cal's blog

Happy Sunday Democratic, Independent, and Republican readers!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend, so far.  As always, there's plenty to chatter about in the world of politics.  But Sundays, if we so choose, can be a day of tuning out and relaxation.

Today is no exception in that regard as documentary filmmaker extraordinaire, Ken Burns, and his new series on our national parks begins today on your local PBS station.  The series is six episodes and will run every night this week through Friday.   As they say, "check your local listings."  I know I already have my DVR set for the week.

The latest Burns series is titled, "The National Parks: America’s Best Idea" and was written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan.  The twelve-hour series took ten years to make and it cost a whopping $15 million dollars.  Wow! 

CNN reports that:  "A parade of world leaders took the lectern at the United Nations on Wednesday. But days before the speeches on a host of issues, the global body quietly undertook an issue that often flies under the radar: Women."

Well, 'bout time, wouldn't you say?

Last week, the United Nations consolidated four agencies that tackle women's issues and created a new super agency.... 

 

The 1945 charter on which the United Nations was founded mandates equal rights for men and women. Since then, the United Nations has added new agencies that focus specifically on children, the environment, refugees, health, education, atomic energy and Palestinians. All report directly to the secretary general, except the agencies pertaining to women.

 

Women's advocates said the agencies were run by lower-ranking officials and lacked clout....

 

Ahead of this week's U.N. meetings, UNIFEM issued a report on the progress of women's rights, part of a set of development goals that global agencies have committed to achieving by 2015.

 

Mark Halperin of "The Page" http://tinyurl.com/yb5dma2 reports that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has chosen former DNC Chair Paul Kirk as Teddy Kennedy's interim successor.  Kirk was a long-time confidant of the late senator and it had been reported that Teddy's two sons hoped he would be the one to get the nod.  Kirk will serve until a permanent successor is elected next January 19th.

Kirk called the appointment a "profound honor" that he accepted with "sincere humility." He said he would retain Kennedy's staff. President Obama has issued a statement saying "Paul Kirk is a distinguished leader, whose long collaboration with Senator Kennedy makes him an excellent, interim choice to carry on his work until the voters make their choice in January."

Your thoughts about this choice?

(With a most grateful tip of the hat to Pacific John @ Alegre's Corner http://tinyurl.com/pdj79e)

 Enjoy.

It's the weekend, feel like dancing? 

They did!  http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8164491 

Wedding party boogies down the aisle.  (Can't post video here because YouTube took it down.)  Now this is how a joyous occasion should be celebrated.

More fun - kitty sez "oh no, you din't!"

Something you're just itching to comment about? Here's your chance.

With a tip of the hat to NC Girl for this one. John Zeigler, the guy who interviewed Governor Palin about the media, on "The View":

It's Inauguration Day.  Welcome friends, guests and lurkers.

Anything on your mind today?  Don't be shy!  Heh.

Photo:  Doug Mills/The New York Times

Here's a link to Hillary's confirmation hearing (she brought Chelsea with her), if you don't mind hearing Kerry and Lugar drone on and on and on...

http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream3  If that doesn't work for some reason, go to cnn.com and there's a link at the top of the page.

Anything else on your mind?  Have at it, here.

...and she gets it, $550,000 worth of it!  What do we have as a nice parting gift?

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the "George W. Bush State China":

Oh, but wait, there's more.

Bush has announced a new two-china policy. For those more informal family occasions, with two young children prone to oopsies! as all children are, Family Obama be dining on the budget $76,000 version featuring a magnolia painted by a Hungarian-born artist.

"The china shows the taste of the day. It records history," White House social secretary Amy Zantzinger said. 

As you've probably heard by now, our dear leader, Dubya, made a surprise visit to Iraq. (Did he ever make any other kind of visits?) He was met with at least one good-bye Iraqi kiss that came in size 10. From the BBC:

"The soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture.

[snip]

In the middle of the news conference with Mr Maliki, a reporter stood up and shouted "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," before hurtling his shoes at Mr Bush, narrowly missing him.

Some days you just need stories like this:

"Homeless dog tries to save dog hit by car in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile – Chileans have a new hero: an apparently homeless dog that pulled the body of another dog through traffic off a busy highway. A surveillance camera on a Santiago freeway captured images of a dog trotting past speeding cars to pull the lifeless body of the other canine, which had been run over by a vehicle, away from traffic and onto the median strip.

[snip]

Authorities say images of the rescue prompted some people to call and offer to adopt the dog, but neither highway workers nor a television crew could find the animal."

That was no animal, that was an angel.

Our ally, Heidi Li, has a wonderful post up at her blog, "Heidi Li's Potpourri." http://tdg.typepad.com/heidi_lis_potpourri/2008/11/could-you-stop-braying-at-me.html

In part:

"I recommend that when somebody tells you Senator Clinton is shrill (as a colleague of mine kept shouting in the hallways of my workplace all primary season), you say, "Could you stop braying at me?"

Heidi is responding to the new round of CDS (Clinton Derangement Syndrome) MSM pieces appearing in the last few days after Madam Secretary-to-be's nomination was announced. I guess now that Governor Palin is back in Alaska, it's back to business-as-usual with the Hillary bashing.

