On Hair And Privilege

Maha has a good post today comparing and contrasting Mitt Romney and John Edwards.I want to highlight these two graphs. The whole thing in worth a read.

I’d like to point out that ordinary working people created most of that wealth. Inequality doesn’t grow because the wealth are somehow more deserving and working stiffs less so; it grows because the wealthy are able to control the wealth distribution system to their advantage. The role of government is not to take money away from the rich to give to the poor, but to keep the wealthy from gaming the system.

And this is good for us all in the long run, primarily because a nation with a large and upwardly mobile middle class is likely to be a politically stable nation; a nation in which most of the population is shut out of enjoying the wealth they create with their labor is asking for revolution.

Bad Year

It has beer a bad year for avalanches in the pacific northwest.

A search party recovered the body of 22-year-old Kirk Reiser Friday afternoon, said Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Kevin Bacher.

Reiser, an Edmonds Community College student, was swept away in the snow on Tuesday after triggering an avalanche during a day hike outside of Paradise.

Reiser and hiking partner Troy Metcalf left Paradise to go on a five-mile trip to Camp Muir, but they had to turn back about halfway because of bad conditions. During the hike back, Reiser set off an avalanche — about 40 yards wide by 200 yards long — and vanished in the steep terrain.

Metcalf searched in vain for hours before returning to Paradise for help.[...]

Baugher said it is proving to be one of the worst avalanche seasons he has seen in 30 years.

While all of the six were described as experienced outdoors enthusiasts, Baugher believes they put themselves in danger by not paying close enough attention to avalanche forecasts.[...]

"People need to know before they go. Know the avalanche hazard, choose the safe route," Baugher added.

Here is an article that will help you find the Know.

Full Moon Over Albion Bridge, Mendocino

Full Moon over Albion Bridge, Mendocino, originally uploaded by Rita Crane.

Full Moon over Albion Bridge, Mendocino

Honest Pint

Ten Bears points us to the honest pint project, by Beervana. Ten Bears has this to say.

Bummer about all those “farmers” giving over their hop and barley land to corn. Wonder if they’ll enjoy a pint of ethanol.

Close Call

A hiker got caught in the snow while trying to finish his Continental Divide Trail thru-hike.

On Monday afternoon, Emmerson knocked on the door of a complete stranger in Gila, N.M., and asked for help. His lips were black, and he couldn’t feel his hands. The toes on both of his feet were frostbitten, and he was running low on food after being caught above 10,000 feet in a four-day snowstorm. Temperatures were 10- to 20-degrees below zero and, as he tried to hike, the snow was nearly to his waist.
“It started snowing on Saturday, Dec. 8, and continued for the next four days,” Emmerson said during a telephone interview from New Mexico.
“I’m 5 feet 10 inches tall, and it got to where the tips of my mittens were dragging in the snow while I was walking.
“When my toes started to get numb, I got in my tent and crawled into my sleeping bag. My socks were frozen to my toes, and I knew I was in big trouble.
“The next morning, my toes were black — so I tried to follow a route down through the Gila Wilderness Area to a road that I planned to hike out on.”[...]
“I had resupplied in Pie Town, N.M., on Dec. 3 and had about one week’s worth of food with me,” Emmerson said.
“I had planned to make it to a place called Doc Campbell’s in about nine days but, when it started snowing, I decided to do a road walk rather than risk getting lost on the trail.
“The road was 39 miles straight to the west — and as I walked, the snow just kept getting deeper and deeper.
“By the time I made it to the house in Gila, I had been out for two entire weeks.”

Budas Kamakura, Japan

Budas Kamakura, Japan, originally uploaded by Girados.

Budas Kamakura, Japan

Diabutsu

Daibutsu, originally uploaded by Maliah.

I ran into a friend at a Christmas party. He said remember the great buddha.

How To Rig An Election

From Muckraker Paul Kiel.

"Back in 2002," he writes, "just about every Republican operative was so dizzy with power that if you could find two of us who could still tell the difference between politics and crime, you could probably have rubbed us together for fire as well."

Yellowstone In Winter

From National Parks Traveler.

New Source of Biodiesel

Grist is reporting about a bout trying to set the round the world speed record.

Here's a nice PR gimmick (and by nice, I mean totally disgusting): power your monster "eco-boat" with biodiesel made from human fat:

You can also make biodiesel from tallow (animal fats), fish oil, seaweed and algae. In fact, in an extraordinary show of dedication to the project, the skipper, Pete Bethune, underwent liposuction, and the fat (all 100ml) was used to make a small amount of Biodiesel for Earthrace!

Krugman

Blindly into the bubble.

When announcing Japan’s surrender in 1945, Emperor Hirohito famously explained his decision as follows: “The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage.”

There was a definite Hirohito feel to the explanation Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, gave this week for the Fed’s locking-the-barn-door-after-the-horse-is-gone decision to modestly strengthen regulation of the mortgage industry: “Market discipline has in some cases broken down, and the incentives to follow prudent lending procedures have, at times, eroded.”

That’s quite an understatement. In fact, the explosion of “innovative” home lending that took place in the middle years of this decade was an unmitigated disaster.

Read the whole thing. I wish he discussed the new regulations. Now you have to have proof of income to get a loan.

