Open Thread – Duck Shack
More from our virtual flight across Cook Inlet. These marshy wetlands, right across from Anchorage support huge populations of waterfowl including the rare Tule White-fronted Goose. The entire world population of only 5500 birds is known to breed only in the marshes and flooded shrub habitats of Upper Cook Inlet. All told, about 32 species of waterfowl occur in this area, 22 of which are likely to breed here.
The small red building in the photo is a “duck shack” which is used by duck hunters in the fall. No new duck shacks can be built in the wetlands, or transferred to another owner, but those who own a shack at this time are “grandfathered in” and permitted to keep the shack for their lifetime.
OK- ADN story just up on debate between Mr McAdams and Mr Miller is useless… no info really…
Waiting to hear from people who got to go…
“Texas Board of Education: History Textbooks â��Taintedâ�� With â��Gross Pro-Islamic, Anti-Christian Distortions”
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/16/texas-education-pro-islamic
Article is actually worse than the title sounds.
Facebook is Palin’s Duck Shack.
Sniping coward.
Touche!
*snort*giggle*
An Open Letter to Ann Coulter
http://www.mgross.com/gripebox/an-open-letter-to-ann-coulter/
Night….
nite Irish…
Love you too NSWFM!
I love you too, Irishgirl. Way too late to wish you a good night.
Please, everyone else, read this article:
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/profiles/68086/
“Jon has chronicled the death of shame in politics and journalism,” says Brian Williams, the NBC Nightly News anchor who is a frequent Daily Show guest. “Many of us on this side of the journalism tracks often wish we were on Jon’s side. I envy his platform to shout from the mountaintop. He’s a necessary branch of government.”
[snip]
“…I get angrier at the people who don’t go ‘Bad monkey!’ or who create distraction that allows it to continue unabated. The thing that shocked me the most when I first met reporters was the people who would step aside and say, ‘Boy, I wish I could say what you’re saying.’ You have a show! You are a network anchor! Whaddya mean you can’t say it?” Stewart says. “It’s one reason I admire Fox. They’re great broadcasters. Everything is pointed, purposeful. You follow story lines, you fall in love with characters: ‘Oh, that’s the woman who’s very afraid of Black Panthers! I can’t wait to see what happens next. Oh, look, it’s the ex-alcoholic man who believes that Woodrow Wilson continues to wreak havoc on this country! This is exciting!’ Even the Fox morning show, the way they’re able to present propaganda as though it’s merely innocent thoughts occurring to them: ‘What is this “czar”? I’m Googling, and you know what’s interesting about a czar? It’s a Russian oligarch! Don’t you think it’s weird that Obama has Russian oligarchs, and he’s a socialist?’ Whereas MSNBC will trace the word and say, ‘If you don’t understand that, you’re an idiot!’ The mistake they make is that somehow facts are more important than feelings.”
Keep that last part in mind when you are making your calls to your friends and neighbors to persuade them to get out the vote. People “buy” based on emotion and then rationalize it afterward.
Thanks bubbles….You know I Iove you.
Maybe I went too far!
no Irish. you didn’t go far enough. that was great. going to look for more insults. i could use some cheering up.
Go look at http://lynnrockets.wordpress.com/ for the origin of that “She will stop me from masturbating when she rips my penis from my cold dead fingers…. ” from Jimmy Kimmel Live last night–I had a hard time falling asleep and saw it and went to bed laughing.
Saw it.
Isn’t going “too far” what the young Tea Party Princess from Delaware warns us about?
In that case…keep it coming, Irishgirl. (pun not intended, but readily apparent upon proofreading…well, h3ll, let’s all go too far!
Time for supper. See you later, sweet potaters. 😉
I found some very funny, rude comments today on various blogs. I hesitated to post them…but maybe you all need cheering up.
“I don’t understand if masturbation is forbidden how come there are so many wankers in the republican party?”
A comment on the HP about COD “..She will stop me from masturbating when she rips my penis from my cold dead fingers…. ”
🙂 🙂
Thanks for the hearty laugh that started with a wide smile and ended with a gasp for breath!
hey, what can I say? …mama was a public health nurse back in the 70s when self sex was safe sex…
(channeling my inner late night golden oldies DJ)
This one is dedicated to the Tea Party Princess from Delaware…
Jackson Browne, Rosie:
“…when I turn out the lights, I’ve gotta hand it to me…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9abZ34hYa4
LMD….I have…and you are right.
