Monday, November 30, 2009

Ark. Gov. Huckaby granted clemency to man sought in Sunday's police slaughter - Seattle Times

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Originally published Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 5:45 PM

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Maurice Clemmons, man wanted for questioning, has troubling criminal history

The man sought for questioning in the execution of four Lakewood police officers was granted clemency in 2000 by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and released on bail just six days ago on a child rape charge in Washington state.

By Seattle Times staff

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Maurice Clemmons

 

Maurice Clemmons

Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old Tacoma man being sought for questioning in the killing this morning of four Lakewood police officers, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.

Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors.

"This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' Pulaski County said tonight when informed that Clemmons was being sought for questioning in connection with the killings.

Clemmons' criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. The record also stands out for the number of times he has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed.

Huckabee, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination last year, issued a statement tonight calling the slaying of the police officers "a horrible and tragic event."

If Clemmons is found responsible, "it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State," Huckabee said.

He added that Clemmons' release from prison had been reviewed and approved by the Arkansas parole board.

Clemmons had been in jail in Pierce County for the past several months on a pending charge of second-degree rape of a child. He was released from custody just six days ago, even though was staring at seven additional felony charges in Washington state.

Clemmons posted $15,000 with a Chehalis company called Jail Sucks Bail Bonds. The bondsman, in turn, put up $150,000, securing Clemmons' release on the pending child-rape charge.

Clemmons lives in Tacoma, where he has run a landscaping and power-washing business out of his house, according to a police interview with his wife earlier this year.

He was married, but the relationship was tumultuous, with accounts of his unpredictable behavior leading to at least two confrontations with police earlier this year.

During the confrontation in May, Clemmons punched a sheriff's deputy in the face, according to court records. As part of that incident, he was charged with seven counts of assault and malicious mischief.

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In another instance, Clemmons was accused of gathering his wife and young relatives around at 3 or 4 in the morning and having them all undress. He told them that families need to "be naked for at least 5 minutes on Sunday," a Pierce County sheriff's report says.

"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," the report says.

As part of the child-rape investigation, the sheriff's office interviewed Clemmons' sister in May. She told them that "Maurice is not in his right mind and did not know how he could react when contacted by Law Enforcement," a sheriff's report says.

"She stated that he was saying that the secret service was coming to get him because he had written a letter to the President. She stated his behavior has become unpredictable and erratic. She suspects he is having a mental breakdown," the report says.

Deputies also interviewed other family members. They reported that Clemmons had been saying he could fly and that he expected President Obama to visit to "confirm that he is Messiah in the flesh."

Prosecutors in Pierce County were sufficiently concerned about Clemmons' mental health that they asked to have him evaluated at Western State Hospital. Earlier this month, on Nov. 6, a psychologist concluded that Clemmons was competent to stand trial on the child-rape and other felony charges, according to court records.

Clemmons moved Washington in 2004, after being released from prison in Arkansas, state Department of Corrections records indicate. That would mean he had gone five years or so before landing in serious trouble with authorities here, according to a review of his criminal record.

Clemmons started Sea-Wash Pressure Washing Landscaping with his wife, Nicole Smith, in October 2005. The license for the business expired last month.

Long history of trouble in Arkansas

News accounts out of Arkansas offer a confusing � and, at times, conflicting � description of Clemmons' criminal history and prison time.

In 1990, Clemmons, then 18, was sentenced in Arkansas to 60 years in prison for burglary and theft of property, according to a news account in Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Newspaper stories describe a series of disturbing incidents involving Clemmons while he was being tried in Arkansas on various charges.

During one trial, Clemmons was shackled in leg irons and seated next to a uniformed officer. The presiding judge ordered the extra security because he felt Clemmons had threatened him, court records show.

Another time, Clemmons hid a hinge in his sock, and was accused of intending to use it as a weapon. Yet another time, Clemmons took a lock from a holding cell, and threw it toward the bailiff. He missed and instead hit Clemmons' mother, who had come to bring him street clothes, according to records and published reports.