I Do Not Exist

What kind of extremist are you? Your Result: Left-Wing Extremist In all likelihood, you don't actually exist. You lied about your answers to see what would happen. If you did actually believe the things you claim, you would be a social pariah, you would have difficulty finding a respectable job, and no media figure would let you come within a mile of them.
Rational Person
Right-Wing Extremist
Moderate Extremist
What kind of extremist are you? See All Our Quizzes

Fried Pie

I remember the first time I ate a home made fried pie. It was at the King Biscuit Blues Festival, now the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, in Helena Arkansas. All the nearby churches set up tables of food to fund raise. Baked goods, smoked goods, fried goods, barbecued goods, man they had the goods. I ate my first pigs foot at that festival. A pigs foot can be a wonderful thing if used properly. I never would have found out if it was not for those church ladies. I remember asking one of those ladies what an item was and she said "That's a fried peach pie and you want one." Man, was she right.
But that is not the story I want to tell tonight. I want to talk about fried pizza pie. Who knew? It is a wonderful thing. Health care Guru Ezra Klein had a link on his blog to this. Chef being a fan of the fried food product had to try. The dough ahh, a thing of beauty sweet and nutty. The sauce simple, I encourage every one to play along.
Dough: 1and 1/3 cups of water. 105 degrees to 115 degrees. put in one of those yeast packages. Wait about ten minutes for yeast to dissolve. Add 3and 1/2 cups all purpose flour. Put a teaspoon of salt and sugar. I guessed. Knead for ten minutes. Put dough in a bowl with a little olive oil. Roll whole dough until covered with olive oil. Cover bowl, put in a warm spot 75 to 85 degrees and let rise at least an hour and a half.
Sauce: Take a large clove of garlic and saute in olive oil for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add a number two can of tomatoes.(28 oz) Break up tomatoes as necessary. Add a pinch of salt and sugar. Simmer for two hours.
Toppings: Fresh mozzarella is essential as it melts fast. I had pepperoni an caramelized onions and red peppers.
Putting it all together: Get a frying pan with a 1/4 inch of olive oil hot. Add a piece of dough just smaller than pan. Fry for two three minutes until it is nicely browned. Flip. Add warm sauce cheese and toppings. Cover . Let cook two three minutes. Enjoy!

Peak Trail, Mission Peak

Peak Trail, Mission Peak, originally uploaded by busybeingborn.

Tom at Two-Heel Drive has a article in the Mercury News. Mission Peak.

Bleg

Please, sign this. Impeach the bastards.
Update. Think Progress.

Today on the Ed Schultz Show, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) discussed his effort to increase public pressure for the commencement of impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney. Wexler has launched a website — WexlerWantsHearings.com — to collect signatures in support of his call.

Wexler explained that he launched his website after traditional media outlets rejected an op-ed he had written with his colleagues Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI):

Bah Humbug

The beer crisis. Trouble brewing, from the Economist.

JUST as the festive season gets going, drinkers in America are finding their favourite beer suddenly more expensive or even—horrors!—not available at all. Hit by price increases and shortages, many breweries, particularly the small “craft brewers” and the even smaller microbreweries, are being forced to raise prices, make do with modified recipes or shut off the spigots altogether.

The humble hop, the plant that gives beer its distinctive flavour, is the main problem. Many farmers in the Pacific north-west, where America's hop production is concentrated, have turned to more profitable lines—especially corn, which can be made into ethanol. The decrease in hop production, put at some 50% over the past decade, has sent prices through the roof. Brian Owens, the brewmaster of the O'Fallon Brewery near St Louis, Missouri, says that the variety he once bought for $3 a pound (0.45kg) now costs five times that. Many smaller breweries cannot find what they need at any price. Industry giants like Anheuser-Busch and Miller are better off, thanks to long-term contracts. But even Anheuser-Busch has been forced to raise prices for its six-packs.

Without their supply of hops, some smaller producers are going out of business, bringing to a halt the fastest-growing segment of the industry. Other craft brewers and brewpubs are experimenting with new recipes, hoping their customers will adapt.

The hops shortage is only part of the problem. Things are no better for barley, used to make the malt that yeast turns into alcohol. It too has been ploughed under in favour of corn. Crop failures in Australia and Europe, combined with the weak dollar, have made it harder to replace the shortage with imports. Other price increases, of fuel, glass and metal, add to the pressure. Not such a merry Christmas.

Wow

Teenagers are more likely to put off sex if they have sex education. But this is just unbelievable.

They found teen boys who had sex education in school were nearly three times more likely to use birth control the first time they had intercourse. But sex education appeared to have no effect on whether teen girls used birth control, the researchers found.

I do not believe it. If boys are using birth control(condoms) so are the girls. Unless the report is claiming the boys got vasectomies. Is there another way?

Believe Them

Avedon points us to this awesome observation from Sara at Orcinus.

Oprah Winfrey once said that the best advice she ever got in her life was from Maya Angelou, who said: "When people tell you who they are -- believe them."
[...]
It struck me recently that, too often, we've been very slow to believe conservatives, even when they told us in no uncertain terms who they were. Some things were easy to acknowledge, even in the early years: they're the party of business, they don't care much about the middle and lower class, they believe in hierarchy and aristocracy and low taxes. Others came later: it took us a while to really admit to ourselves that they were pandering to racists, that they were perfectly willing to throw the middle class overboard, and that they didn't really care whether or not a rising tide lifted all boats. The hardest realizations have been the most recent ones: that these people are openly willing to destroy the Constitution, the country, and the planet in the name of privilege and profit; that they have absolutely no concept of the common good, and that the most horrible accusations they level at us should always be taken as an open admission of what they're intending to do themselves.[...]
When they tell us that homosexuality is a threat to American families, what they're telling us is that homosexuality is a threat to their families. As in: if they ever dared to admit their own sexual interest in other men, their wives would leave them, and take the kids. Bear this in mind when they hold themselves up as moral paragons.