Irishgirl,
Have you heard the term “pis*ed as a newt”? I believe it is British and means really, really drunk (Correct me if I am wrong). Maybe we can add that to the “Donner Party” as mentioned above as a way to mock NG and the GOP.
Karl Rove just got his hand slapped by Rush for dissing Christine O’Donnell. Apparently Limbaugh has declared himself King of the Republicans.
“This is about conservatives taking back the Republican Party. … Who the hell are they, anyway, to anoint or disanoint somebody as electable or not electable?” Rush Limbaugh asked Wednesday. “I’m in charge of that! … That’s always been my purview and nothing’s changed.”
How does one fit any ego that big through a doorway???
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/16/rove-limbaugh-odonnell/
He doesn’t go through the doorway. He stays in the cave and festers.
Hope he gives himself a nice big heart attack and takes Cheney with him.
Please, please, pleeeeeze make this the beginning of the Republican implosion so our country is not taken over by wingnuts!!!
Diehard NY Republican Al D’Amato called Carl Paladino, who just won the primary as the Republican candidate for governor, ‘dangerous’ and…
“Along with former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and former State Comptroller Carl McCall, D’Amato also signed his name to an open letter declaring Paladino unfit for office” Yikes!
That Tea Party favorite Paladino is SUCH a classy guy!
“In emails obtained by WNYMedia.net and verified for their authenticity, Paladino was caught forwarding racial messages about President Obama, birther claims, pornography, and bestiality. When confronted about his emails, Paladino blamed the Democrats”
Huh??? Somehow it’s the Democrats’ fault that he forwarded these disgusting emails to all his friends???? Seriously???
Thank goodness Andrew Cuomo is crushing him in the polls. But, it stil makes me nervous that this whackjob could possibly become my governor!
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/16/damato-on-paladino/#comments
It’s a remarkably sad time in American politics when a total fraud such as Palin is considered for the highest office in the land:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/09/027223.php
That’s apthetic. What percentage (in the country as a whole) of people actually voted in the primaries? Where is this guy getting his numbers from? And what greater boon could we have than to see the country rise against her again? She is just too freaky for the sane people. The inmates may have taken over the nuthouse in the GOP but there are a whole lot of rational people out here who just are not ready to go there. Sorry Sarah….you still aren’t good enough. And not only that, as whacked as she may be….that “lady” in Delaware is younger and “hotter” than you are.
(Put the knives down Sarah….)
These people want you to be afraid. They want to make you believe that they are more powerful than you are. They want you huddling in a corner of the closet scared to come out. That is their MO. beat you down with the numbers. Yes, we CAN organize ourselves against this. I am not going to cry that the sky is falling until November. If they all win, then I will start crying.
Like Reagan and W, Sarah is another Chauncey Gardner or Chance The Gardiner politician. Read Jerzy Kosinsky’s “Being There.” It is very short. Get it from the library, or watch the Peter Sellars movie.
This is the funniest Republican/Tea Party political cartoon I’ve seen!
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary
What do real Alaskans do when confronted by a rogue mama grizzly? Do you retreat or reload? It’s time we progressives buck up and get loaded for bear. We only get one shot (one Vote). Make it count.
I generally back away slowly, making myself appear as big as possible, and let her continue to thrash around in the bushes rather than come and maul me. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to vote.
I really hope that the dems, progressive minded independents and moderate republicans do not become complacent. We need to shout from the roof tops about the importance of voting against the crazies. As Palin takes over the republican party, gaining more power along the way, the country faces an unprecedented peril should her minions gain traction.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/09/will-delaware-slow-the-tea-parties.html
Glenn Greenwald bakes a nice cake today, with some yummy frosting about rich Republican elitism creating disdain for TeaBaggers, not their supposed radical departure from a mythical Republican centirsm.
