All Holy Hell

From the NY Times: A wave of recent attacks shows that the Taliban, al-Qaeda and militant groups are tightening an alliance aimed at bringing down the Pakistani state.

This is why I get so irked when I see Americans not balancing their mind-numbing reality TV with some hard, solid news. You see, Pakistan has nuclear weapons (a fact, I would bet, that a large majority of Americans don't know). If the Taliban and al-Qaeda are successful in taking over Pakistan...well...I think you get the picture.

The Cajun Time Travel Machine

Traveling back to 1962 at lightening speed.

From the Huffington Post:

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have.

Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."

If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said. "I try to treat everyone equally," he said.

The Morning News

- Bank of America posted a $2.2 billion loss in the third quarter. Perhaps the talking heads are a bit premature in their assessment that the Great Recession is over.

- Bush, redux: The British intelligence chief issued a passionate defense of his country's cooperation with the Bush administration in torturing terrorist suspects in the aftermath of 9/11.

- Washington Post:

President Obama has not made significant progress in his plan to infuse federal courts with a new cadre of judges, and liberal activists are beginning to blame his administration for moving too tentatively on what they consider a key priority.

Eight years of hard-lined conservative activists were put on the bench under George W. Bush. Mr. Obama needs to get moving in order to put some balance back in the judiciary.

Faith

A great new ad from the folks fighting the good fight in Maine...

Eating Their Own

When you can fall no further, when you wish you could go back to the days of simply being decimated, it comes to this...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Morning News

- Over 30 people are reported dead following coordinated attacks on three law enforcement agencies in Lahore, Pakistan this morning.

- Summer in the Arctic could be ice-free within ten years, according to global warming experts.

- While most of the globe is a decade into the 21st century, the Saudis are a step closer to joining the 20th: A new eco-friendly graduate school opened in Saudi Arabia that will allow male and female students to study side-by-side.

- The dumbing down of America continues:

The latest results on the most important nationwide math test show that student achievement grew faster during the years before the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, when states were dominant in education policy, than over the years since...

On the most recent test, 39 percent of fourth graders and 34 percent of eighth graders scored at or above the proficient level.

The "S" Curve

It snarled traffic around the Bay area well into the early evening. In fact it took me two-and-a-half hours to get home last night via an alternate route.

Such is life when you live in San Francisco and work in the suburbs (or vice-versa).

At about 2:30pm yesterday, a Safeway truck loaded with food flipped over on its side, blocking the four right lanes of the Bay Bridge right at the new temporary "S" curve near the tunnel at Treasure Island.

The impact on traffic was swift and immediate. The Bridge backed up all the way past the metering lights and toll plaza, back through the connecting highways of "the maze" and beyond. Drivers were blanketed with messages from radio and cell phone to take alternate routes into the city.

I had stopped at Trader Joe's near work on my way home to pick up a few odds and ends. I put my groceries in the back seat and got into my car around 4:55pm, just in time to hear the 4:58pm traffic report on KGO-AM, where I heard of the accident, and how the Bridge and surrounding highways were at a stand still. The radio news reporters talked with an anchor from KGO-Channel 7 (ABC) who said he had been on the Bridge for two-and-a-half hours at that point, had stopped moving, and that people had turned off their cars and were standing outside chatting with each other.

As I approached the Nimitz (I-880), I decided I would take the freeway south toward the San Mateo Bridge, get across that span, and then take the 101 north into the city. It's a round about way, but on a good day the commute would take me about an hour.

At that point, however, the Nimitz was a slow moving parking lot. I never went over 20 mph, and it took me an hour and ten minutes to get to the San Mateo Bridge (just under half the trip). Two-and-a-half hours after leaving Trader Joe's, at about 7:30pm, I walked in the front door.

Sexy Otters, "Glee," and Dionne Warwick

What happens when you mix the three?

Mid-Week Brain Break

A rottweiler and his new best bud...

It's all fun & games...

...until she gets into an accident.

This is the second time California's illustrious first lady has been photographed breaking the cell phone law signed by her husband last year.

Ruined Lives

Lt. Colonel Victor Fehrenbach has appeared on Rachel Maddow's show before, but last night's appearance was different. He was beside himself with stress, anger, and fear, because, despite 18 solid years of grade-A service to his country, Lt. Col. Fehrenbach is about to be fired from the armed forces because he is gay.