Read the whole thing.

Mt Ranier

Mt. Ranier from Discovery Park, originally uploaded by djwudi.

Man snow shoeing around Mt Ranier is lost in an avalanche. Hopefully he was just swept away from his partner and could not hike out.

Good news from Tom at Two-Heel Drive. A family, hunting for a christmas tree, is found after being missing three days in the mountains.

Global Warming

The mainstream media(republican tools) do not seem to want to discus it.

– NBC’s Tim Russert: 664 questions, 0 mentioned global warming

– CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: 311 questions, 1 mentioned global warming

– ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: 661 questions, 0 mentioned global warming

– CBS’s Bob Scheiffer: 212 questions, 0 mentioned global warming

– Fox’s Chris Wallace: 427 questions, 2 mentioned global warming

As a matter of fact the mainstream media(republican tools) do not want to discus the issues at all.

Speaking of the Post, perhaps the less said about its "Front-runners" series the better. It's difficult to put into words just how vacuous the early efforts were, and particularly the package the Post put together on John Edwards, which was published December 11.

Question No. 1: What did each of the four pieces in the "Front-runners" series on Edwards all mention? Answer: His expensive haircuts. Question No. 2: What did none of the four "Front-runners" items on Edwards mention? Answer: What proposals he's made while running for president. Why? Because they're irrelevant.

At cheflovesbeer we are interested in the issues and what the candidates are proposing to do about global warming. The League of Conservation Voters has a nice site that will tell you about the candidates positions.

Fair And Balanced

Via the Carpet Bagger Report. You should read it every day.

Good For Google

Google announced an ambitious new project. Energy cheaper than coal.If they can do that it would let market forces end coal power.

The project, dubbed Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal, is hiring dozens of engineers and targeting investment financing at advanced solar thermal power, wind power, enhanced geothermal systems and other new technologies, Google said.

Google plans to be one of the project's first customers, employing the power to run its massive computer data centers while selling back excess energy to the electricity grid.

"Our goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal. We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades," Larry Page, Google's co-founder and president of products, said in a statement.

A gigawatt can power a city the size of San Francisco.

Via Solar Power Rocks.

Inalienable Rights

Free pizza and beer.

Our founding fathers may not have had this night specifically in mind when they wrote the Constitution, but I think it's fair to say that given a little more time to hash out the details they would have all agreed that free pizza with beer should be an inalienable right of all Americans. Crossroads does their patriotic duty with this genius promotion. Buy a pitcher of beer for $8, get a pizza. It's a simple but brilliant economic theory. Crossroads Irish Pub, 495 Beacon St. 617-262-7371. crossroadspubboston.com

If You Are Going To

commit a crime, do not up load photographic evidence to the internet and wait for them to find you.

Ranger Dave Rapp prepared for a fishing compliance patrol on December 10th by first checking the activity on a popular internet discussion board used by many anglers visiting the park. He noticed one entry in which the author wrote that she had caught 22-inch and 24-inch stripers (rockfish) on Assateague Island – a violation, as Maryland state law establishes a minimum length of 28 inches for this species. The author also wrote that she was "keeping this baby for dinner!" Included in the entry was a photograph showing the angler holding up the fish. Rapp noted that the entry was only a few minutes old and that the photograph appeared to have been taken inside of the park. He located, recognized, and contacted the angler, who was still on the beach within the park. She produced a 21-inch striper, and reported that she’d utilized a Wi-Fi internet connection to post her entry from the park. A violation notice was issued for the undersized fish.

via National Park Traveler.

Republican Health Care

Health care guru Ezra Klein on republicans health care.

Right. When it comes to health care, conservatives use policy the way pick-up artists use astrology: It's something to talk about while they try to screw you.

More Corn

Celsias has a review of the movie King Corn. It will open your eyes. Here is a video about the movie and corn.

Ethanol Is Making Food And Beer Expensive

The NYT has a good article on the effects of ethanol on food and beer production. Ethanol is not a way to energy independence. It has only a 12% reduction in green house gas emissions. But that may be generous.

By all accounts, biofuels deliver startlingly modest reductions in greenhouse gases. In a relatively generous assessment of the environmental benefits of ethanol and biodiesel released last year, University of Minnesota researchers credited corn-based ethanol with 12 percent less net greenhouse-gas emissions than gasoline, while finding that soy-based biodiesel emits 41 percent less.

But here's the catch: It takes so much corn to produce a gallon of ethanol, and so much soy to produce a gallon of biodiesel, that the net GHG advantages are likely to be almost nil. The U of Minn researchers write [emphasis mine]:

[I]f one replaced a total of 5 percent of gasoline energy with ethanol energy, greenhouse gas emissions from driving cars would be a bit more than a half percent lower (5 percent times 12 percent).

Whoa. In 2006, U.S. ethanol producers burned through 18 percent of the corn harvest to offset 3 percent of gasoline use. What the Minnesota study is telling us is that we could increase corn ethanol production by two-thirds (to achieve a 5 percent offset) -- burning through 40 percent of the corn crop -- and still only reduce greenhouse gas em

And now we add the increase in the price of food and beer.

Now, with Congress poised to adopt a new mandate that would double the volume of ethanol made from corn, ethanol skeptics say a fateful moment has arrived, with the nation about to commit itself to decades of competition between food and fuel for the use of agricultural land.