“The “tea party” movement is, in my view, a mirror image of the Republican Party generally. There are some diverse, heterodox factions which compose a small, inconsequential minority of it (various libertarian, independent, and Reagan Democrat types), but it is dominated — in terms of leadership, ideology, and the vast majority of adherents — by the same set of beliefs which have long shaped the American Right: Reagan-era domestic policies, blinding American exceptionalism and natavism, fetishizing American wars, total disregard for civil liberties, social and religious conservatism, hatred of the minority-Enemy du Jour (currently: Muslims), allegiance to self-interested demagogic leaders, hidden exploitation by corporatist masters, and divisive cultural tribalism. Other than the fact that (1) it is driven (at least in part) by genuine citizen passion and engagement, and (2) represents a justifiable rebellion against the Washington and GOP establishments, I see little good in it and much potential for bad. To me, it’s little more than the extremely discredited faction which drove the country into the ground for the last decade, merely re-branded under a new name.
It’s hard to avoid the conclusion, at least for me, that, claims to the contrary notwithstanding, much of the discomfort and disgust triggered by these Tea Party candidates has little to do with their ideology. After all, are most of them radically different than the right-wing extremists Karl Rove has spent his career promoting and exploiting? Hardly. Much of the patronizing derision and scorn heaped on people like Christine O’Donnell have very little to do with their substantive views — since when did right-wing extremism place one beyond the pale? — and much more to do with the fact they’re so . . . unruly and unwashed. ”
The misguided reaction to Tea Party candidates
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/index.html
LMD, I would be hopping mad too.
This is the Open Thread so I have a personal question for the mudpups.
As most of you know, I am losing my job at the end of this month.
The excuse from the corporate overlords at the hospital (think corporation here) that runs the skilled nursing facility where I work, is that they have to have a full-time therapist to be in compliance with new Medicare regulations (they refer to it slyly as “Obama’s plan”). I have been part-time with benefits for 9 years. I live in a small town. For the last 3 years they have told me over and over that I could not take time off because they had no one to cover me. They have supposedly been (not so actively) trying to recruit a full time person to take up the slack. They were never successful.
So now, supposedly, they have pulled a bunny out of their hat and have a full time therapist just waiting in the wings. Where is this miracle coming from? Well, he was hired to work at the hospital last February. He has 9 years of experience and I have almost 20. I know every resident (and most of their family members) by name as well as knowing many of their life stories. I am very sad to be losing this job. But I will be OK.
Here is the deal. These people (and I use the term loosely here) actually had the cojones, yesterday, to ask if I would work per diem (without benefits) in the month of October to train my replacement. I told them that I was very angry about the way that I have been treated and NO, I will not train my replacement to take my job. Then, then, I am told “well he can’t work full-time in October”. Too bad, is my response. You should have thought about that before you told me I was being laid off at the end of Sept. You obviously knew what you were planning on back in February. What a crock.
I am somewhat blinded by anger right now and I have been known to be rather outspoken (although I have, for the most part, held my tongue in the past). Am I wrong to be thinking “these people have got a lot of nerve” right now? I refuse to bow to the corporate masters. I can find another (probably better) job.
don’t blame you at all…nerve is right !!
LMd,
I think your response is quite natural. Is it likely that if he can’t work full-time that they might now offer you the job? Of course, you probably wouldn’t feel comfortable working there full time with this scenario in the backbround – would you? Good luck with whatever you decide to do – including finding something better elsewhere.
No, I don’t blame you at all. I think it takes a lot of “callousness” when an employer lays someone off but asks that person to train a replacement. And unless you just want to do it, I wouldn’t. It’s hard for your patients, but that’s the only reason I can see that you would even consider working per diem. Besides, if you do that, does it screw up applying for unemployment? No, I would let them figure it out the hard way.
My old employer did the same to me but i was full time and because of medical problems I had to agree so I at least had insurance for a few months and they gave me 3 months severance which included insurance that i only had to pay my share and they would let me receive unemployment. What save me was I found out I could claim widows benefits and now am on S.S.It was either that or leave right away with nothing.
Here’s what I’d do and I know it worked for the hostess of the first party I went to on 9/11:
She worked as an editor for a trade magazine for engineers. They laid her off and she was unemployed for 8 months until she got her current job. Then the main editor resigned and they called my friend to see if she would do it on a contract basis. “SURE! for 3x what you were paying me.” They didn’t blink and she’s doing that at night in addition to her other job.
SO, in your case, Id’ say “SURE for 3x what you were paying me AND an extension of my benefits.”