In a country that is fighting two wars (and has been for eight years, causing multiple deployments for most troops), in a country that needs as many Arabic-speaking linguists as possible to fight those wars, that the Pentagon is still discharging men and women who are serving honorably is wrong beyond measure. (An aside: We would do well to remind the Commander-in-Chief that the very first casualty in the Iraq War was Staff Sergeant Eric Alva, a gay man who lost his leg after stepping on a land mine on March 21, 2003.)

That the President and the congress have taken so long to move to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell is unfathomable. Lives are being ruined here, folks! I understand there are many important things on Mr. Obama's plate at the moment, that the pile of shit left behind by the Bush administration is mountainous. But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are two major piles in that mess, and removing troops from service simply because they are gay isn't just morally wrong...it's unpatriotic.


The President and congress need to act on this soon. The politics in D.C. will more than likely change a bit next year, and the likelihood of overturning DADT will diminish greatly.

Fact-Checking the Fact-Checkers

Jon Stewart absolutely destroys CNN...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
CNN Leaves It There
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Little Miss Chloe

Last week, during a walk at Fort Funston...

The Obama Peace Prize

The fascists of the right wing echo chamber still don't get it. For just about the entirety of the 20th century, the United States enjoyed high favorable ratings around the globe. Our great nation was looked to as the bright beacon of liberty and freedom to a world continually torn apart by failed leadership, war, and famine. Then, in early 2003, the administration of George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq. It was, they explained, a necessary war in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Only, it wasn't. It was a war of choice, sold to the American people and the entire world on the basis of false and fabricated intelligence; thousands of American soldiers sent to their graves on the wings of a lie. The administration broke international law, condoned torture, and essentially told the rest of the world to fuck off, insisting that the U.S. had the right to do what it pleased, when it pleased. By the end of 2008, the result of such iron-fisted governance was a world at the abyss, with America's reputation in tatters.

With last year's election of Barack Obama, the American people said, "Enough!" Having got the choice wrong in 2004, voters turned the page and closed out a very sad chapter in our history. Since taking office in January, President Obama has worked slowly and methodically to restore American values and leadership in an effort to sooth global nerves, assuring allies and enemies alike that we really aren't the belligerent bully the minions of the Bush administration made us out to be; that we can truly abide by international law, and live up to promises made in long standing treaties.

Last week's Nobel Peace Prize was recognition of that effort.

(Photo: Matthew Cavanaugh, European Pressphoto Agency)

Schwarzenegger

The conventional wisdom was that he would veto the bills, however last night Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican-CA) signed legislation that would grant same sex couples married in other states the same level of civil union protections granted to similar couples here in California, as well as legislation making Harvey Milk Day a statewide holiday.

Uhhh...Mr. President...the Governor would like to have a word with you.

America Hearts Barack

Despite efforts by the Glenn Beck/Rush Limbaugh wing of the Republican Party to destroy the presidency of Barack Obama, new polling shows the American people approving rather strongly of the President's job performance:

Gallup:
Approve 56%
Disapprove 36%

For reference, George W. Bush's approval rating when he left office was 34%. His disapproval was a whopping 61%.

I'm Back

I couldn't stay away long, however my return to the blogosphere will be a tad bit different. I may not post everyday, and my posts will probably be limited in number. Probably one or two main posts every day or every other day, with occasional "fluff" and personal anecdotes, and, of course, the Saturday music playlists.

It's good to be back. Thanks for being so patient while I was away.

Autumn Weekend In SF

It's a crisp, cool autumn day here in San Francisco's Noe Valley. These tracks provide the perfect soundtrack. Press play and enjoy...



Playlist:

The Breach - Bob Mould
17 Again - Eurythmics
L.I.E. - N'dambi
Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics
Eden Is Burning - John Mellencamp
Heavy Cross - The Gossip
When I'm With You - M.E.G.
Ball & Chain - Elton John
Sugar Tongue - Indigo Girls
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Wings
Back Stabbers - The O'Jays
Goodbye Baby - Fleetwood Mac

Back on Monday

Decision made: I'll bring the blog back on Monday. Thanks to everyone who weighed in. I appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

What Say You?

So, I'm thinking about returning to the blogosphere. I'd keep the same basic template: politics, music, light-hearted fare, probably a slight increase in personal posts...but probably done at slower pace than I was doing originally.

What do you think?