“This is like a runaway freight train,” said Scott Faber, a lobbyist for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, who complained that ethanol has the same “magical effect” on politicians as the tooth fairy and Santa Claus have on children. “It’s great news for corn farmers, but terrible news for consumers.”

But ethanol critics are not getting much traction with their argument. Last week, the Senate voted 86 to 8 for a new energy bill containing expanded ethanol mandates, and the House is expected to follow suit this week.[...]

One consequence of the higher feed costs is rising competition for malt barley between livestock farmers, who want it for feed, and brewers, who need it for beer. Mr. Joyce, the Rogue Ales owner in Newport, Ore., said he has been forced to raise prices to pay for the additional costs of ingredients.

The article does not mention that hops production is down because of farmers opting for corn subsidies. It just does not seem wise to support ethanol production, to fix our energy problems. Perhaps, we need to raise the CAFE standards above 35 mpg and get rid of the flex fuel loophole. I know it will not happen with this congress or president.

Connecting The Dots

Another article about consumers not felling safe about Chinese toys.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The vast majority of Americans surveyed say they associate China with unsafe toys, and they are divided on whether they trust major toymakers to ensure products on store shelves are safe, according to a MSN-Zogby poll released on Monday.
The poll found 83 percent of Americans polled said they associate unsafe toys with China.

It was not that long ago the Senate had a debate about the budget for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. If you remember the Democratic Party wanted to double the budget. The republicans led by CPSC head Nancy Nord, wanted to cut the budget. Remember, that the CPSC has only one employee that tests toys full time. Since that debate, toy after toy has been found with lead paint and some date rape drugs thrown in for good measure. None of this mentioned in the article about consumer confidence in toys from China. Heck, It might be why Americans do not have confidence in Chinese toys.

Now lets see what GW and company want to do about this. Perhaps add some inspectors, some mandatory testing, penalties for violating current law, maybe a regulation or two. But no.

Last week, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson met with Chinese officials and the two countries agreed to make sure that Chinese-made toys meet U.S. safety standards

Well I feel safer. How about you. How did the budget battle go?

The year-end measure mostly sticks within Bush's budget, though it shifts billions of dollars into politically sensitive programs he sought to cut[...]

Democrats were able to put their imprint on the bill, restoring Bush-sought cuts to state and local law enforcement grants, aid to community action groups and airport modernization grants.[...]

The chronically underfunded Consumer Product Safety Commission would get a 28 percent hike in its budget.

Politically sensitive programs Bush wanted to cut: police, CPSC, aid to first responders. The media always has to put a few paragraphs between Bush's cuts and what they are. Bush is unpopular and so are his budget cuts. The media must portray dear leader in the most positive light. It is immoral that they will not test toys, in light of all the evidence that it should be done.

Suicide In The National Parks

Kurt Repansheck over at The National Parks Traveler has an article about the more than 100 attempts a year in the National Parks. I was at a health in the wilderness class at this years ALDHA Gathering when I first heard about suicide in the wilderness. It is what lead me to this speculation. It is interesting if somewhat upsetting.

Fast Lane

What Would Jesus Buy?

Morgan Spurlock has a new documentary out, What Would Jesus Buy? America spent 455 bilion dollars on the holidays last year.Tree Hugger has an interview.

TreeHugger: Reverend Billy is a very charismatic, intelligent guy, but he's pretty in your face. Does the way he’s perceived by some have the potential to distort the message? Do you worry that his overbearing style might turn some people off to the movement? Can you really expect people to take a guy who says, “Mickey Mouse is the Antichrist!” seriously?”

Morgan Spurlock: Well, so far, across the board, the reception to the film has been very positive. Whether somebody would say they are an activist group or a very “lefty” group or a very conservative group, or even with Christian audiences, the film has been very well received at Christian film festivals all across the country.

I think in the beginning, Billy can come off as a bit “in your face” and abrasive, but, I think as people listen to him and hear what he has to say, they realize that he’s really trying to use humor, he’s really trying to use this character to get people to think, and, hopefully, make people laugh a little bit. I think that, at the heart of what Billy does, it’s a very funny message that deals with a very serious issue in a way that somehow makes it accessible -- palatable -- to a lot of us.

Harry Reid

Harry Reid is a republican tool. They use him like a blunt instrument. From Glenn Greenwald:

All of this stems from Reid's refusal to honor the "hold" placed on that bill by Chris Dodd, who has been in the Senate for 24 years. In fairness, though, there are some Senators whose "holds" are treated with great reverence by Reid (h/t Atrios):

Metro board members from Virginia and the District are skeptical of Maryland's move, while officials in Annapolis insist that the state's commitment is ironclad. But those jitters are overshadowed by graver doubts about the federal half of the funding formula, which at the moment is being held up by a single senator -- Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) -- despite its apparent overwhelming support in Congress.

And (h/t Digby):

Senate Republicans blocked a bill Friday that would restrict the interrogation methods the CIA can use against terrorism suspects. . . .

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., placed a hold on the intelligence bill, preventing the Senate from voting on it while the challenge goes forward.

Until Harry Reid met Chris Dodd's efforts to stop telecom amnesty and Bush's warrantless surveillance powers, this is how Senators understood the effects of "holds":

Any senator who lodges one can do it anonymously, effectively becoming the secret assassin of a bill or nomination. . . .

[Sen. Trent] Lott noted that technically, a hold is only a request from a senator to the party leader to be notified when a particular bill comes up. In real terms, "that's the same as shooting it in the head with a bullet," Lott said.