(You can mutter A$$holes, very quietly under your breath or whisper it to me, I won’t mind.)
If not, spend all your time finding a new, better job. YOU counter offered them, and they said no.
I had a conference call Monday with the CEO of a software firm and a retired COO of a huge insurance company. The CEO said the “product license was XX and we could lower it in special cases.” The CEO said “don’t sell it for less than XX–if you don’t value it, no one else will.”
I’m pulling for you–either way, you’ll be leaving those insensitive jerks behind, now or in a month.
I vote for your plan, nswfm; you must put a value on yourself and your expertise or no one else will. Go get em LMDogs!
OOPS!
The CEO said “don’t sell it for less than XX–if you don’t value it, no one else will.”
should be
The COO said “don’t sell it for less than XX–if you don’t value it, no one else will.”
OK, then XX it is!
Good idea except that is not an option. The whole reason that they gave for “eliminating” my job was that they needed someone full time (cough,cough BS). I cannot work full time as I have a small business that I run on all of the other days of the week. They would not offer more money and they are done with paying me any benefits on my last day (the whole point-in my mind- was to get me off the payroll because I am at the very top of the pay scale). They wanted me for cheap. They can kiss my you know what. My patients know that I love them and care about them. Unfortunately they are left without a choice. I guess I am feeling that at some point you need to draw a line in the sand. I will not beg for their scraps. I have already had another job offer that is flexible for my time issues.
I’m just mad. I can see how some people can go “postal”.
Then I guess they are on their own and it’s their own doing. Take the other job offer and don’t look back. Be gracious to the patients and know that they surely love you.
And you can say whatever bad words you want to me, I don’t mind. Venting sometimes will help–don’t go postal.
You can say them to me too. You can even throw in the occasional “feck.”
It does hurt to be discarded.
Tell them that you will do it, but that your job with them will end in September so you will only do it on contract in October.
Then, make them pay you at least double your current salary. They should give it to you since they won’t be paying for your benefits anymore.
If you’re going to be a trainer, then that should get you a promotion. Tell them you’ll do it at twice your current wage. Can’t hurt. They can only say no.
the nerve of these people. they want you to train YOUR replacement? why? isn’t he already trained?
i wish i could give them a punch on the nose. what a bunch of ‘putzes’. Grrrrrrr!!!!
LMD, your corporate overlords suck! They can bite me. And you have every right and reason to tell them to f*ck off. If they need you to “train your replacement,” do what I did when I got fired (I was office manager) because “the relationship was not going to work out in the long run” (this according to my d*ckhead boss). This was in October, so he wouldn’t have to give me a bonus! I found another job immediately, while he was interviewing replacements for me. The day the new hire was to come in for training, she called *me* (not the office), and gave a BS sob story about her brother having been in an accident, and that her parents were too old to go to California to look out for him, so she was getting on a plane. I put her on hold, and let her repeat the story to the Pres. He then came out and told me, “You have to stay. You can’t leave.” I said, “Too bad. I’m leaving at the end of the day.” He threatened me that he’d never give me a reference. I answered that I was not a job-hopper, and that I’d never put such short-term employment on my resume; I’d say I’d temped for the 9 or 10 months I’d worked there. When he asked, “What are we going to do?” I called a freelance temp I’d hired (we needed help with the billing every month). I said, DJ, Dr. Grief is going to be calling you. Say you’re available at some exorbitant rate, and make him pay it. I then brought her number in for Dr. Grief.
Long story short(er), he ended up hiring SIX PEOPLE and buying an office full of computers to replace me (one computer was installed during my tenure, but instead of programming it in the language intended for it, he had it programmed in Basic to save money. Big mistake. If there was a report brewing, the computer slowed down so much the claims processors had to keep clients on hold for 40 minutes, or call them back).
Tell them the only way you’ll take per diem work is at double what you’re getting now (so you can pay your insurance, etc., and to give back some of the agita they’ve given you). Good luck with the new job, if you decide to take it. You’re in our hearts (((((((((( lovemydogs ))))))))))).
You have been such a blessing to your patients and their families, not to mention your colleagues, but “corporate” is not giving you the respect, consideration, and compensation that you have earned and that you deserve. Your anger is righteous, LoveMyDogs.