On another occasion, Clemmons had reached for a guard's pistol during transport to the courtroom.

When Clemmons received the 60-year sentence, he was already serving 48 years on five felony convictions and facing up to 95 more years on charges of robbery, theft of property and possessing a handgun on school property. Records from Clemmons' sentencing described him as 5-foot-7 and 108 pounds. The crimes were committed when he was 17.

Clemmons served 11 years before being released.

News accounts say Huckabee commuted Clemmons' sentence, citing Clemmons' young age at the time the crimes were committed.

But Clemmons remained on parole � and soon after landed in trouble again. In March 2001, he was accused of violating his parole by committing aggravated robbery and theft, according to a story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

He was returned to prison on a parole violation. But in what appears to have been a mistake, Clemmons was not actually served with the arrest warrants until leaving prison three years later. As a result, Clemmons' attorney argued that the charges should be dismissed because too much time had passed. Prosecutors dropped the charges.

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I'm as liberal as they come, but criminals like this should never see the light of day.  Posted on November 29, 2009 at 5:56 PM by EvergreenStater. Jump to comment
Gee, a repeat felon, including child rapist, was set free to kill. I guess we needed the prison space for drug offenders, who are a real threat...  Posted on November 29, 2009 at 5:56 PM by sage_commander. Jump to comment
WHY THE HELL IS THIS MAN OUT OF JAIL?!?!? Whoever is responsible for allowing this man out of jail, should go to prison. I know people who are...  Posted on November 29, 2009 at 5:56 PM by Gasoline. Jump to comment


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Saturday, November 28, 2009

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? USDA web site answers.

I happened upon this gem this morning when checking on the USDA's food safety web site ("Ask Karen") on a poultry question. Personally, I was pleased that the folks behind this web site a) had the sense of humor to include the question and b) relied on a scientific answer, and a citation for further information.


  Which came first, the chicken or the egg? spacer   Answer   Eggs existed long before chickens, according to On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. These all-in-one reproductive cells, incorporating the nutrients to support life, evolved about a billion years ago. The first eggs were hatched in the ocean. As animal life emerged from the water about 250 million years ago, they began producing an egg with a tough leathery skin to prevent dehydration of its contents on dry land. The chicken evolved only about 5,000 years ago from an Asian bird.

Posted via web from Doug's posterous

White House: State dinner crashers met Obama

This AP report on the state dinner crashers raises so many questions. My top one: how did we turn into a society where getting onto a "reality TV show" is a legitimate goal?


White House: State dinner crashers met Obama


WASHINGTON - This time, the picture is the story.

After the Secret Service insisted that President Barack Obama was never endangered by a security breach that allowed a couple to crash his first state dinner, the White House has released a photo showing that not only did the pair get close to Obama, they actually shook hands and talked to him.

As the White House was disclosing that the Virginia couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, met Obama in the receiving line, a "deeply concerned and embarrassed" Secret Service on Friday acknowledged that its officers never checked whether the two were on the guest list before letting them onto the White House grounds.

The White House released a photo showing the Salahis in the receiving line in the Blue Room with Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in whose honor the dinner was held. Obama and reality TV hopeful Michaele Salahi are smiling as she grasps his right hand with both of hers and her husband looks on. Singh is standing to Obama's left.

The Secret Service earlier this week had said the president was not in danger because the couple - like others at the dinner - had gone through magnetometers. But in light of their close proximity to the president, no such claim was made Friday.

The Salahis were not on the guest list and should have been barred from entering last Tuesday's dinner on the White House South Lawn for the prime minister of India, said Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan.

Sullivan said the agency that protects the president is "deeply concerned and embarrassed" that procedures were not followed.

"As our investigation continues, appropriate measures have been taken to ensure this is not repeated," Sullivan said in a written statement.

"The preliminary findings of our internal investigation have determined established protocols were not followed at an initial checkpoint, verifying that two individuals were on the guest list," Sullivan said. "Although these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely. That failing is ours."

Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin said officers at the checkpoint had a clipboard with names of the invited guests. Even though the Salahis names weren't on it, they were allowed to proceed. The officers should have called someone on the White House staff or Secret Service personnel before allowing them past the checkpoint, Mackin said.

Earlier, Mackin said the Secret Service may pursue a criminal investigation of the Salahis.

Sullivan said it wasn't good enough that his agency screened more than 1.2 million visitors last year to the White House complex and protected more than 10,000 sites for the president, vice president and others.

"Even with these successes, we need to be right 100 percent of the time," he said.

It is unclear what the couple told officers at the checkpoint that allowed them to go through the security screening. Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly and willfully falsify statements on matters within the federal government's jurisdiction.

"As this moves closer to a criminal investigation there's less that we can say," Mackin said. "We're not leaving any option off the table at this point."

White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said the Secret Service will take appropriate action once the review is completed.

"The men and women of the Secret Service put their lives on the line everyday to protect us. They are heroes and they have the full confidence of the president of the United States," Shapiro said.

The Salahis lawyer, Paul Gardner, posted a comment on their Facebook page saying, "My clients were cleared by the White House, to be there." He said more information would be forthcoming. Several messages left at Gardner's law firm on Friday were not returned.

Bravo Media has confirmed that Michaele Salahi is being considered as a participant in the upcoming "The Real Housewives of D.C." program and on the day of the dinner was being filmed by Half Yard Productions, the producer of the program.

"Half Yard Productions was told by Michaele and Tareq Salahi that they had been invited to the State Dinner. We took them at their word and filmed their preparations for the event. Half Yard Productions had no part in planning their presence at the event," said Abby Greensfelder of Half Yard Productions.

Photos on the couple's Facebook page they previously had gotten close to Obama. One photo, apparently taken in the days before Obama took the oath of office, shows the Salahis in a group shot with Obama and some of the musicians who performed at an inaugural concert.

Other photos show the Salahis in the empty, glass-enclosed box from which the Obamas watched the concert and, according to the caption, "backstage with the Secret Service at the Lincoln Memorial during the Presidential Inauguration."

----

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.


By LARRY MARGASAK Associated Press Writer


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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Tonight's dinner: Alaska cod steamed over wine, w/ginger, garlic and parsley, served over organic mixed greens.

via tweetie

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The restaurant cheese plate crisis

With the increasing supply of artisan cheeses throughout the United States, one might wonder why any restaurant presents anything but a carefully selected, thoughtfully plated cheese selection. Regretfully, cheese wizards from coast to coast are finding artistry sadly lacking in too many cheese plate production lines. For more, check out my post at WineAndFoodWorld.com.

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Monday, November 16, 2009

Sustainable fishing advocates aiming to curb bycatch kills

In yet another example of how industrial fishing operations endanger the future of fish, the waters of the Pacific now are dotted with man-made "reefs" known as "FADs" or "fish aggregating devices." Created as a response to calls for "Dolphin-safe tuna," these FADs appear to be doing far more harm than good.

For details and to follow Casson Trenor's reporting from a Greenpeace vessel over the next several weeks, go to http://www.sustainablesushi.net/2009/11/05/skipjack-seiners-and-the-sea/. His blog on keeping the supply of fish safe is well worth following at other times, too.

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New Yorker cartoon pokes fun at foodies

Yes, even I chuckled at this one: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2009/11/23/cartoons_20091116?slide=7#showHeader

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (Revised January 7, 2009) and Privacy Policy (Revised January 7, 2009). The New Yorker © 2009 Condé Nast Digital. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast Digital.

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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Tonight's wine

via tweetie

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Tonight's wine

via tweetie

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A scary sight

via tweetie

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A scary sight

via tweetie

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Another signal to run the other way:

Just overheard fellow cruiser, a woman maybe in the 200-pound range, telling someone on the phone, "I'm just about to get my bikini on." Maybe she was kidding? I suppose I have no right to care if that's what makes her comfortable. But this is definitely a time when my distance glasses are best left behind. Just be assured that I will not be putting on anything like a Speedo or bikini myself.