Thus, one read this from earlier this year about Harry Reid's Senate:

When Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., asked for a vote on their proposal to post Senate campaign finance reports on the Internet the same day they are submitted, an anonymous senator put a secret hold on it. No vote can be held as long as the secret hold remains in place.

Here's what Charles Grassley said back in 2002 when he, along with Sen. Ron Wyden, introduced a bill to mandate that any holds be out in the open:

Essentially, a hold is a notice by a Senator to his or her party leader of an intention to object to bringing a bill or nomination to the floor for consideration.

This effectively prevents the Senate leadership from attempting to bring the matter before the Senate.

And here's what Wyden said about the super-hero-like power of the "hold":

It is one of the most powerful weapons that any Senator can wield in this body. And it is even more potent when it is invisible. The procedure is popularly known as the "hold."

Isn't it just amazing? Reid is using every power he has, including some which run directly contrary to how the Senate has traditionally operated (and how it still operates when it comes to GOP prerogatives), to ensure that one of the most glaring scandals involving Bush lawbreaking -- warrantless surveillance on U.S. citizens -- is never investigated and there is never any accountability for it. And the methods he is using to accomplish that are as corrupt as the results themselves.

Grazing Elk

Grazing Elk, originally uploaded by soundman2006.

It seems that there are too many elk in Rocky Mountain National Park. The park service is thinking about culling them.

But arriving at a population-control solution has been a messy process. Public hearings last year about proposed alternatives, including reintroducing wolves and reintroducing hunting by humans, were fractious and divisive.

A park biologist who led a management study of the elk, Therese Johnson, said in an interview that even with the plan in place, it was still uncertain how many animals might have to be killed in any year.

Ms. Johnson said that for several reasons, the park’s elk population had recently fallen a bit. About 700 were killed by hunters outside the park last year, one of the highest numbers in years. And more of the animals appear to be spending time in forest areas outside park boundaries.

She said that if the trend continued, there might be years when no animals needed to be killed. She also emphasized that the culling program would be scientifically based. The shooting would be done in winter, she said, when there are few visitors, with a goal of mimicking as much as possible how natural predators like wolves would reduce a herd, by taking out the old, the weak and the ill.

It sounds reasonable but I just do not trust the government with Bush as president.

Toxic Fish Farms

The NYT has a good article on the fish farming practices in China. I stopped buying tilapia from Trader Joes a couple a years ago because it tasted funny. It was from China.

No one is more vulnerable to these health risks than the Chinese, because most of the seafood in China stays at home. But foreign importers are also worried. In recent years, the European Union and Japan have imposed temporary bans on Chinese seafood because of illegal drug residues. The United States blocked imports of several types of fish this year after inspectors detected traces of illegal drugs linked to cancer.

This week, officials from the United States and China signed an agreement in Beijing to improve oversight of Chinese fish farms as part of a larger deal on food and drug safety.

Well, I feel safer.

There are heavy metals, mercury and flame retardants in fish samples we’ve tested,” said Ming Hung Wong, a professor of biology at Hong Kong Baptist University. “We’ve got to stop the pollutants entering the food system.”

Well, maybe not.

Dodd To Filibuster

Tomorrow Chris Dodd plans to filibuster the Fisa bill. The one that makes GW Bush's crimes legal. Here is Glenn Greenwald

There are several vital points raised by the new revelations in The New York Times that "the N.S.A.'s reliance on telecommunications companies is broader and deeper than ever before" and includes both pre-9/11 efforts to tap without warrants into the nation's domestic communications network as well as the collection of vast telephone records of American citizens in the name of the War on Drugs. The Executive Branch and the largest telecommunications companies work in virtually complete secrecy -- with no oversight and no notion of legal limits -- to spy on Americans, on our own soil, at will.

More than anything else, what these revelations highlight -- yet again -- is that the U.S. has become precisely the kind of surveillance state that we were always told was the hallmark of tyrannical societies, with literally no limits on the government's ability or willingness to spy on its own citizens and to maintain vast dossiers on those activities. The vast bulk of those on whom the Government spies have never been accused, let alone convicted, of having done anything wrong. One can dismiss those observations as hyperbole if one likes -- people want to believe that their own government is basically benevolent and "tyranny" is something that happens somewhere else -- but publicly available facts simply compel the conclusion that, by definition, we live in a lawless surveillance state, and most of our political officials are indifferent to, if not supportive of, that development.

That's precisely why our political class is about to bestow amnesty on telecoms which broke multiple laws in how they enabled the government to spy on us, even though what the telecoms did -- on purpose and for years -- is unquestionably illegal. Our political leaders in both parties plainly want this limitless surveillance to continue, and they don't think that telecoms do anything wrong even when they work with the government in spying on Americans in ways that are against the law.

And they're saying that explicitly. The legislation jointly created and about to be enacted by Jay Rockefeller, Dick Cheney, Congressional Republicans and Harry Reid -- with a vital assist from the Jane-Harman-led "Blue Dogs" in the House -- is all designed to conceal and protect this state of affairs and to enable it to grow.

Read the whole thing.

Truth

Atrios says:

We need a Democratic president so that the Republicans and their Blue Dog allies in Congress are finally inspired to take back the executive power grabs that they temporarily thought were necessary for the survival of the nation.

What this will mean in practice is that Democratic president will face a firestorm of "scandal" which will make Monica Madness pale in comparison. The powers that Bush claimed will be turned against a Democratic president and will likely be their undoing.

And this scenario is much better than the alternative.

Digby fleshes it out a bit.