Channel your righteous anger into righteous action, would be my advice. Walk out at the end of the month with your head high, and don’t look back. You are walking into a brand new day and fresh beginnings full of possibilities.
Mazel tov!
L’Chaim!
{{{{{LoveMyDogs}}}}}
First have you seen the regs that mandate a full time position? That would be my first request. Next, does it have to be a single full time person or merely 40 hours of coverage? If only 40 hours of coverage, why didn’t the hospital retain you and create a hybrid position which would include the additional hours which would be added to yours to be full time. Even when you have a full-time position, you are still entitled to leave or vacation,so what is the difference you would still need a qualified back up.
Or were they merely using this as an excuse to can you? Are you involved with the union? Outspoken? On who speaks the truth?
No, I haven’t seen the regs. They didn’t have them to show them to me. It all happened really fast where they called me in one day and said “we are eliminating your part time job because we are required to have therapists here 5 days a week…you can go over to the hospital and reply for the full time job but you will have to do it today”. I asked them what they would do if they couldn’t find this magical person, seeing as they had never even been able to find coverage for the 3 days a week that I did work. They said, well, then we won’t be able to take Medicare Part A patients (these are rehab patients and the only residents of nursing homes that make them money). I thought in my head “ha…like that is going to happen”. The bottom line is they make more money if they have 3 therapists (OT, PT and Speech) there every day instead of 3 days a week. They knew that this was not possible for me. So instead of using the therapist from the hospital to cover on the 2 days a week that I couldn’t be there and for times when I wanted to take paid time off, they eliminated my job and they will have the guy from the hospital (who is probably paid less than I am in salary- but more in benefits because he is full time) come over 5 days a week. He will also be working at the hospital and their 2 out-patient clinics to make a full 40 hour week for him. bottom line is that the hospital will take priority and the nursing home will now play second fiddle. He also has to do on-call work on the weekends. this was not part of my job. They will probably get their money’s worth out of him. I am considered to be a “professional” so there is no union. The only hospital workers here that have a union are the nurses. They rapidly busted the efforts of the nurses aides and support staff to unionize last year. Outspoken? Well, yes I am when it comes to how my people are being treated. I am very outspoken about things that are just plain wrong like the use of chemical restraints, etc. The biggest thing that started happening was that as soon as the hospital took over they made it all about keeping every bed full (no matter if this meant that the quality of care went down the tubes). they don’t seem to understand that working with geriatric patients (many of whom have varying degrees of dementia, are hard of hearing and/or visually impaired, as well as significant issues with chronic pain, etc) takes longer than working with relatively unimpaired people so you cannot see 3 people at once and 1 person might take more than an hour to see. I told them that I would need some help if they wanted to pile the patients on. I also refused to commit Medicare fraud by charging for seeing residents when they were seen by an aide. Yeah-they had reasons for wanting to get rid of me.
LMD, please stand your ground with these people and don’t train the new guy for per diem. They are just trying to see how far they can push you. Don’t let them do it. And good luck to you.
Thanks for all of the support you guys. I will stand my ground. And I think my blood pressure might just come down when I walk out the door on my last day.
My husband was going to get some T-shirts printed up that said “This job has fu*ked up written all over it”. He suggested I wear one on my last day. Another friend suggested I get one for all the people that work there (except management) and hand them out on my last day. Bwahahahha. Childish, I know, but I can dream.
I’d wear that T-shirt for sure under my clothes, just on the principle. On the back, I’d even print F/U and the name of the company. Then, I’d wear it around the house so my neighbors could see and say it was a gift from your husband. I don’t have a husband, so I’d say boyfriend, but you can be sure I’d follow through. Catharsis!
Way to stick to your guns and make them deal with their own problem!
And, {{{hugs to you too}}}!
Apparently Rove has walked back his comments about O’Donnell.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/epic_walkback.php?ref=fpblg
I wonder who had a word in his ear?
Maybe SP’s “buck up” scared him. If it did, we are all in trouble. Al non-GOTPers need to get fired up for this election. It’s been fun to watch the train wrecks, but let’s get serious – they certainly are.
I remember the sick feeling I felt when Reagan won. There was no way. But it happened. We can’t keep laughing at these mama grizzlies and other various varmints. I don’t feel comfortable with the idea that having the crazies win the primaries means an easy win for us. It is like the old rabbit and the tortoise tale – don’t be too sure of anything.
