Ahhh, the irony...

Guess who's posting about what he considers to be "one of the lowest points" for the White House Press Corps? If you guessed Jeff "Bulldog" Gannon, you're correct and possibly too cynical for your own good. See for yourself: here.

Jeff Gannon's apparently under the impression that Bill Maher is "obsessed" with him. Jeff is upset about Helen Thomas and Maher's conversation that makes mention of his strange insider treatment at the White House when he was posing as a journalist. Video of Helen with Bill at Crooks & Liars.

Dear Jeff,

You are not a journalist. You've never been a journalist. Your usefulness for the Bush/Cheney administration has long past. It's time to move on.

Regards,
Cali

Quotable

"These are very serious charges. They suggest that a senior White House aide put politics ahead of our national security and the rule of law.

This case is bigger than the leak of highly classified information. It is about how the Bush White House manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to bolster its case for the war in Iraq and to discredit anyone who dared to challenge the president.

It’s now time for President Bush to lead and answer the very serious questions raised by this investigation. The American people have already paid too steep a price as a result of misconduct at the White House, and they deserve better."
~ Senator Harry Reid

Quotable

"The shocking thing about the trellis of revelations showing Dick Cheney, the self-styled Mr. Strong America, as the central figure in dark conspiracies to juice up a case for war and demonize those who tried to tell the public the truth is how un-shocking it all is."
~ Maureen Dowd

Dick at the Heart of Darkness

The Mysteries of the Trail

This sign was posted at the entrance of the trail I walk 4 to 6 miles on each day. The tarantula was spotted on this trail. It's custom to place found objects on top of posts and usually these are baby toys, shoes and socks that have been secretly liberated out of strollers. This sign signals weirdness. First, how do you lose an upper set of dentures on a walking/biking trail? And, the sign itself is strange but in a way I appreciate. It's the stickers. Especially the Goofy sticker. Goofy is smiling broadly and looks as if he's missing his upper set of dentures but is otherwise dandy.

This is just one more reason why I love where I live. It's quirky here. Sort of like the northern California version of "Northern Exposure." One of these days I'll post about the drive-thru shoe repair shop on Main Street.

Aspen in the High Sierra

We went for a top down drive a couple days ago in the late afternoon looking for some fall color. Found it at this bend in the road.

Remembrance

Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.
~ Rosa Parks

A Horrific Milestone: 2000 Americans Killed in Iraq

Information about the organizations participating in tomorrow's vigil and how you can be involved at The Xoff Files.

Hey, Wanna Watch a Cartoon?

Here's a well-made cartoon all about Ah-nold's right-wing Republican friends:

Ah-nold's Neighborhood

'Bout Time I Got the Memo

You know, the memo about the new cover sheets for the TSP reports. Finally watched Mike Judge's "Office Space" the other night. Wish I would have watched it armed with dart guns (the kind with suction cups that would stick to the screen) and margaritas with another oppressed co-worker when this first came out in 1999. Not bad, but too male-focused. The only female characters were Jennifer Aniston playing a waitress rebelling against the tyranny of the mandatory pieces of flair (yawn) and the main character's cheating girlfriend. Seeing corporate Austin through Judge's eyes was interesting though.

Quotable

"The real crime is that there's an adult man in this administration walking around with the name "Scooter."
~ David Letterman

Have any lingering questions about Plamegate? Al and Dave explain it all: Crooks & Liar video (QT).

Panda Cam

You can watch moments from Tai Shan's (the panda cub at the National Zoo) recent check-up via a Washington Post video by Stacey Tabeloario of the National Zoo. Have you heard the sounds a panda cub makes? Mega-cute.

Under the Milky Way

Sometimes when this place gets kind of empty
Sound of their breath fades with the light
I think about the loveless fascination
Under the Milky Way tonight

Lower the curtain down on Memphis
Lower the curtain down all right
I got no time for private consultation
Under the Milky Way tonight

CHORUS:
Wish I knew what you were looking for
Might have known what you would find
Wish I knew what you were looking for
Might have known what you would find

And it's something quite peculiar
Something shimmering and white
Leads you here despite your destination
Under the Milky Way tonight

CHORUS

Under the Milky way tonight..
Under the Milky Way tonight...

(the Church)

I adore this song. That's all.

True Confessions: I Love Joni, Too

I can't remember when I heard Joni Mitchell for the first time. It's like trying to remember what it was like before knowing how to read. It seems like Joni's music has always been a part of my life.

I am a woman of heart and mind
With time on her hands
No child to raise
You come to me like a little boy
And I give you my scorn and my praise
You think I’m like your mother
Or another lover or your sister
Or the queen of our dreams
Or just another silly girl
When love makes a fool of me

~ A Woman of Heart & Mind

Here's my shameful confession: yesterday when thinking about answering the QOTD at Shake's Sis (it was something like which 5 people would you like to have a drink and conversation with), I thought of Joni first, but didn't even list her. Why? I blame it on Nick Hornby (and my insecurity). Nick Hornby killed loving Joni in his otherwise great novel, "About a Boy." He may have also snuck in an anti-Joni crack in "High Fidelity" too. Bastard.

Anyway, I love Joni like no other muscian. She's the best. Here's some evidence - look at all the songs she's inspired: Songs About Joni.

Hat tip to Viscount LeCarte who got me thinking about Joni.

You Gotta Read This

David Goodman's article about Paul Hackett is making a believer out of me. OK, I was most of the way there already, but this got me all the way home: The Ohio Insurgency: The Democrat Who Fought.

And, you'll also want to watch this video of Hackett with Bill Maher on Crooks & Liars: video.