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

Another signal to run the other way:

Just overheard fellow cruiser, a woman maybe in the 200-pound range, telling someone on the phone, "I'm just about to get my bikini on." Maybe she was kidding? I suppose I have no right to care if that's what makes her comfortable. But this is definitely a time when my distance glasses are best left behind. Just be assured that I will not be putting on anything like a Speedo or bikini myself.

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

One more thing I'd rather not see: a much older man on beach wearing Speedos.

Sent from my iPhone

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An observation about Americans

As I travel south of the US border on a cruise ship filled mostly with older, retired folks, a few things stand out to me. The top one is that there are a lot of Americans who are unhappy, who seem to find fault in just about any situation. I have heard people complain that a tour guide in Acapulco had a Mexican accent. What did they expect, French? Or the people who don't want to pay their dinner waiter a $2 gratuity after 90 minutes of personal attention.

Maybe I was raised differently, but I am absolutely soaking up the cultural differences and thriving on what I am seeing that is new to me. Was I disappointed that my stateroom attendant didn't respond to a request within seconds? Sure. Does it matter? Not one bit.

I wish some of my fellow travelers had more of my perspective. To be fair, many of them do, and many people here are remarkable in their own ways. But the loudmouth complainers are the ones who give credence to our reputation abroad. I hope we can change this.


Sent from my iPhone

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Monday, October 19, 2009

Organic baby food recall

KCBS 740AM/106.9FM (@KCBSNews):
10/19/09 10:15 PM
Plum Organics Baby Food Recall http://easyuri.com/38dd6

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Sunday, October 18, 2009

If balloon boy was a hoax, why is it still dominating news?

CBS Radio just led hourly newscast with two angles on balloon boy, then went on to health care and Afghanistan. CNN has been almost walk- to-wall on balloon boy, of course playing up the sheriff's comment that the family's interview with Wolf Blitzer was the first big indication that the family was faking it. Yes, give Blitzer credit for the probing questions that prompted Falcon to say he hid from people calling his name because his parents told him it was "for the show."

But isn't it enough already? These people have used up their 15 minutes of fame.

Sent from my iPhone

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Saturday, October 17, 2009

Why is the media obsessed with the baloon boy hoax?

I think the most remarkable -- and disturbing -- things about this "balloon boy" crap is how many AP journalists names are listed as contributing to the coverage. Wonder how many are assigned to health care or other stories that actually have an impact on people.

See http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091018/ap_on_re_us/us_boy_in_balloon;_ylt=At9nk05OjonTvmM1jNAJqBys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJ2M2o3YXU1BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDE4L3VzX2JveV9pbl9iYWxsb29uBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDc2hlcmlmZmNoYXJn

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Japan chef creates Obama sushi

Click on the link to see pictures that are almost as remarkable as the Chia Obama. 

Jeffrey Kingman (@JeffreyJKingman):
10/13/09 9:22 PM
Obama Sushi http://bit.ly/ymop0 too funny!

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Saturday, October 10, 2009

California govt needs reform

I hope that people pay attention to these comments from California's chief justice about the importance of fixing California's constitution. Our government has become incapable of governing. The prospects of organizing a constitutional convention are daunting but need to be done. Read more: http://bit.ly/isySX.

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Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore

More from @Mmflint Michael Moore

Sent from my iPhone


Begin forwarded message:

From: "Michael Moore" <maillist@michaelmoore.com>
Date: October 10, 2009 2:53:17 PM PDT
To: dlevy@nasw.org
Subject: Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore
Reply-To: maillist@michaelmoore.com

Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Friends,

Last night my wife asked me if I thought I was a little too hard on Obama in my letter yesterday congratulating him on his Nobel Prize. "No, I don't think so," I replied. I thought it was important to remind him he's now conducting the two wars he's inherited. "Yeah," she said, "but to tell him, 'Now earn it!'? Give the guy a break -- this is a great day for him and for all of us."

