Happy Friday evening, boys & girls! I don't intend nor want tonight's diary to be a downer, but I'm going to suspend "this day in history" & SPARK just for tonight & instead ask for thoughts of strength & compassion to everyone involved in a middle school shooting in a small town around 30 miles south of Indianapolis. Absolutely horrible...
You are welcome to offer "this day in history" & SPARK in comments if you'd like. :)
On with The Rachel Maddow Show...
"Bakesales for Bombers" - Tonight's magic word is "defense," boys & girls. Put that word with any horrible crazy - a$$ idea (spending or otherwise) will make said idea look like sparkin' Einstein thought of it. Heaven forbid questioning defense spending hence looking like some cheese - eatin' surrender monkey! However, in Libya, Speaker Sobbin' Small Price to Pay Goldilocks wants a receipt! Actually, a few other folk on Capitol Hill agree with him - and not the "usual suspects." Now, if a GOBP POTUS had done this Libya thing...well...{insert crickets chirping here}. So, will SOD Gates be in front of the Pentagon selling lemon bars? Oh - oh - oh! I know how money can be raised; put Donny Rumsfeld in a dunk tank! Huh? HUH?!
President Obama will address the nation about Libya on Monday evening. So, Monday's diary will be posted...well...guess we'll figure that out! :) Again, NATO is prepping to take the lead of activities in Libya.
"A Matter of Days, Not a Matter of Weeks" - Richard Engel was a little too close for comfort to action in Libya again today. He had a sense of humor about the audio difficulties! Wow... :D Rebels & Kodaffy forces control differing sections within the same city. Richard's encouraged by the tactics he saw today by the rebel fighters, but they're not exactly the 82nd Airborne yet. International forces are making a HUGE difference in the recent success of the anti - Kodaffy forces. Rebel fighters also claim they're getting more weapons.
"10,000 Times More Radioactive" - YIKES!! The water in which Japanese workers were standing in was 10K more radioactive than "normal!" Workers at the nuclear power plant in the earthquake & tsunami area are being exposed to 40 rems (rams?) (??) of radiation material per hour. 5 hours is enough to make you sick; 12 hours is enough to kill you. Do we know the names of those brave plant workers who are trying to prevent a $hitacular situation from getting more $hitacular? Reactor #3 might be cracked & severly damaged. Yea... *&^%$#@! AND, there's plutonium in that reactor, boys & girls.
Professor Frank Von Hippel is a nuclear physicist at Princeton. A crack in a reactor might explain the highly - contaminated water. He talked about lowering cameras into the reactors? Won't they melt or get damaged or something? Boys & girls, it's all about location location location of the possible crack in the reactor. If the bottom's fairly intact, it can still at least sort of act like a container. Professor Von Hippel doesn't think reactor #3 is any more dangerous than the other ones.
"Oh Canada!" AKA "It's Not About the Budget" - Well, y'all know what clip I have to bring out now; comedic deities DEMAND it! :D
Canada toppled their government today; they don't like their conservative prime minister because he was cooking the books & wasn't very transparent on budget issues! Huh! Ditching a government for not coming clean about the budget impact of spending plans or cuts?! What a novel concept! Rachel then went on to review all the bat$hit GOBP Governors giving gazillion dollar tax cuts to corporations evne though their states are in a financial crisis. We don't have a parliment, but some states have recalls, and over half the needed signatures for recalls in WI have already been gathered. AND, only 3 seats need to flip to change party control of the Senate! Eugene Robinson's in da' proverbial house to talk "fiscal conservatism" - or not. ;D Dems just might be organizing themselves enough to make political hay out of GOBP Governor shenanigans! Well, I'll believe THAT when I see it. GE managed to pay no taxes last year - along with a whole host of other big 'ol companies; HOWEVER, the GOBP thinks these companies are taxed too much! Say what?!
"TRMS Investigates" - We get a review & an update tonight on the Deepwater Horizon report discussed last night. The Interior Department was not thrilled with last night's report. Huh...go figure...
Rachel's just broken - hearted about the Interior Department's hurt feelings. ;D YOU GO, GIRL!