Just Like Starting Over

You may have noticed, the place has a new look. I wrecked the other place when installing Haloscan. I'd been thinking of changing templates but this was a sudden move made necessary by my blundering. I should never go into the template alone.

Well, it is just like starting over. Somethings are left behind unfortunately, like the comments you've made that I've so appreciated. But maybe this will turn out OK ultimately. So, please excuse any weirdness as I settle in to the new digs.

Quotable

"It blows my mind, because [unlike conservatives] we don't have to put the word 'compassionate' in front of it to say we actually give a shit about people. I'm going to keep saying 'liberal' as loud as I can and as often as I can."
~ George Clooney

Season of the Witch

When we went for a walk a couple days ago, we encountered a tarantula on the walking trail. I had no idea they lived here. As we stood there watching this huge spider walk around in circles in front of us, we started imaging that it must be someone's 'pet' since it seemed unconcerned with us. I was pretty calm.

And then, a couple of other walkers joined us and the guy said, "Oh no, that's not someone's pet, they live here. They like to climb the trees and they like to rumage through the oak leaves on the ground." This freaked me out. Now I imagine the oak trees surrounding our house to be full of huge spiders. Every time I hear oak leaves rustle, I wonder if it's wind caused rustling or giant spider caused rustling. I'm getting a stomach ache just thinking about this and looking for the photo to post didn't help. Did you know that it's fairly common for people to have their picture taken while letting these huge, hairy spiders crawl on them? Very disturbing.

Maybe there's a reason for all the giant spider symbolism this time of year. You know, Halloween and all that. If you're uncomfortable with this story and the photo, check out Blue Girl's Mummy Weenies. They're cute as heck and the double entendre are plentiful.

What Two Thousand Looks Like

Watch this video.

"The truth is, the administration's mishandling of the war in Iraq has made us less safe, and Iraq risks becoming what it was not before the war: a training ground for terrorists...
We cannot continue to stay the course, we must change the course. The American people and our brave men and women in Iraq deserve better.” ~ Sen. Harry Reid

Update - This is what Marie had to say about this video at her blog, The Right LEFT Story:

Each one has a face. Each one left loved ones behind. Each day the list grows longer. Each day Rumsfeld remains in charge there will be more. We need someone who knows what they're doing to be in charge of our future in Iraq so no more faceless names will be published at the DoD.

Quote of the Day

"I read recently that Hunter Thompson once complained that the world wasn't weird enough for him. And I thought, Hunter, you should have come with me, and I could have shown you weird! Just go into the heartland of America, and its corporate business culture. It gets weird fast."
~ Barbara Ehrenreich

Quote of the Day

“In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we have a historic opportunity. The country is hungry for change and we do not have to live in an America that accepts poverty as a fact of life or chooses to ignore it.”
~ Senator John Edwards

Yo La Tengo

Things in life I really enjoy: swimming (just being near enough to clean, beautiful water to see it and/or hear it is also wonderful), reading, hiking in the mountains and listening to good music. I don't spend enough time doing these things lately.

Right now, I favor listening to Yo La Tengo, Wilco, Whiskeytown and Gillian Welch.

If you're not familar with Yo La Tengo, here are two MP3s courtesy of the offical Yo La Tengo website:
Little Eyes
Don't Have to Be So Sad (Strangely, one of the Whiskeytown songs I really like is titled, "Don't Be Sad.")

Crawford, of course, is another story...

There were three of these billboard things in a very small radius. The first one we saw as we pulled into Crawford was the one on the right. We pulled over onto the shoulder of the road and I hopped out to take a quick picture. Within seconds a police car approached from the other direction and parked on the shoulder of the road a little past us on the other side of the road. Intimidating. Good thing I held off on applying my "Bush is a Punk-Ass Chump" bumpersticker until we were out of Texas. There was nothing to indicate we were anything but idiots who adore Bush so much we wanted to take a picture of one of his shrines, so after a few strange & intense moments, the officer pulled away and left us. Yep, we sure felt welcome in Crawford.

Look at that welcome photo at the top. Bush's nonverbals actually say the opposite of 'welcome' to me. He looks ready to stiff arm us. "Get away! Especially you Cindy Sheehan and your entourage of hippy nogoodniks."

Crawford was both pretty and very creepy at the same time. I won't be back anytime soon.

I just helped someone move from Santa Barbara, CA to Austin, TX. I used to live in Santa Barbara. On our last day there, Mr. Dem and I went out to eat at one of our favorite resturants at the beach. While we were waiting for our food, I was watching the brown pelicans and suddenly started to cry - really cry. Sort of embarrassing. When the waitress came with our food, she gave Mr. Dem a dirty look. I think she thought he was breaking up with me or something. Now, contrast this with my latest leave taking from living in a red state. I had the strong urge to do a two-handed birdie salute (a friend of mine actually did this as they left town two years earlier) but didn't for two reasons: (1) safety - I was driving on a steep winding road with a nervous cat (2) I'd already been giving this salute in the weeks before moving day.

So, anyway, I took this silly on-line test & these are "my" American cities:

American Cities That Best Fit You:

65% Honolulu

60% Chicago

60% Philadelphia

60% San Francisco

60% Seattle

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Score One for the Birds

From Reuters:

A Swedish hunter was knocked unconscious after his son shot a flying Canadian goose which then fell onto his head, news agency TT reported Wednesday.

"I guess it wanted revenge," hunter Ulf Ilback told local newspaper Extra Ostergotland, according to TT.

Ilback said he had to stay in bed for two days after being knocked out by the goose, which fell from around 60 feet. The birds can weigh up 13 pounds.