Atrios says this is better than the alternative, which is sadly true. The country can't survive another GOP administration right now. But Democratic presidents are going to have to learn that their most important and difficult job will be dealing with relentless baseless political attacks from the Republicans and the media. It's the way our politics are currently constructed. Republicans accrue vast amounts of power and wealth for themselves at the expense of the taxpayers, and the Democrats are expected to clean things up by paying the debts for them. The Dems don't do it out of altruism or commitment. They do it because they are held to standards of integrity and effectiveness that aren't expected of Republicans --- and they refuse to effectively fight them, even when they have the advantage.

Read the whole thing.
Update:Avedon adds her two cents:

But what if that's too optimistic? I mean, sure, it sounds okay in a get-back-to-square-one kind of way, but I have a bad feeling that this may be too local a perspective. Are there credible national governments at all in the west anymore, or are we all under the thumb of one great big international corporate oligarchy? Is there much any individual country, let alone one as seriously weakened as the United States is now, can do to recover state power and vest it in its people? I don't know. (And that's just assuming the environmental damage isn't as far gone as it is beginning to look like. Archeologists find whole civilizations buried under layers of sand, or under water. We could be next.)

You should read her whole article.

RFID

As a conspiracy theorist, I do not like rfid but this is cool. The Danish government is going to install them in bicycles, so they set off flashing lights at dangerous intersections.

More Buckeye Trail

Lion King is on the Buckeye Trail in this episode.

Beer Fairy

Long live the beer fairies.

During the mind-crushing stress of finals week, a mythical creature haunts Oberlin. Preferring to keep his or her identity a mystery, this spirit wanders through Mudd Library when students are at their wits’ end, distributing cold cans of alcoholic relief to those most in need. This week, the Review had a special interview with the enigmatic Beer Fairy to find out the secrets associated with this Oberlin tradition.

Trail Names

Trail names are part of the Appalachian Trail community. They came about some time in the seventies, as a way to distinguish hikers. Too many Tom, Dick and Harry's. There are some trail names that are a little too frequent. Lord of the Rings characters, foot names,wolfs, foxes and bears.

There are many ways to get a trail name. The simplest way is use a nick name from home,or just make one up. This does not always work. The community may pick a name for you anyway. In '01 there was a hiker that wanted to be "the Universal Adventurer" but his name was Tom and he fell a lot so Tumbling Tom was born.

Most people end up with the right trail name. Early in a thru-hike every body will be trying to name each other. Be care full what you say or do. Also, in 01, When a group of us were siting around in the Smokies, this guy said,"every thing smells like ass, even my face." I think four or five people immediately said Ass Face.Thus Ass Face was born. He actually embraced the name. Although, in towns he would say Face or Facio. So as to not offend the delicate sensibilities of the towns folk. You do not have to accept a name someone gives you. I doubt Ass Face would have had to carry the moniker 2000 miles if he did not want it.

I think the best trail names are the short ones like Chef, Water, Bucket, or Pumpkin.

Cold Weather Camping

In 2005, I started hiking the AT in January. It was cold. Frozen snot on your nose cold. A high of 22 degrees Fahrenheit made me rethink winter hiking. But if you are going here are a couple of good articles on cold weather camping. Pilot-Intelligencer and Tribune-Review.

Bush Vs Obama

Juan Cole has a good article about Bush and Obama. It all boils down to this.

Obama did the right thing in coming clean. Bush did the wrong thing in obscuring the truth. Obama demonstrated leadership. Bush showed himself a political and moral coward, and a hypocrite.

Its good. Read the whole thing.

Bush League

GW Bush has a christmas video about the national parks. Best Hike calls the president out:

From everything I’ve heard and seen over the past 7-years, George Bush has been the worst President ever in terms of protecting the environment. National Parks, in particular, have been near lowest priority for his administration.

Just about every second day I get more bad news from the National Parks Traveler blog.

Now the White House has the nerve at the 11th hour to post a pro-Parks holiday YouTube video. At first I assumed it was an anti-Bush comedy clip. But it’s for real.

Like the Simpsons, George Bush has been reduced to self-parody.

Mock,Paper,Scissors points us to this outtake. View the outtake.

Actual Blimp

100_0615, originally uploaded by madwurm.

Ron Paul Revolution

BostonRevolution, originally uploaded by bob 42.

Libby at Newshoggers reminded me of the blimp, another great reason to go libertarian. I think this is a photoshop version though.

Feeling Safer Yet?

Do you remember the government howling about the terrorists going to blow up the Sears Tower? Well one was aquited and six ended in mistrials.

Conservatives Against Christ

The Canary Has Died

It is getting ominous.

The Arctic is often cited as the canary in the coal mine for climate warming," said Zwally, who as a teenager hauled coal. "Now as a sign of climate warming, the canary has died. It is time to start getting out of the coal mines."

Update: The point of no return.

Greenland

Greenland may be green again. It amazes me that the amount of ice that melted this year raised sea level by 2/100th of an inch. The oceans are huge. Just think if all the ice melted.

Greenland is about one-fourth the size of the United States and about 80 percent of it is covered by the ice sheet. One-twentieth of the world's ice is in Greenland; if it all melted it would be equivalent to a 21-foot (6.4 meter) global sea level rise, the scientists said.

It seems that magma may be heating Greenland from below as well. Perhaps we have the makings for the perfect storm.

The newly discovered hotspot, an area where Earth’s crust is thinner, allowing hot magma from Earth's mantle to come closer to the surface, is just below the ice sheet and could have caused it to form, von Frese and his team suggest.

Ascent

Ascent, originally uploaded by konaboy.