They always have to have some woman to ridicule, don't they?

At 11:00 a.m. ET today, PEBO announced his new "security team." The one who should rightfully be announcing her team was named secretary of state.

Madam Secretary Clinton

So, what are your thoughts today? This is an open thread.

Today we honor our veterans, but we also remember our women and men who are serving and fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

 "Women are engaged in combat, flying fighters and attack helicopters, manning machine guns on patrols and earning awards for valor. They have forever dispelled the macho myth that only men can cope with the violence, tedium and stress of warfare." ~John Cloe Anchorage Daily News

UPDATE:  THE CHAT IS NOW OPEN!

For some reason, I just feel like listening to the sweet and comforting voice of Judy "Blue Eyes" Collins today.  Here she is below with Pete Seeger performing his song, "Turn Turn Turn."  So no matter what happens today, remember, we're gonna be here for one another.  "...I swear it's not too late."

Now, go on, speak up - you KNOW you've got a lot to get off your chest today, of all days.  What are you feeling this election day, 2008? 

And please, if you witnessed any fraud or voting hanky panky, please report it here and elsewhere!  Already reports of voter fraud for BO in Philadelphia this morning where, before anyone even voted, votes were recorded on the machines for TheOne.

UPDATE:  Heidi reports:

Fundraising Progress - 11/2 1 pm

Thank you, Partizaners!

Or a ten or a twenty for an important last-chance effort to help defeat TheOne?  It's for a worthy cause, if ever one existed.

Crossposted here in its entirety from http://thenewagenda.net/2008/10/31/sarah-palin-a-rorschach-for-feminists/ , with express permission of the author, Artemis March, PhD

Trick or treat, y'all! What's on your mind this spooooky day?

This is an open thread, so yakkity yak.  Be forewarned, we have been known to "talk back."

"WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) ― A Halloween decoration showing a mannequin dressed as vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin hanging by a noose from the roof of a West Hollywood home is drawing giggles from some passers-by and gasps of outrage from others. The mannequin is dressed in brunet wig, glasses and a red business suit. Another mannequin dressed as John McCain emerges from a flaming chimney."

http://cbs2.com/local/Sarah.Palin.mannequin.2.849299.html

It's all in good fun, says the funny guy. After all, it's Halloween, so that makes it jussst fine, right?

I'm sure Mr. hahaha guy will put one up of Obama/Biden real soon.  Now that one would probably get him a visit from the Secret Service.

"Sunday Morning Coming Down", as performed by the man-in-black, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson, who penned the song.  At the time Kristofferson wrote "Sunday Morning..." in the 60's, he was a late 20-something, hard living, recently-divorced janitor, who was struggling with the letdown emptiness of Sunday mornings after the "highs" of the night before.

Well, we have beautiful blue skies and a sunny, crisp, gorgeous fall day surrounding Casa Cal.  I'm re-watching last night's TIVO'd SNL, with my morning cup of Earl Grey in hand, and still giggling a bit about Sarah Palin's appearance.  At least they weren't mean to her.

Only two and a half weeks left until we know who our new prez will be.  Oh wait...the election's already been decided, right?  ;)  

Yes, boys and girls, what we've all been led to believe this past year and a half is actually true!  Minister Farrakhan confims it for us right here:

Now, I have no way of knowing if the video's host is some wingnut (quite likely is), but wowie zowie, the video speaks for itself.  We have received "the sign." He is our Messiah, at least according to Minister F.  ::diarist rolls eyes::

Happy Birthday to Paul Simon, who is 67 years old today!  OMG, can you believe it?  (I bet he can't either.)

"Facts can be turned into art if one is artful enough."~Paul Simon

So, what's on your mind today?  Yakkity yak - this is the place to do it.

dakinikat, one of the newer contributors over at The Confluence, has a vewwy, vewwy interesting post up today about Senator Obama. It's a juicy little investigative piece about that something something on the candidate's resume' that jusssttt didn't smell quite right. You know, that oft-repeated lofty claim of his that he was the "first African American editor of the Harvard Law Review."  Not quite, Senator Obama.

Well now, have we been telling a wee fib, Senator (in my best church lady voice)? dakinikat, with only a modicum of investigation, has quickly busted that lie. Turns out not only does he have an anorexic resume', but what he does list is beefed up with untruths. I'm shocked, I tells ya!

So according to Jonathan Martin over at Politico, Governor Palin fired another shot across the bow today at bambi on his Ayers connection.  Her role is that of Mac's hammer, and she's already at journeywoman level. 

According to Martin, at a fundraising luncheon in Jacksonville, FL, Palin also served up a push-back on Social Security, Florida style:

So, will John McCain throttle Obama tonight with Ayers?  Will bambi go all Keating Five on Mac?  Whaddya think's gonna happen?

Step right up to the open mic, tell us what's on your mind this "Tuesday Afternoon."  As for me, I'm quite ready for this election to be over.  Hurry Tuesday, November 4.

And don't forget, live debate chat here tonight!  Be there or be square.