Labels: art appreciation, politics

Labels: politics, watching the skies

Labels: blogospheric navel-gazing

Labels: felicity and jocularity

I think we've reached a signal point in the campaign. This is the point where, with Hillary Clinton, either you get it or you don't. There's no dodging now. You either understand the problem with her candidacy, or you don't. You either understand who she is, or not. And if you don't, after 16 years of watching Clintonian dramas, you probably never will.

That's what the Bosnia story was about. Her fictions about dodging bullets on the tarmac -- and we have to hope they were lies, because if they weren't, if she thought what she was saying was true, we are in worse trouble than we thought -- either confirmed what you already knew (she lies as a matter of strategy, or, as William Safire said in 1996, by nature) or revealed in an unforgettable way (videotape! Smiling girl in pigtails offering flowers!) what you feared (that she lies more than is humanly usual, even politically usual).

But either you get it now or you never will. That's the importance of the Bosnia tape.

...

What struck me as the best commentary on the Bosnia story came from a poster called GI Joe who wrote in to a news blog: 'Actually Mrs. Clinton was too modest. I was there and saw it all. When Mrs. Clinton got off the plane the tarmac came under mortar and machine gun fire. I was blown off my tank and exposed to enemy fire. Mrs. Clinton without regard to her own safety dragged me to safety, jumped on the tank and opened fire, killing 50 of the enemy.' Soon a suicide bomber appeared, but Mrs. Clinton stopped the guards from opening fire. 'She talked to the man in his own language and got him [to] surrender. She found that he had suffered terribly as a result of policies of George Bush. She defused the bomb vest herself.' Then she turned to his wounds. 'She stopped my bleeding and saved my life. Chelsea donated the blood.'

Made me laugh. It was like the voice of the people answering back. This guy knows that what Mrs. Clinton said is sort of crazy. He seems to know her reputation for untruths. He seemed to be saying, 'I get it.'

Labels: politics

MCCAIN: I believe we should close Guantanamo and work with our allies to forge a new international understanding on the disposition of dangerous detainees under our control.

We and the other nations of the world must get serious about substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years, or we will hand off a much diminished world to our grandchildren. We need a successor to the Kyoto treaty, a cap-in-trade system that delivers the necessary environmental impact in an economically responsible manner. We Americans must lead by example and encourage the participation of the rest of the world.

January 2008 has been an exceptional month for winter weather, not only in North America but across the globe, according to numerous indicators.

We've had anecdotal evidence of odd weather in the form of wire reports from China, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, and record-setting cold and snow have been felt with intensity not seen for 30 to 100 years, depending on the region.

We also have reports of significant negative anomalies in the global satellite data for the lower troposphere. There has been a global drop in temperature of 0.63º Centigrade in the past 12 months. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA} has announced that January 2008 was below twentieth century temperature averages.

Arctic sea ice has quickly recovered from the record low extent of summer 2007. Although a massive La Niña weather pattern might be the driver behind all of this, the changing weather may also be a harbinger of a more long-term phase shift, according to veteran forecaster Joe Bastardi.


Said Bastardi, "The maturation of the La Niña to its classic major cold look, both in the equatorial Pacific waters and the amazing amount of the Northern Hemisphere troposphere that is covered by colder-than-normal temperatures, is not only a major driving force in the everyday weather picture of Earth, but is a sign that in the end, it is nature, not man, that will have its way with the weather.

"It is straight out of the book of climate," Bastardi adds. "The pattern is so much like the 1949-1950 La Niña, which was signaling the start of the reversal of the warming of the Earth's climate in the 1930s, '40s, and early '50s. Only someone choosing to ignore it, or not wanting to see it, would not be cognizant of it."

Labels: politics

Labels: heart

Gracias.

Labels: felicity and jocularity, society and culture

It's not all that original to note that much of Obama's rhetoric is pretty vague -- often vapid. But I've begun to notice how many things Obama regards as distractions. When he labels a given issue a 'distraction,' he's saying that someone is whipping up a an issue from whole cloth simply for political gain.

So who does he think is being insincere: gays who want to marry, or people of faith who think marriage is for a man and a woman? How about in the competition between border enforcement advocates and those who want amnesty for illegal aliens? Or between those who favor abortion on demand, and those who believe life begins at conception?

All of these are important public policy questions, with divisions among Americans that prevent easy solutions. Obama shouldn't denigrate broad swaths of the population just because it would be difficult to address their concerns.

Hillary's dodge was always to claim she couldn't talk about scandals, as they were under investigation, and then, after the investigation had been completed, and had by no means cleared her, simply failed to produce criminal charges, state "All these questions were answered long ago," apparently forgetting that she had always refused to answer any of these questions long ago.

For Obama, it's different. A true child of the Netroots, any topic which is politically disadvantageous to him is a distraction from what really matters, namely, any topic which is politically advantageous to him.

Labels: politics

Labels: heart, spiritual

Labels: heart

Labels: heart

Federal authorities and Tempe-based US Airways Group Inc. are investigating the accidental discharge of a pilot's gun during a March 22 flight.

The gun went off during a flight from Denver to Charlotte, N.C., said US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant. There were no injuries.

