Howdy - doo, F.O.O.! I needed a day, so I took a day. So, I present tonight's diary "CityLightsLover Desperately Needed a Day to Herself" style! ;D
Today's "this day in history" items cover a WIDE spectrum - including the introduction of a special new birthday treat for someone celebrating a birthday today. ;D
For Keith & all us other baseball fans, on this date in 1936, baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio made his major league debut with the New York Yankees. This day HAS to be a holy one of biblical proportions for Yankees fans!
On this date in 2001, the United States lost its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission for the first time since the commission was formed in 1947; bear in mind this was BEFORE 9/11. And, on both dates, DICK and John Bolton smiled.
As I said above, today introduces a special new birthday treat for a special birthday boy! Senator David Vitter is 49 today.
'Nuff said... ;D
Finally, in a great birthday to end on, Pete Seeger is 91 today!
Let's Countdown!
#5 "‘Potentially Unprecedented’" AKA "Spill, Baby, Spill" - I read over the weekend the oil spill was as large as Puerto Rico. Dead jellyfish are beginning to wash onshore. The head honcho of BP thinks it wasn’t "their" accident, but they’re giving Gulf Coast residents money to not sue them. Uh, then who’s accident was it – the Easter Bunny?
A containment dome 4 stories high has been completed to try to contain the oil that’s still leaking. Shipping along the Mississippi River may soon be affected. The Governator is putting the kibosh on off – shore drilling off the coast of California. Well, bless his heart! Who gave Tony Heyward HIS talking points? He blamed it on out – sourcing.
The Oil Pollution Act caps BP’s payout responsibility for this at $75 million; hell, they can make that back up in a quarter! 3 Dem Senators want to raise the limit. HOLY CRAP!! LOOK AT CHRIS HAYES’ HAIR!! Does he have some of the oil gunk in it? How’d he get it to stand up like that?! Do I still need to break out the cold shower & ice bucket?! ;D President Obama secretly wanting this accident to happen to be able to back up his off – shore drilling plans sounds like the nonsensical ravings of a lunatic mind. And, damn, there are so many to choose from! Brownie said this?! Oh good gawd, he needs to go back to his horseys. And, our country might not even necessarily get what’s spilling into the Gulf; it will be sold on the open market. Rick Outzen from the Daily Beast uncovered the memos to Gulf residents giving them coin in exchange for not suing. I wonder if Richard knows Mr. Outzen? Congress critters from Gulf States are going to try to force BP into putting a billion dollars into some sort of escrow account. Good luck with that, fellas! Mr. Outzen crashed a meeting with Governor Crist & BP peeps over the weekend – HA!
#4 "Times Square Scare" AKA "Times Square Bombing Attempt" AKA "Reading the Clues" - The registered owner of the SUV left in Times Square over the weekend has been interviewed. I also read over the weekend that the Marriott Marquis was on lock – down; that’s where I stayed when I went to New York City. Well, hell, if ya’ have to be locked down somewhere, that ain’t a bad place to be! A guy captured on video surveillance is the subject of a man hunt. The effort, at least to me, looks amateur at best but still could’ve done some damage & hurt people. Claims of responsibility from Pakistan are being dismissed. Here’s Richard Clarke. He thinks the person responsible tried to follow plans online, but that fact doesn’t exactly cheer him up. Growing up on a farm, I can assure you all that Richard Clarke is exactly correct; you can get bomb – making material ANYWHERE. The stuff that Tim McVeigh used to blow up the Murrah Building used to be used on our farm as weed killer, I think. Mr. Clarke thinks the person responsible is some sort of "lone wolf" dude or dudette that will be very difficult to track down. Hopefully if, heaven forbid, some sort of similar attack on Times Square actually works, there won’t be some huge over – reaction like there was to 9/11 – at least Mr. Clarke hopes so. I’m not so confident.
#3 "Immigrant Law" AKA "Bordering on Insanity" AKA "Immigration Nation" - The murder of a rancher that may have helped spark the creation of the shameful new immigration law from the "Show Me Your Papers" state may not have even been done by an immigrant. So, if they find out some kooky ‘Merikun did it, will the law be repealed & those responsible for said law be forced to do migrant worker duty for the rest of their natural lives?!
Don’t bother answering. There were protests all over the country over the weekend; and, Rep. Luis Gutierrez managed to get himself arrested! New immigration reform plans might include a new ID card with biological information on it? Yea, right, NOTHING CAN GO WRONG THERE!
Rep. Gutierrez doesn’t want a national ID card but isn’t ready to toss the baby out with the bathwater. And, he wants employers who hire undocumented workers in the Graybar Hotel. Rep. Gutierrez’s plan includes "legalizing" current undocumented workers, checking their finger prints to make sure they’re not criminals, then the assessment of a fine. They would then be in a program for 7 years during which time taxes will be paid, civics classes will be taken, and English will be learned. At the end of the program, those enrolled will be permanent residents; after another 7 years or so, they could become citizens.
"Special Comment Quickie" Nashville, TN has water water everywhere. The Opryland Hotel is under 10 feet, and a whole host of other famous locales are under. Go to the Red Cross website or text to see how you can help!
WPITW – The Cincinnati Dem dude makes a return appearance after he called Keith a "buffoon." What was the little P&G rant this dude went off on?! Boss Limbaugh doesn’t think what’s going on in the Gulf is all that important. Sue Lowden is still talking chickens because of her BRILLIANT manager.
#1 "Comedian – In – Chief" - I actually caught a bit of President Obama’s shtick the other night; his joke about Senator McCentury & the new "Show Me Your Papers" law was HILARIOUS – a hell of a zinger! I’m glad I caught that live!! He even made some death panel jokes. I also liked his interpretation of his first pitch at the Nationals game by various media outlets. ;D Jonathan Alter & apparently a whole lot of other people who were there thought President Obama was more funny than Jay Leno. People, ANYONE IS MORE FUNNY THAN JAY LENO! Keith mentioned at the beginning of the segment that GWB set the new high in low. A whole mess of us probably remember who set the high – water mark! ;D