I went back and re-read what I had written. And I listened for far too long yesterday to the right wing hate machine who did what they could to crap all over Barack's big day. Did I -- and others on the left -- do the same?

We are weary, weary of war. The trillions that will have gone to these two wars have helped to bankrupt us as a nation -- financially and morally. To think of all the good we could have done with all that money! Two months of the War in Iraq would pay for all the wells that need to be dug in the Third World for drinking water! Obama is moving too slow for most of us -- but he needs to know we are with him and we stand beside him as he attempts to turn eight years of sheer madness around. Who could do that in nine months? Superman? Thor? Mitch McConnell?

Instead of waiting to see what the president is going to do, we all need to be pro-active and push the agenda that we want to see enacted. What keeps us from forming the same local groups we put together to get out the vote last November? C'mon! We're the majority now -- the majority by a significant margin! We call the shots -- and we need to tell this wimpy Congress to get busy and do what we say -- or else.

All I ask of those who voted for Obama is to not pile on him too quickly. Yes, make your voice heard (his phone number is 202-456-1414). But don't abandon the best hope we've had in our lifetime for change. And for God's sake, don't head to bummerville if he says or does something we don't like. Do you ever see Republicans behave that way? I mean, the Right had 20 years of Republican presidents and they still couldn't get prayer in the public schools, or outlaw abortion, or initiate a flat tax or put our Social Security into the stock market. They did a lot of damage, no doubt about that, but on the key issues that the Christian Right fought for, they came up nearly empty handed. No wonder they've been driven crazy lately. They'll never have it as good again as they've had it since Reagan took office.

But -- do you ever see them looking all gloomy and defeated? No! They keep on fighting! Every day. Our side? At the first sign of wavering, we just pack up our toys and go home.

So, at least for this weekend, let us celebrate what people elsewhere are celebrating -- that America now has a sane and smart man in the White House, a man who truly wants a world at peace for his two daughters.

Many, for the past couple days (yes, myself included), have grumbled, "What has he done to earn this prize?" How 'bout this:

The simple fact that he was elected was reason enough for him to be the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Because on that day the murderous actions of the Bush/Cheney years were totally and thoroughly rebuked. One man -- a man who opposed the War in Iraq from the beginning -- offered to end the insanity. The world has stood by in utter horror for the past eight years as they watched the descendants of Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson light the fuse of our own self-destruction. We flipped off the nations on this planet by abandoning Kyoto and then proceeded to melt eight more years worth of the polar ice caps. We invaded two nations that didn't attack us, failed to find the real terrorists and, in effect, ignited our own wave of terror. People all over the world wondered if we had gone mad.

And if all that wasn't enough, the outgoing Joker presided over the worst global financial collapse since the Great Depression.

So, yeah, at precisely 11:00pm ET on November 4, 2008, Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. And the 66 million people who voted for him won it, too. By the time he took the stage at midnight ET in the Grant Park Historic Hippie Battlefield in downtown Chicago, billions of people around the globe were already breathing a huge sigh of relief. It was as if, in that instant, one man did bring the promise of peace to the world -- and most were ready to go wherever he wanted to go to achieve that end. Never before had the election of one man made every other nation feel like they had won, too. When you've got billions of people ready, willing and able to join a cause like this, well, a prize in Oslo is the least that you deserve.

One other thought. The Peace Prize historically has been given to those who have worked to throw off the yoke of racial discrimination and segregation (Martin Luther King, Jr., Desmond Tutu). I think the Nobel committee, in awarding Obama the prize, was also rewarding the fact that something profound had happened in a nation that was founded on racial genocide, built on racist slavery, and held back for a hundred-plus years by vestiges of hateful bigotry (which can still be found on display at teabagger rallies and daily talk radio). The fact that this one man could cause this seismic historical event to occur -- and to do so with such grace and humility, never succumbing to the bait, but still not backing down (yes, he asked to be sworn in as "Barack Hussein Obama"!) -- is more than reason enough he should be in Oslo to meet the King on December 10. Maybe he could take us along with him. 'Cause I also suspect the Nobel committee was tipping its hat to all of us -- we, the American people, had conquered some of our racism and did the truly unexpected. After seeing searing images of our black fellow citizens left to drown in New Orleans -- and poor whites seeing their own treated no better than the black man they had been raised to hate -- we had all seen enough. It was time for change.