Labels: firearms, security

Labels: health and lifestyle, preparedness, resources

Labels: society and culture

Labels: art appreciation

Labels: resources

To achieve the change the country wants, he says, 'we need a leader who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and bring Democrats, independents and Republicans together to get things done.'

Obama, in an interview, said that "a lot of these old labels don't apply anymore."

He said he was a progressive and a pragmatist, eager to tackle the big issues like health care and convinced that the Democrats could rally independents and disaffected Republicans to their agenda.

Only then, he said, could the party achieve what it has so rarely won in modern presidential elections - a mandate to do big things.

Obama's rise has been built in part on the idea that he represents a break with the established identities that have defined many of the nation's divisions. To many, he embodies a promise to bridge black and white, old and young, rich and poor - and Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Even so, Obama does not come to the campaign with a reputation as one of the accommodating bridge-builders in the Senate. His voting record, albeit short, is to the left; the National Journal declared it the most liberal of 2007. Congressional Quarterly said he voted with his party 97 percent of the time on party-line votes that year.

Obama has been endorsed by advocacy groups like MoveOn.org that are anathema to Republicans on Capitol Hill. And some of his strongest supporters are activists at the "net-roots" who have clamored for less accommodation across party lines.

Labels: politics

The state Transportation Board unanimously approved a motion dropping the two potential San Pedro River valley routes east of Tucson during a meeting here today.

Labels: politics, San Pedro homestead

Labels: gardening, home projects, San Pedro homestead

Labels: blogger hell, spiritual

Labels: blogger hell

Labels: blogger hell, blogospheric navel-gazing, society and culture

Labels: society and culture

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles
made:
Nine bean-rows I will have there, a hive for the
honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace
comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where
the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple
glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day.
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the
shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements
grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

-William Butler Yeats

Labels: art appreciation, San Pedro homestead

Labels: blogospheric navel-gazing

Ug-99 is a form of black stem rust that prevents wheat taking up nutrients and can wipe out whole harvests.

Scientists at the John Innes Centre, in England, are trying to find wheat with a natural resistance to the disease.

Most wheat grown in Africa, Asia and China, has little resistance to Ug-99.

The BBC's Anna Hill says scientists at the John Innes Centre are testing a wide variety of native wheats from Asia and Africa to see if they can find natural resistance to the disease and breed new varieties from them.

But this could take more than five years, by which time Ug-99 could already be causing wide spread harvest failure.

Labels: preparedness, watching the skies

Labels: health and lifestyle, preparedness, society and culture

An investment banking insider tipped me that there will be perhaps as many as five more "margin calls that can't be answered" next week. Three names mentioned as possibly getting the dreaded call are Goldman Sachs on Tuesday and both Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers on Wednesday--on the same day that each reports their first quarter earnings. The word on the street is that all three may need to be bailed out, to varying degrees. Who is standing in the wings to bail some of them out? Credit Suisse and some other big European banks. At the end of next week there may be even more unanswerable margin call news, for US Bank and Washington Mutual. Oh yes, and rumor also has it that Wells Fargo sold some its tangible assets--including some that date back to the 1850s--in order to meet its margin call on Friday.

To meet these margin calls, most of the troubled banks will in turn be making margin calls of their own, to their hedge fund buddies.This, I believe, will cause dozens of hedge funds to go belly up, since most hedge funds have already been under redemption pressure from individual investors. Many hedge funds are using high leverage with their trading portfolios. This makes them unlikely to be able to meet their margin calls. The end result? Look at least for suspension redemption notices from a good portion of American and European hedge funds, and possibly bankruptcy announcements, soon after. A lot of investors are going to lose every penny.

Labels: financial ponderings

Labels: preparedness, resources

A healthy stand of mesquite produces as much food value through its pods as does a wheat field under cultivation, and the mesquite does it without capitalization, pesticides, fertilizer or irrigation and with minimal cultivation.

Labels: preparedness, resources

Labels: preparedness, resources

By Javier Blas in London and Isabel Gorst in Moscow
Published: February 25 2008 20:18 | Last updated: February 25 2008 20:18

Prices of top-quality wheat jumped 25 per cent to a record high on Monday in their largest one-day increase as Kazakhstan, one of the largest grain exporters, said it would impose export tariffs to curb sales.

The move, which follows similar export restrictions in Russia and Argentina, is likely to put further pressure on already tight global wheat supplies, analysts said.
...
Kazakh grain, prized for its high protein and gluten content, is similar to some of the scarce top-quality North American crops that jumped in price on Monday.

Spring wheat at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange surged an unprecedented $4.75 to a record high of $24 a bushel as consumers scrambled to secure supplies and speculators poured fresh money into the agriculture market.

The price of spring wheat, used to bake bread, has more than doubled since January and has risen fourfold in the last year, contributing to a rise in global food inflation.

Labels: preparedness, watching the skies

The Other Bad Guy of Bible Prophecy

Those of you who have followed the news reported here at FP know there is good reason to believe the Antichrist may already be on the world scene. But don't forget the other evil, end-times leader the Bible warns about -- the False Prophet.