The search for the hiker lost on Mauna Kea has been called off. He was last seen going hiking alone. The search has been hampered by blizzard like conditions.

Torture

Dan Froomkin:

But it all boils down to the fact that, so far, no one from Bush on down has come up with a single documented example of American lives saved thanks to torture.

Northern Lights

Northen Lights (Aurora Borialis), originally uploaded by Arnaldur Birgisson.

Scientists have found out the energy source for the northern lights.

SAN FRANCISCO - Scientists think they have discovered the energy source of the spectacular color displays seen in the northern lights. New data from NASA's Themis mission, a quintet of satellites launched this winter, found the energy comes from a stream of charged particles from the sun flowing like a current through twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting Earth's upper atmosphere to the sun.

The energy is then abruptly released in the form of a shimmering display of lights visible in the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, said principal investigator Vassilis Angelopoulos of the

Groovy

I find this oddly compelling.

Profesional

91%DRUNKARD

Charlotte Dating

Health Care

It seems the republican politicians like their government health care. Some think Cheney would be dead without it. Hat Tip to my fellow illeist the Wege.
Avedon makes a great comment about the republican contenders and cancer.

Grits

CRW_6339 milton grits cockrell, originally uploaded by bennettphoto.

I ran into Grits on the Appalachian Trail in '06 and '07. He is a wonderful storyteller. He could probably give Twain a run for his money if he tried. " High praise, high praise indeed" he would say if I told him that.

He is a stealthy hiker, treading lightly through the woods. I can hear his voice as, I remember his stories. Alas, they are his stories to tell.

Biodiesel

This is pretty cool. A bus service in Scotland is giving discounts for used cooking oil.

How does it work? Well if you’re one of the 15,500 people who uses the Service One route from Stewarton to Darvel you’ll be given a container in which to save up your cooking oil. Once it’s full you take it to the recycling plant and in return receive vouchers giving you reduced bus-fares.

More Lion King

This video is much better than the one I posted the other day.

Nalgenes

My Nalgene Collection (Well..Part of it), originally uploaded by valjean615.

I have been meaning to write a post about nalgene bottles for a few days now. I just saw this article from the Gristmill so: It seems that Mountain Equipment Co Op in Canada has caused a few people to write articles about them. From the Globe and Mail:

he plastic in question is made mostly from bisphenol A, which mimics estrogen and is derived from petrochemicals.

It has been linked in dozens of independent research studies to illnesses that could be caused by hormone disruption.

And this from Reuter's:

It has been linked in dozens of independent research studies to illnesses that could be caused by hormone disruption.[...]

Norway and the European Union are also reviewing the product. Japanese manufacturers decided voluntarily to stop making products using polycarbonate plastic five to six years ago.

Of course the manufacturer's deny anything could be wrong with there product. I stopped using them because they are heavy. Most long distance hikers do not use them for that reason. Heck, the last time I bought one(at Goodwill) it was so I could put stickers on it. The stickers cost more than the bottle.

Product Placement

The NYT has an article about how products are getting placed in TV shows. It is hard to believe that people do not realize that this happens. As a NASCAR fan, I get bombarded by advertising. I personally root for the number 17 DeWALT Powertools Ford, driven by Matt Kenseth. The announcers, commentators, drivers, crew chiefs, and everyone else is in on it. You are more likely to hear the name of a sponsor than the number of the car. Coke is the largest placer of product. It is easy to believe if you watch NASCAR. Drivers are always drinking it during interviews. Coke even had an add joking about which driver could get in TV the most drinking Coke. Rumor has it they get a bonus. Who cares?

Does Not Sound Good

I am not going to speculate on this article other than to sat it does not sound good.

Naked hiker rescued on mountain trail

By Heath Urie (Contact)
Sunday, December 9, 2007

Boulder County sheriff's investigators are trying to figure out why a disoriented woman in her mid-20s was hiking naked on a mountain trail in the snow Saturday afternoon.

[...]

Parker said authorities have identified the woman, but would not release her name because she is considered "a victim."

Other hiking news via Two-heel Drive. A website has been put up to help find Veronica Ruiz

Morning Cup Of Tea

It seems my morning cup of tea is good for me. Of course I knew that. A couple of studies in the news today about eating fruits and vegetables. Seems those old wives tales are true. Where did that knowledge come from? This study even suggests that food can be medicine how revolutionary.

In fact, "foods can be medicine," added Jardine, co-author of a manufacturer-funded study of a "punch" that appeared to reduce the growth of prostate cancer in mice.

Of course you do not have to eat the manufacturer-funded punch. You could just have a berry smoothie. And I all ready drink a hefty four to six cups of green tea a day.

Hiking Roundup

The search for missing IRS agent has been called off.

Missing hiker found in Canada.

Missing hiker in Hawaii.

Iowa Voters

Yesterday, I asked if only four percent of Iowa voters went to the caucuses. Today Tapped says in 2004 it was just 5.7% of voters. That would mean just 37,395 Iowa voters get to decide who gets to be president, given that the boost to the winner is so large. This study says Iowa and New Hampshire have up to 20 times the influence of latter states. It just does not seem fair. It would take a small amount of determined people spread across Iowa to game the system.

You, Sir, Have No Business Being President

Amen Keith

Hiker Lost
Serious snark

Still Hiking

Lion King is in Iowa and moving west. Check out his website and journal.