Thank you, Barack Obama, for giving us the opportunity to redeem ourselves. Now for the tasks ahead. We need you to do all that you promised to do. We need it. The world needs it.

My prediction for the future? You become the first *two-time* winner of the Nobel Peace Prize! Yeah!

Fred (that's Norwegian for "Peace"),
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com


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Friday, October 9, 2009

Congratulations President Obama on the Nobel Peace Prize -- Now Please Earn it!

I agree with some of @MMFlint / Michael Moore's comments below about President Obama's Nobel Prize. What do you think?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael Moore <maillist@michaelmoore.com>
Date: Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Subject: Congratulations President Obama on the Nobel Peace Prize -- Now Please Earn it!
To: dlevy@nasw.org


Congratulations President Obama on the Nobel Peace Prize -- Now Please Earn it!

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Dear President Obama,

How outstanding that you've been recognized today as a man of peace. Your swift, early pronouncements -- you will close Guantanamo, you will bring the troops home from Iraq, you want a nuclear weapon-free world, you admitted to the Iranians that we overthrew their democratically-elected president in 1953, you made that great speech to the Islamic world in Cairo, you've eliminated that useless term "The War on Terror," you've put an end to torture -- these have all made us and the rest of the world feel a bit more safe considering the disaster of the past eight years. In eight months you have done an about face and taken this country in a much more sane direction.

But...

The irony that you have been awarded this prize on the 2nd day of the ninth year of our War in Afghanistan is not lost on anyone. You are truly at a crossroads now. You can listen to the generals and expand the war (only to result in a far-too-predictable defeat) or you can declare Bush's Wars over, and bring all the troops home. Now. That's what a true man of peace would do.

There is nothing wrong with you doing what the last guy failed to do -- capture the man or men responsible for the mass murder of 3,000 people on 9/11. BUT YOU CANNOT DO THAT WITH TANKS AND TROOPS. You are pursuing a criminal, not an army. You do not use a stick of dynamite to get rid of a mouse.

The Taliban is another matter. That is a problem for the people of Afghanistan to resolve -- just as we did in 1776, the French did in 1789, the Cubans did in 1959, the Nicaraguans did in 1979 and the people of East Berlin did in 1989. One thing is certain through all revolutions by people who wish to be free -- they ultimately have to bring about that freedom themselves. Others can be supportive, but freedom can not be delivered from the front seat of someone else's Humvee.

You have to end our involvement in Afghanistan now. If you don't, you'll have no choice but to return the prize to Oslo.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Your opposition has spent the morning attacking you for bringing such good will to this country. Why do they hate America so much? I get the feeling that if you found the cure for cancer this afternoon they'd be denouncing you for destroying free enterprise because cancer centers would have to close. There are those who say you've done nothing yet to deserve this award. As far as I'm concerned, the very fact that you've offered to walk into the minefield of hate and try to undo the irreparable damage the last president did is not only appreciated by me and millions of others, it is also an act of true bravery. That's why you got the prize. The whole world is depending on the U.S. -- and you -- to literally save this planet. Let's not let them down.


