mistake, Roger and Rush and the rest of the rogues have all decided to declare a war of words on President Obama and his policy changes and initiatives to restore some semblance of democracy and balance to the United States of America.
So the predicate for every sentence uttered from the GOP and the wired-in lapdog media who recite their spin
Well, you knew it had to happen. The GOP has finally downsized the four-letter word.
I started thinking about this today, driving around in the pre-blizzard on black ice, tuning in local [Fargo] talk radio for the latest road reports. A caller diverted from the topic of the local Blues giving their execs beaucoup big salary increases to repeat a FOX LIE that Veep Biden and the AFL-CIO kept the press out of a speech he gave them.
Never mind that FOX itself already debunked its own LIE. But then you can't really call it debunking if they keep on repeating it, now can you?
FOX has taken on a new meta-strategy. RAP. Oh, not the Michael Steele kinda rap. Well not exactly.
The FOX RAP is Roger's Anti-American Propaganda. 'cause make no mistake, Roger and Rush and the rest of the rogues have all decided to declare a war of words on President Obama and his policy changes and initiatives to restore some semblance of democracy and balance to the United States of America.
So the predicate for every sentence uttered from the GOP and the wired-in lapdog media who recite their spin
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Howie the K's Moral Outrage
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Oh, my, Howie Kurtz is on a tear this morning. Ripping into Carville and Begala for tainting his precious CNN with their presence as guest pundits because they may have been too cozy with their ol' buddy Rahm about the matter of Drug-Rush Limbaugh.
And minutes later, reading with sarcasm dripping from his tongue, clips from newspapers that may imply that the media themselves are too cozy with the new O-crowd in DC.
I admit I was in and out a bit, so I may have missed his takedown of Roger Ailes, the head of an entire network that a whole lot of people actually think is a news channel, for saying they were going to battle against Obama until the last shot is fired.... Anybody see that? Did it happen?
That takes what one Kurtz guest called "narrowcasting"--instead of broadcasting--to a whole new level...of muck. And probably also explains the recent metamorphosis of CNBC from an obscure business network into the Santellized conservative network of GE-NBC.
Maybe Kurtz should look to his own political biases and cozy relationships and make them transparent. As Joan Walsh constructively noted at one point in the Begala Carville blather, she has no problem with them being on
Oh, my, Howie Kurtz is on a tear this morning. Ripping into Carville and Begala for tainting his precious CNN with their presence as guest pundits because they may have been too cozy with their ol' buddy Rahm about the matter of Drug-Rush Limbaugh.
And minutes later, reading with sarcasm dripping from his tongue, clips from newspapers that may imply that the media themselves are too cozy with the new O-crowd in DC.
I admit I was in and out a bit, so I may have missed his takedown of Roger Ailes, the head of an entire network that a whole lot of people actually think is a news channel, for saying they were going to battle against Obama until the last shot is fired.... Anybody see that? Did it happen?
That takes what one Kurtz guest called "narrowcasting"--instead of broadcasting--to a whole new level...of muck. And probably also explains the recent metamorphosis of CNBC from an obscure business network into the Santellized conservative network of GE-NBC.
Maybe Kurtz should look to his own political biases and cozy relationships and make them transparent. As Joan Walsh constructively noted at one point in the Begala Carville blather, she has no problem with them being on
Saturday, March 7, 2009
McCain's Golden Fleece
.
John McCain is channeling his inner William Proxmire these days as he rails--rightly--against the over-9000 earmarks in the budget.
I'm okay with that.
With this caveat. McCain owes us the due diligence of not just shooting off his mouth but engaging his brain trust aka staff to scratch the surface of what each earmark he specifically attacks does.
I take his basic point that there should be no earmarks, that if something truly merits funding it should stand the test of scrutiny for inclusion in the budget. Ho-kay.
But then what about these stats from his own...I was going to say "party" but we can fine tune this to his fellow Republican Arizona Senator. Courtesy ThinkProgress, Senator John Kyl, is one of the top earmarkers in the Senate, to the tune of $118 million in fiscal 2008.
Guess it's easy to be against earmarks when the other guy in the state is pushing through gazillions of 'em....
Hell, McCain could take his own colleague to the men's room stall, er, woodshed, and drum home his earmark philosophy and earn some street cred that legitimizes him. Or not.
But let's just say that ol' Kyl and the Republicans and Democrats who are all
John McCain is channeling his inner William Proxmire these days as he rails--rightly--against the over-9000 earmarks in the budget.
I'm okay with that.
With this caveat. McCain owes us the due diligence of not just shooting off his mouth but engaging his brain trust aka staff to scratch the surface of what each earmark he specifically attacks does.
I take his basic point that there should be no earmarks, that if something truly merits funding it should stand the test of scrutiny for inclusion in the budget. Ho-kay.
But then what about these stats from his own...I was going to say "party" but we can fine tune this to his fellow Republican Arizona Senator. Courtesy ThinkProgress, Senator John Kyl, is one of the top earmarkers in the Senate, to the tune of $118 million in fiscal 2008.
Guess it's easy to be against earmarks when the other guy in the state is pushing through gazillions of 'em....
Hell, McCain could take his own colleague to the men's room stall, er, woodshed, and drum home his earmark philosophy and earn some street cred that legitimizes him. Or not.