Thru-Hiking

The Baltimore Sun has a good article on a local thru-hiker.

t's not uncommon that people assume that hiking the trail is one lengthy camping trip, Sharpe said. In fact, "thru-hikers" -- people who walk the "A.T." in one continuous journey

I did not meet Sudoku on my hike this year. I hiked from Clark's Ferry PA to Glencliff NH, a journey of 643 miles. Not bad considering I had Plantar Fasciitis in my right foot.

The article did not mention bears. Most hikers get questions about bears. I am not particularly concerned about bears myself.

Time For Thanks And Praise
The Reverend Peyton

Thanks to CLB blues impresario Jimmy Fatback.

Is This Right?

The Daily Howler says that four percent of Iowa's eligible voters participated in the 2000 caucuses. Given the amount of coverage, and the bounce a politician gets this is nuts.

Mt Tamalpais Hill Trail

Mt. Tamalpais hill trail, originally uploaded by echoman.

This is the third day Veronica Ruiz has been missing. She was reportedly despondent after breaking up with her boy friend. Ms Ruiz Is an IRS agent with a license to carry a gun. Police have been unable to find her gun. I fear she may harm herself. I hope I am wrong. Suicide is one of the top ten causes of deaths in the wilderness.

Pat Boon Robo Call

I got a Pat Boon Robo call this morning warning me that my energy bills would go up if congress passes this sneaky energy bill. Press 1 and you will be connected to your congressman now(at no charge to you) Tell him to vote no or your energy bills will go up. I wish progressives could work this fast to get out the word. We could get Crunchy Hipster Actor to say lets make the world a healthier place. Here is a link to the San Francisco Chronicle's article on the historic energy bill.

Foldschool

Foldschool is site with children's furniture made out of large cardboard origami. My brother is going to dig it.

Shovel Snow

Shovel snow., originally uploaded by christiannealmcneil.

I have to shovel snow. This is a picture of one of the huts on the Appalachian Trail in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

More FISA

Glenn Greenwald is exposing Time as the republican mouthpiece that they are. Go Glenn.

Second, Rep. Rush Holt -- before he published his response in The Huffington Post detailing Klein's false claims -- asked that he be given the opportunity to respond to Klein's false column directly on Time's Swampland, where Klein was in the process of making all sorts of statements compounding his errors. But Time also denied Rep. Holt the opportunity to bring his response to the attention of Time's readers.

According to Zach Goldberg, Rep. Holt's spokesman: "Rep. Holt had an email exchange with Mr. Klein about FISA and his column. During the exchange, Rep. Holt made a request to respond with a Swampland post to clarify what is really in the RESTORE Act. Mr. Klein noted he already issued a public apology and did not accept the request."

Let's just ponder for a second how lowly Time's behavior here is. It refused the requests of two sitting members of Congress, both of whom are members of the Intelligence Committees and have played a central role in drafting the pending FISA legislation, to correct Klein's false statements in Time itself. What kind of magazine smears its targets with patently false statements and then blocks them from responding?

Making matters much worse is the fact that, as we now know, Klein's false statements about the House Democrats' FISA bill were basically ghost-written by GOP Rep. Pete Hoekstra. Klein never quoted a single Democratic proponent of that bill -- not in his original false article, nor his multiple Swampland posts, nor the three separate "corrections" published by Time.

Conservative Media

Atrios points us to this.

When police arrested Nielsen, a prominent GOP activist at the time, The Orange County Register failed to tell its readers. In fact, the paper—some of whose staffers enjoy cozy relationships with local GOP leaders, including Rohrabacher and Baugh—waited more than three years to mention Nielsen’s arrest. Worse, while Nielsen awaited trial for molesting the Westminster boy, the Register’s Richard Chang helped to bolster the accused pedophile’s reputation in the community. In an article, Chang didn’t mention the charges, but rather praised Nielsen for volunteering to help homeless puppies from the Katrina disaster in New Orleans.

Digby asks a good question.

Perhaps we need to start asking ourselves not only why so many conservative Republicans are perverts and hypocrites, but why they are so drawn to politics as a profession? I had always thought that a good number of the pedophiles who joined the priesthood did because they knew it was safe. Who would ever suspect the moralistic and sexually conservative church? Is it possible that perverts and hypocrites are joining Republican politics for the same reason?

A Question For Huckabee

If we had a liberal media we would have heard this question already. "Governor Huckabee do you plan on pardoning all rapists or just the ones that raped a Clinton relative?" You know a Democratic contender would have to answer that question.
For some background info Steve Benen says

Way back in January, Mike Huckabee appeared on Meet the Press and was asked about Wayne Dumond. In 1996, Dumond, a convicted rapist who attacked a 17-year-old girl, was up for parole, but the Arkansas parole board was poised to deny his request. Huckabee intervened and announced he would commute Dumond’s sentence, causing the parole board to reverse course and grant him parole, a decision Huckabee endorsed

.

Here is Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars.

Holy cow, it’s unbelievable how far the right wing’s obsession about the Clenis goes. Huckabee is desperately trying to put daylight between himself and Dumond because Dumond’s release was all about discrediting Clinton. Again. Hillary was spot on right about that “vast right wing conspiracy”. And the saddest thing is I don’t know that Huckabee’s base would be as concerned about these kind of ethical issues to not vote for him. Do they care about Huckabee’s complete lack of knowledge of the Iranian NIE? Or evolution? Let’s face it, the bar for Republican understanding has been set pretty low.

Update: Atrios has added his two cents.

Dumond was let go because right wing lunatics believed that Bill Clinton sent his goons to castrate an "innocent" man because one of his "alleged" victims was a distant relative. That this story was, you know, pretty much insane didn't stop it from getting regular play in the conservative press.