Catching Up.

The last week or so have really been something. Even my early morning hours which I usually dedicate to disciplines - reading, writing, etc. aren't getting much done for me. I have a couple opinion pieces in the works though, so you're going to be getting another dose of "planet greenfraud" unleashed any day now.

To catch up just a little though...

Tracy's Back:
For those of you "in the know" Tracy's back issues have gotten worse. We finally ended up taking her to Mayo Hospital (ER) on Monday. We got little more than meds (a little information), but have an appointment that should help narrow a course of action scheduled for Thursday morning. She is in absolutely unbearable pain -- standing only to walk to the restroom -- say a prayer for her if you will.

Welcome to our world, Mr. Charles Davidson Kratz:
My best friend (of 16 years now... goodness we're getting old!) Jeremy, and his wife Amy welcomed their first child, a son, into the world last week.

Tracy and I were able to swing by for a few minutes and say hello on the morning of his first day. Makes us think it might be time to consider Charles having a playmate around his age... He is one CUTE baby. Well behaved, too. I have no idea where he got that part from...

A Brilliant Blog.

I have been reading an absolutely brilliant blog with consistently good content. And every time I visit, I find myself wanting to copy, paste and present the information here (with full credit and a link, of course).

Instead, I am simply going to profile it here, and put a link in the sidebar.

If you want more than simply to be entitled to your opinion.
If you care enough to be well informed.
If you give a crap about our country--you'll want to add this to your frequent reads:

http://www.uncorrelated.com/

Like this post by Mick Stockinger:
I was listening to some commentary from Juan Williams who considered the prospects of the general election in terms of Obama's presence, charisma and fluid speaking style--constrasting it with John McCain's, hunched, halting and ineloquent recent speech. For Williams, and I imagine for most liberals, its all about style. For me, and I imagine most conservatives, its all about substance. John McCain won the Republican nomination because for better or worse, he appeared to most voters as the most substantive candidate. If it was a matter of style, Huckabee would now be looking for a running mate.

Who wins this argument? I don't rightly know. Are more people fascinated with style or impressed with substance? The polls appear to suggest that substance still rules the day, but I concede the significant difference between polls and elections. My dread of an Obama presidency is similarly less about him and what he would do, and more a concern with whether America has lost its soul. If it really is an MTV country, we are all screwed. read more

Pre-Pixelated T's

This is sheer genius. Nice work, David.

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Quote of the Day.

Write a wise saying and your name will live forever.
-Anonymous

Are you doing your part to save the planet?

For more information, visit:
www.killthetrees.org

Clinton Wins! Democrats Everywhere in Celebration!

Excerpts from an NPR article with commentary in red.

The one-time "inevitable" candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination ended her campaign Saturday with an unequivocal endorsement of her rival…

This can't be the completely unqualified, absolute buffoon she was running against, right? I mean, if that "red phone" is going to ring in the middle of the night, we don't that guy to be the one answering it, right?

"You can be so proud," she told the cheering crowd, "that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends.” Nicely spun. Turn the loss into a win. Yes. What you achieved was truly remarkable. I flunked a test once…does that count? I just asked Roget, and “Rejected” and “Groundbreaking” are not synonyms.

Clinton likewise acknowledged the historic significance of Barack Obama becoming the first African-American to be the presidential nominee of a major party. Calling this a "turning-point election," she said, "When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions: Could a woman really serve as commander-in-chief? Well, I think we answered that one." Yes. I believe we did. Don’t think I would have phrased it quite like that. You do understand that you are not the next president right? This isn’t an acceptance speech. I’m sorry. I really do hate to interrupt in the middle of a paragraph like this, but I just couldn’t help it. First of all, this is not, was not, and never will be about a woman being president. This was the question of you being President. To which the answer was “No”. "And, could an African-American really be our president? Sen. Obama has answered that one." No. He has not. That answer is scheduled for November. Once again, this is not an acceptance speech (and if it were, Hillary, it wouldn’t be for BOTH of you). "Together, Sen. Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect union."

Umm... Sorry, one last question. Is union the root word for unity?

Would the company not yet advertising on the green platform please stand up?

Just the other day I was emptying bags from a quick trip to Target. Now don't get me wrong. I love Target. They do a lot of good that other retailers don't (and nobody brands better). BUT. In an effort to do the obligatory "green" positioning, they have printed on the side of their plastic bags: "10 Ways to Re-use Your Target Bag". Allow me to share a couple.

• Number 3: Water Balloon
• Number 5: Soggy Laundry
• Number 7: Toiletry Tote
• Number 10: Care Package Padding

Contrived? Perhaps it could be used as a first aid kit, which WILL be required after you hit someone with your new 4 gallon water balloon... or for your back after you attempt to throw it.

Were it my job to create the list, I would have given two key directives.

1. Spend more than 5 minutes in brainstorming and revision.
2. If you can only come up with 5 that aren't contrived, reduce list to 5.

One final thought on the bag.

Is the irony of printing an "envoronmentally concious" positioning device on an environmentally wasteful/hazardous piece lost on everyone but me?

It's like carrying your reusable hemp grocery sack into Whole Foods to buy bottled water. You just saved the world from one plastic bag -- 420 of which could be manufactured from the volume of plastic in the 4 bottles of water you just purchased...