But let's just say that ol' Kyl and the Republicans and Democrats who are all
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Why Roxana Saberi Matters
.
Roxana Saberi has some pretty high-powered voices speaking out for her release these days. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urges her prompt freedom while expressing frustration at the difficulty of the current lack of direct diplomatic contacts. The Swiss are acting as intermediaries.
As well they should, given their collusion in robbing American citizens of tax resources by their complicity in the UBS secrecy scandal. But that's a subject for another time.
Hopefully the heavy hitters will produce speedy results and Roxana will be able to return to North Dakota and her waiting parents.
There's a teacher waiting for her, too, one of many. And her words about Roxana, her caring, are told within the context of the larger truth about what she teaches in her journalism classes, summed up in these words she cites of Pete Hamill:
Journalists are
Roxana may have been reporting beyond her legal authorization as Iranian representatives allege...once they stopped schlepping the "she bought a bottle of wine" story. Or she may have been completing her master's degree studies and compiling material for her book-in-progress.
But for those of us who have heard and seen her reporting, here in Fargo and from Tehran, we know she has stood head and shoulders above the precious prima donnas that pose and pontificate on too much of punditized media these days.
Hers is a voice of quiet reason that spoke with clarity about the people of Iran amid all the saber-rattling that the Military Industrial Media Class has been doing during the Bushie Era.
We look forward to when that voice is restored, that child of Fargo, that woman comes home.
Please follow this link and read Cathy McMullen's column from Fargo's Forum Thursday. Cathy is a professor at Concordia College where Roxana was her student.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Roxana Saberi has some pretty high-powered voices speaking out for her release these days. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urges her prompt freedom while expressing frustration at the difficulty of the current lack of direct diplomatic contacts. The Swiss are acting as intermediaries.
As well they should, given their collusion in robbing American citizens of tax resources by their complicity in the UBS secrecy scandal. But that's a subject for another time.
Hopefully the heavy hitters will produce speedy results and Roxana will be able to return to North Dakota and her waiting parents.
There's a teacher waiting for her, too, one of many. And her words about Roxana, her caring, are told within the context of the larger truth about what she teaches in her journalism classes, summed up in these words she cites of Pete Hamill:
Journalists are
“chosen by the tribe to carry the torch to the back of the cave and tell others what is there in the darkness.”That journalism, the noble kind worth practicing, is not based on how combative you can be in the White House press room, or how well you steno partisan spin to maintain your access, or any of the other warts that have befallen too much of the top o'the heap of the journalism profession.
Roxana may have been reporting beyond her legal authorization as Iranian representatives allege...once they stopped schlepping the "she bought a bottle of wine" story. Or she may have been completing her master's degree studies and compiling material for her book-in-progress.
But for those of us who have heard and seen her reporting, here in Fargo and from Tehran, we know she has stood head and shoulders above the precious prima donnas that pose and pontificate on too much of punditized media these days.
Hers is a voice of quiet reason that spoke with clarity about the people of Iran amid all the saber-rattling that the Military Industrial Media Class has been doing during the Bushie Era.
We look forward to when that voice is restored, that child of Fargo, that woman comes home.
Please follow this link and read Cathy McMullen's column from Fargo's Forum Thursday. Cathy is a professor at Concordia College where Roxana was her student.
.
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Where Is Roxana Saberi?
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Roxana Saberi was arrested a month ago in Iran where she had been attending graduate school and freelance reporting for NPR and the BBC, among others.
But here in Fargo, she is better known as a former news reporter at a local television station, a former Miss North Dakota, a graduate of North High and Concordia College across the river in Moorhead, slated to be the commencement keynote speaker in May at Concordia.
We don't know many details, except that her parents here in Fargo (her father is Iranian) were instructed not to report her arrest and subsequent disappearance, and they held their silence until now.
We talk in the blogosphere about the risks our military face if captured because of our conduct at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. Roxana is not a soldier. She is a student. And until recently she was permitted to file her freelance radio reports.
Now, her voice is silent. And the context is alarming.
We raise our voice asking the State Department, the Iranian government, the voices of all those who strive for a better world to do everything you can to bring Roxana home safe.
Her parents are waiting, and we, her hometown neighbors, are waiting, too.
.
UPDATE: Over at FDL, commenter cinnamonape provided this link:
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
Roxana Saberi was arrested a month ago in Iran where she had been attending graduate school and freelance reporting for NPR and the BBC, among others.
But here in Fargo, she is better known as a former news reporter at a local television station, a former Miss North Dakota, a graduate of North High and Concordia College across the river in Moorhead, slated to be the commencement keynote speaker in May at Concordia.
We don't know many details, except that her parents here in Fargo (her father is Iranian) were instructed not to report her arrest and subsequent disappearance, and they held their silence until now.
We talk in the blogosphere about the risks our military face if captured because of our conduct at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. Roxana is not a soldier. She is a student. And until recently she was permitted to file her freelance radio reports.
Now, her voice is silent. And the context is alarming.
We raise our voice asking the State Department, the Iranian government, the voices of all those who strive for a better world to do everything you can to bring Roxana home safe.
Her parents are waiting, and we, her hometown neighbors, are waiting, too.
.
UPDATE: Over at FDL, commenter cinnamonape provided this link:
Here’s the link to the heart-rending NPR Interview with her father..
crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette
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