We need to find the enthusiasm we had in 08 and get out the vote.
There is a question floating around about Rove’s religious belief or “lack there of……” If Sarah’s prayer warriors suspect that Rove is an agnostic he wil be Teapartier roadkill. He might be Episcopalian. That’s one of those elitist religions isn’t it? But a Rationalist, agnostic, nonbeliever like Rove, just might as well be working for MSNBC than the fundies’ FOX the network of the founding fathers and god also, too. They are going to take their marching orders from Queen Sarah not Bush’s Brain AKA TurdBlossom.
Yup, Episcopalians–elitist and all that, just like Bush 41 (and Bush 43 until he was “saved”).
Darn. I was so glad to see a republican actually say something with which I could agree. And it was Rove, for pete’s sake – someone who has never said anything I agree with.
And that’s what is very worrying. He was soon pulled back into the fold!
He claimed he already “endorsed” her. One of the talk shows was making fun of that, calling his previous rant about her “worst endorsement ever”. lol
Wonder if the ADN picks this up:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/16/1827058/time-to-fold-up-the-circus-tent.html#ixzz0zg6nSjdH
Funny cartoon
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/15/1435592/100915pett.html
Suggestions to counteract and get involved:
http://www.calitics.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=12511
What is wrong with here, for crying out loud?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mckibben-solar-white-house-20100916,0,7330781.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29
Beautiful. I love it.
What I found most fascinating about the Pacific Flyway system was not just the sheer amount of miles migrating birds can handle twice annually, but how the 1964 earthquake had seriously altered wildlife habitat and behavior in the Cook Inlet region.
I’ve mentioned before how the Cook Inlet Beluga population used to intermix and migrate all the way up to the Arctic Ocean, cavorting, feeding and breeding with other stocks in the Bering Sea – until the earthquake sealed off their one opening through the Aleutian Peninsula, trapping them into becoming a genetically distinct population, no longer able to breed with other stocks to keep them healthy. It breaks my heart.
There was a campaign a few years ago by some Valley guy to trap Moose in Southcentral and fly them out to rural areas to help repopulate the levels that were hit in the 80’s. They even hired Rick Shroeder as a celebrity endorser of the program. Bizarre. I kind of wish we could do the same with the beluga’s, a mating exchange if you will.
In any case, the Dusky Canadian Geese literally suffered geographical upheaval, the ground moved up 6 to 9 feet, dramatically altering their nesting grounds and foraging plant life. Dusky’s also migrate to rich Oregon farmland where depredation measures are in place to protect the agricultural value. Though Dusky’s are protected, they intermingle with the similarly looking Cacklers and are often accidentally hunted. That they don’t go the way of the Do Do Bird is a tribute to sound wildlife management measures.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/ro/sd_notes/fall_07/dusky/dusky.shtml
With so much against the Cook Inlet Beluga Whales, I only wish management was as aggressive in the face of oil & gas development and shipping traffic interests.
Good morning! We finally have rain today and I can hear my flowers say ahhhh. I’m gonna take the morning off from any kind of chores and just watch my flowers perk up. Yesterday, one of my new neighbors said she will need me to help her get a flower garden started in her front yard come spring. Guess what I said….. 🙂
“one of my new neighbors said she will need me to help her get a flower garden started in her front yard come spring”
Nice going, merrycricket! Get enough converts like that and that crabby neighbor will be outnumbered by people who are smiling and happily sniffing the scented blooms on your street!
enjoy your lovely garden Merry. in the spring you will be very busy, i think.
A photograph such as this puts into perspective the vastness that is Alaska. The Flint Hills in Kansas evoke the same kind of quiet power. Normally, mountains and glaciers come to mind when we think of the powerfulness of the land in Alaska, but this meandering river and its feeder creeks through the impressive wetlands brings home the strength of the land in a different but equally impressive way.
Thank you for reminding us of what is really important, AKM. Knowing and respecting the beauty of the earth is a prerequisite to protecting and saving it. Your photos are beautiful and effective reminders of that. Your love of Alaska is evident in every photograph you share with us.