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Net Atlantic

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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Tyler Florence and Sammy Hagar are taking over Mill Valley's El Paseo, according to Pacific Sun http://bit.ly/pSN19

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Breaking News: CBO Says Senate Health-Care Bill Would Reduce Deficit

Sent from my iPhone


Begin forwarded message:

From: "The Washington Post" <newsletters@email.washingtonpost.com>
Date: October 7, 2009 1:28:30 PM PDT
To: dlevy@nasw.org
Subject: Breaking News: CBO Says Senate Health-Care Bill Would Reduce Deficit
Reply-To: "The Washington Post" <newslettersTUNMY9.276529@email.washingtonpost.com>



News Alert - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/SFBD1U/5161X/NJQC5K/O1QAKI/1CH2M/UP/t

04:22 PM EDT Wednesday, October 7, 2009

CBO Says Senate Health-Care Bill Would Reduce Deficit - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/SFBD1U/5161X/NJQC5K/O1QAKI/X8UOA/UP/t

A bill drafted by the Senate Finance Committee would cost $829 billion over the next decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said today, and meet President Obama's goal to reduce the federal budget deficit.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/SFBD1U/5161X/NJQC5K/O1QAKI/1CH24/UP/t
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Posted via email from Doug's posterous

Since when is dog poop a national news story?

Posted via web from Doug's posterous

Sunday, October 4, 2009

MacPhail's excellent pinots featured in SF Chronicle profile

Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle includes a profile of winemaker James MacPhail, who is making some of the best Sonoma Pinot Noirs that I have ever had. I especially agree with Jon Bonne's characterization of MacPhail's Goodin vineyard Pinot as darker and richer than typical, but absolutely delicious. Here's the link to the article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/02/FD5L19TVS5.DTL&type=wine.

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Friday, October 2, 2009

Check out this site I found on StumbleUpon!

StumbleUpon | Discover Your Web.
Home News Photos Videos
Hi,

Interesting article by NPR's Andy Carvin about an intellectual property case involving tv loudmouth Glenn Beck.

Glenn Beck Internet Meme Gets Ugly - All Tech Considered -..
npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidere...



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Thursday, October 1, 2009

WSJ NEWS ALERT: Fossils From Human Forebearers Revealed

Sent from my iPhone


Begin forwarded message:

From: "WSJ.com Editors" <access@interactive.wsj.com>
Date: October 1, 2009 7:34:52 AM PDT
To: dlevy@nasw.org
Subject: WSJ NEWS ALERT: Fossils From Human Forebearers Revealed
Reply-To: do-not-reply@marketwatchmail.com

__________________________________
News Alert
from The Wall Street Journal
----------------------------
Sponsored by NASDAQ OMX
----------------------------


After 15 years of rumors, researchers in the U.S. and Ethiopia made public fossils from a 4.4-million-year-old human forebearer they say reveal that our earliest ancestors were more modern than scholars assumed and deepens the evolutionary gulf separating humankind from today's apes and chimpanzees.

The highlight of the extensive fossil trove is a female skeleton a million years older than the iconic bones of Lucy, the primitive female figure that has long symbolized humankind's beginnings.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125440678661956317.html?mod=djemalertNEWS


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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Please act now to save the bluefin tuna

I have been following Casson Trenor's efforts to promote "Sustainable Sushi" and find his arguments most compelling. The bluefin tuna has been dangerously overfished, and I consider it no longer acceptable to order it at a sushi bar, and I have been actively encouraging sushi bars that I visit to stop serving it. Please read his latest blog post about the European Union's recent decision to NOT protect the bluefin for details on the problem and what you can do about it. And let me know what you think. http://www.sustainablesushi.net/2009/09/30/to-spite-their-faces/

Posted via web from Doug's posterous

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The real meaning of "rogue" - not what Sarah Palin wants us to think

Here is an article that recounts the origin of "rogue" in relation to ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. It's not pretty, and the facts of the matters involved are not either. My hope is that Americans are not as shallow as she appears to be. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/akmuckraker/the-real-story-of-the-rog_b_302369.html

Posted via web from Doug's posterous

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Profound, scary, thought-provoking Oliphant cartoon

As usual, Pat Oliphant has a way of pointing out some of the thoughts lurking beneath the surface. The revelation that a Fox News producer "fired up" anti-Obama protesters on the Washington Mall on 9/12 apparently is the basis for this cartoon. Certainly it combines with some of the fanatacism that has been circulating on purported news programs such as those hosted by Glenn Beck on Fox and Rush Limbaugh on so many radio stations.