In fact, Christians should probably be more on guard for the False Prophet than the Antichrist. That's because the False Prophet will trick many professing Christians into following the Antichrist. And after reading an article sent out by the Elijah List, on Feb. 25, I believe the False Prophet's arrival is just around the corner.

The article is written by Bill Hamon, who is regarded as the father of the "apostolic-prophetic movement." "Prophet" Hamon claims that 2007 marked the start of the "Saints Movement" and 2008 marked the start of the "third and final apostolic reformation." He has written a number of books about these so-called movements. But the bottom line is, he teaches that Christians will establish God's kingdom on earth before Christ returns, under the government of modern "apostles" and "prophets." And he believes they'll perform amazing signs and wonders that will cause people to submit to them.

His teaching plays right into the False Prophet's agenda. Hamon claims that Christians began to establish Christ's rule in 2007. Yet, if the news reported here at FP is correct, then 2007 may actually have marked the rise of the Antichrist's rule. That means that, in the near future, Christians should expect great persecution, not glorious rule. This is what the Bible teaches -- that Christians won't rule until after Christ returns. So, Hamon's prophecy couldn't be further from the truth.

...

What scares me is to see how those who follow Hamon and other false prophets are being prepped to embrace the False Prophet. I don't believe Hamon is the False Prophet. But like Hamon, he will lure Christians with the promise that they don't need Christ to return to set up His kingdom; they can do it now.

And Hamon and other false prophets are priming Christians to cast away discernment and embrace any and every supernatural manifestation. So, when the False Prophet appears with his lying signs and wonders, they'll think he was sent by God.

The time has come to warn Christians about the other bad guy of Bible prophecy -- the False Prophet.

Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. Revelation 13:11-14 NIV

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NIV

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 NIV

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ', and will deceive many.
...
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Matthew 24:4, 5, 9-13 NIV

Labels: spiritual, watching the skies

It certainly looks like and feels like, time is short and evil is growing stronger. So if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, should not we decide it is a duck.

Labels: spiritual, watching the skies

Labels: tactical shooting

People who do not drink alcohol may finally have a reason to start -- a study published on Friday shows non-drinkers who begin taking the occasional tipple live longer and are less likely to develop heart disease.

People who started drinking in middle age were 38 percent less likely to have a heart attack or other serious heart event than abstainers -- even if they were overweight, had diabetes, high blood pressure or other heart risks, Dr. Dana King of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and colleagues found.

Many studies have shown that light to moderate drinkers are healthier than teetotalers, but every time, the researchers have cautioned that there is no reason for the abstinent to start drinking.

Now there may be, said King.

Labels: health and lifestyle

Labels: minutiae, San Pedro homestead

What is it with some male bloggers?—'Too fat, too thin. Too out-of-shape. Too fat. Too buff. Too old. Too young.' (Oops! That last one never happens. Just trying to see if you're paying attention.)

I mean, I like Ace and his crew. I even like Rusty and (most of) his crew (at least, when they aren't waxing anti-gay). But, WTF? Maybe their fans should be required to post pictures next to their comments—these fine gourmands of female flesh. I'm sure they are all prime beef. Uh-huh.

...

I mean, I know everyone's going to get mad at me for this post—and I'm sure that some of my reaction is due to my disconnect from the ruthless, brutal culture of celebrity—but why is it necessary to slam women who are making the best of this whole getting-older thing?

Look, look. I'm sorry. I see that if we can't treat females as if they were sides of beef, the terrorists will have won!

Labels: blogospheric navel-gazing, society and culture

Labels: art appreciation

Labels: firearms

Dear Friend,

Last night, we did it. We won the Republican nomination for President. It was a long, up and down journey, but we worked hard, spoke honestly to the American people, and our steadfast determination has paid off.

As we come to the end of our party's primary contest, we begin what will certainly be a spirited and hard-fought campaign against the Democratic nominee. In November, Americans will have a clear choice to make. And I intend to fight as hard as I can to make it very clear that I am the candidate with the experience and leadership to serve as our commander in chief from day one.

My friends, I write to you today because I know we have a great challenge ahead of us. This campaign will be more expensive than any other in our history and I ask you today to support my campaign by making a generous contribution of $50, $100, $250, $500 or $1,000.

As president, I intend to reduce the size of the federal government, reduce your tax burden and win the war against Islamic extremists. My Democratic opponents will increase the size of the federal government, raise your taxes and withdraw our troops from the front lines based on an arbitrary timeline.

I have said before that this election will be about big things, not small things. And as president, I will make the hard but necessary decisions to lead our country in solving our greatest challenges. Today, we must unite as we face either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in November. I ask that you join me today and make a financial commitment to help our campaign replenish our resources.

I thank you for your support and look forward to the campaign that lies ahead of us.

Sincerely,

John McCain

P.S. My friends, now that I have secured enough delegates to be the Republican nominee for president, I ask that you support my campaign by making a contribution right away to replenish our campaign funds. As we end our primary contest and begin what will be a competitive general election against the Democratic nominee, I stand ready to lead our nation as we face great challenges, and it is my hope that you will join my campaign today. Thank you.

Labels: politics

Labels: minutiae

Labels: society and culture