I always loved driving through the Flint Hills on my way from Lawrence to Garden City. It was the most peaceful part of the drive – and sometimes had the best and most impressive storms and scenery at sunset.
Brad Blog notes that O’Donnell in DE was soundly beaten in the verifiable vote count there. However, she won the fake eVote count.
America is so screwed, but now the Republican are eating their own, too!
Must Read!
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8073
This has been happening regularly for a long time!
You’re right. It is so past time for us to change this process. We tried here in Johnson Country – supposedly the largest population and highest income area in the state – but were told by our Election Commissioner that the state couldn’t afford to go to paper ballots or to get machines that would issue paper receipts for verification Saying we can’t afford to fix this is to admit we don’t care. I hope more people begin to realize how crucial this issue is.
I feel we cannot afford to not change. We need verification because people are losing faith in the system. People have to believe in and trust the system; otherwise, it is vulnerable to derision and destruction. We have to get away from these easily manipulated electronic voting machines if we want our people to trust the electoral process. So, thanks London Bridges for the link and for the point you made. I think you are spot on as to one of the greatest dangers to our democracy and federal republic.
Could this same phenomenon have given Joe Miller his primary victory?
I think it was used in MA for Scott Brown’s victory over Martha Coakley.
The same happened in NH in 2004 when Hillary won that primary. Obama won all the verifiable votes, but Hilllary won the eVotes, despite being badly behind in the polls. Why did NH happen if eVotes are Repug controlled? The right wanted Hillary to be the nominee. In fact had this not happened in NH, the Democratic primary battle would have ended months before Obama was finally declared the winner.
While everyone suspects it was used in Ohio to snatch victory for W, I think the rigged eMachines were used in 2004, even in Red states, to give W bigger margins of victory. W spoke about having a lot of capital to spend after his ill earned victory.
That, in combination of the right wing owned press was used to silence dissent. For 8 years we falsely believed we were in the minority.It was never the case.
Currently, the Tea Bags are another false flag phenomenon, designed to make us think we are in the minority – not the case. However, when progressives lose due to eVote fraud, the right can say we told you so. You are a flagging minority.
When Mike Connell, the computer eVote guru who fixed the elections for W, to save the babies, decided to talk to Congress after the election, he mysteriously died in a plane crash. However, his blackberry which had all his records and secrets was never found at the crash scene. However, an intact blackberry case was given to his widow.
Finally, Mike Connell was subpoenaed to address congress the Monday before the 2008 election. I think this caused him to decide NOT to fix the 2008 election. A couple days before this McCain publicly predicted he would win. McCain said it would not be apparent at first, but in the wee hours of the morning the day after the election he would be declared the winner and emerge victorious. Since McConnell got cold feet, this never happened. Otherwise, McCain might now be six feet under and Sarah, the president. Whew!!!
While they are machine-read, Alaska still has paper ballots, which can be used to verify the count.
I agree there is a need to keep working on the election commissions and legislators in those states that have no way to verify the machine results with a hand count. That’s just asking for fraud, and voter apathy. People need to know their vote counted.
In the last primary in most of Washington state, all the ballots, except for on county, were mailed to registered voters. So, for most of us, voting machines weren’t an issue. Hubby and I have been voting absentee for a long time. More convenient, and I like being able to sit at my kitchen table with my ballot, the voter’s guide and my laptop for quick reference when I have questions about a candidate and issues. Ballots have to be postmarked on or before election day. For the presidential election in 2008, in addition to mailing ballots at the post office, there were ballot collection places set up in most big cities. Quite easy, and I think, effective.
And best of all, it cuts out the flawed voting machines.
Um, that’s except for “one” county. Oh, and you can check on line to make sure your ballot was received.
Don’t be misled because you have filled out a paper ballot. The optical scanners that are used in many places can still be programmed however the administrator want to. Yes, it may be true that there is a paper trail, but unless someone calls for a hand re-count that is meaningless,
cool picture
Super dummy + car wash = epic fail.
http://i.imgur.com/Baqt6.gif
McAdams the focus of this NY Times column:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/opinion/16collins.html?_r=1&hp
Cool “duck shack”.
Here is a Norwegian love shack.
http://i.imgur.com/JxvJB.jpg
looks cozy
Bad enough I have to mow the lawn…now I have to mow the roof too????