Many of us on the left vehemently disagreed with President George W. Bush and his policies, but the debate rarely sank to the personal attack levels that seem to have become commonplace. Whatever happened to respectful exchange of ideas?

Posted via web from Doug's posterous

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Aircrew Buzz : Perp walk: Pace Airlines CEO arrested for not paying employees...

Doug Levy has sent you a link to a blog:

Another commuter carrier runs into trouble... wonder what other bills they didn't pay. At least they are now grounded.

Blog: Aircrew Buzz
Post: Perp walk: Pace Airlines CEO arrested for not paying employees' health insurance
Link: http://aircrewbuzz.com/2009/09/perp-walk-pace-airlines-ceo-arrested.html

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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Hard to believe extent that ethics lapsed in GWBush administration

On some levels, the details of misdeeds by now-former Bush Administration officals should come as no surprise. Sadly, we have had more than our share of corruption cases in every recent administration. But the alarming information is the level at which some of those involved served and the arrogance that these former officials display now that they are out of office. The Legal Times reports today on a case involving the former chief of staff to the attorney general.

These are supposed to be the people enforcing the laws, not breaking them. (To be fair, David Ayres has not been charged with any crimes... yet, but his decision to decline to testify on the grounds that his testimony might incriminate him is most disturbing.) Of course, the Bush Justice Department was for a while headed by Alberto Gonzales, who disgracefully let politics guide his legal actions and arrogantly promoted himself as a "legal expert" earlier this year, commenting on President Obama's nominees and other issues. The New York Times puts this in the right perspective, which Gonzales certainly doesn't have.

And let's not forget some of the other upstanding Bush Administration officials:

  • President Bush, who considered it legal to sign legislation into law but issue "signing statements" giving him the authority to ignore those laws. (See http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/04/30/bush_challenges_hundreds_of_laws/.)
  • Vice President Cheney, whose incredulously broad interpretation of executive powers with regard to terrorism suspects and other intelligence activities were roundly rejected by the Supreme Court and who considered it perfectly fine to disclose the identity of a CIA operative for political gain.
  • "Scooter" Libby, who became the fall-guy for the Valerie Plame disclosure scandal.
  • David Safavian, the administration's top procurement official, who was indicted in October 2005 for involvement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying and bribery mess.
I hope and pray that the current administration sets a new tone for ethics in public office. Even though it seems every new president makes this promise, we are long overdue for this promise to be kept.

For a compilation of White House officials indicted over the years, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9825296/

(Thanks to @cbsandrewcohen and @Legal_Times for pointing out the Ayres matter today. The comments above are solely mine.)

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I don't want to know how much taxpayer $$ was wasted on this

The Associated Press has a report on the government's latest ideas on how to revise the "terror alert" system -- you know, the red, orange, yellow, flags that certainly are meaningless now and probably have been since the Bush Administration first introduced them. Sure, there needs to be a way to warn people that danger lurks somewhere, but how many of us really knows what the difference is between yellow or orange unless we are in an airport? Besides, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has made it even more confusing by raising the alert for specific sectors periodically instead of across the board. Isn't it time that we focus on real security instead of the illusion of it? the sad reality is that many of the most obvious security gaps in the United States -- and especially in the transportation system -- remain wide-open holes. How much air cargo carried on passenger jets is screened? And does anyone really feel safer knowing that people who look Muslim are more likely to be harassed by security, while others who may be real threats walk on through? I treasure my freedom and want the government to really protect us, with meaningful measures, not just things that look good. Real life is not a Madison Avenue or Hollywood image.
 
Here's the link to the AP article: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=8576650.

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Monday, September 14, 2009

We must stop the dolphin slaughter

The Guardian has an important follow-up to the brutality exposed in the documentary The Cove. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/14/dolphin-slaughter-hunting-japan-taiji for gruesome photographs and an update on the merciless slaughter of dolphins by Japanese fishermen. Please take action today, and post what you are doing in the comments section so others can follow your lead.

 

Posted via web from Doug's posterous