Today was my first day back at my job after over 2 weeks off; coming back from vacation is always SO MUCH FUN. I've done a lot of this,
and this,
and this,
I try to remind myself daily of how fortunate I am to have a job, but some days, it just ain't so easy. Oh well...onward & upward...
I have a couple of items for "this day in history." Yea, I know - Neil Armstrong, moon landing, yada yada yada. ;D But there's actually another space - related "this day in history." On this date in 1999, after 38 years at the bottom of the Atlantic, astronaut Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule was recovered. Mr. Grissom was a "Hoosier," and I've been to his birthplace in Mitchell, IN. It's actually pretty damn interesting!
And, in a rare moment of charity on my part, I'm noting a birthday that would normally earn THE cake, but said birthday boy is getting something else instead. Larry Craig, former GOP Senator from Idaho, is 64 today!
Let's Countdown!
Muchas gracias to David Shuster again tonight! You, sir, are a dear, dear! :D
#5 "Dr.? No!" AKA "RX for Change" AKA "Coverage Denied" - Wow, it’s been exactly 6 months since President Obama’s inauguration. Can you believe it?! I still remember how happy I was that day, and I’m still mainly happy for the most part. In C&J this morning, I gave President Obama a "B-". The 2 glaring issues that dropped him a bit are the lack of will to fully go after the crimes of the previous administration & the foot dragging on LGBT issues like DADT. Otherwise, I don’t have too many complaints. The approval numbers for President Obama handling healthcare are at 49%; I’m sure the GOP will be all over this post haste if they aren’t already. GOP Congress critters are at a blazing 36% approval rating with a 58% disapproval rating. HA! Bill Kristol wants the GOP to "...go for the kill..." in the healthcare debate. What happened to country first? Senator DeMint thinks healthcare failure will be President Obama’s "Waterloo." No, I’m not going to play the ABBA video. ;D Would I be too mean to suggest that South Carolina secede from the union again? That state seems to produce an inordinate amount of wastes of precious oxygen. And, President Obama RESPONDED – BIG TIME! I love it; it’s about damn time! Let’s see a little more of that fire from him & a whole host of others. Michael Steele is trying the fear card in the healthcare arena. Yea, see how well that works with people already struggling or don’t have health insurance. He’s saying it could get worse than that?! What a tool. Mr. Steele said,
I don’t do policy.
Well then shut the spark up! RICHARD WOLFFE!!!! {hee...hee...hee...} Is it just me, or does President Obama look way more comfortable away from Washington, DC? President Obama’s overall approval ratings are still at 59% with GOP critters way WAY behind. Oh for spark’s sake, the GOP is saying they win if healthcare isn’t passed by the August recess? No wonder they’ve been perennial LOSERS since 2006; they’ve got f*cked up views of "victory." We’re getting another primetime news conference on Wednesday. President Obama, please PLEASE don’t call on FAUX News. Senator Jim DeMint has gotten over $3 million from the healthcare industry. Gee, I wish I could say I was shocked, but I know there are PLENTY of Dems in the healthcare & pharmacy lobbyists’ pockets, so I’m not deluding myself on that issue. Wow, did y’all hear what Howard Fineman said about the GOP’s attitude toward President Obama?! I think we know EXACTLY who GOP Congress critters are getting their marching orders from; I’ll give ya’ 3 guesses. What he said bears repeating:
I can’t overstate their fear & dislike of Barack Obama & everything he stands for.
THAT is what we are dealing with; never forget it. I’ve been seeing those "blue dog Dem" ads here in Indianapolis!
#4 "Investigating the CIA" AKA "Truthless People" AKA "Deceit of Power" - A federal judge found today that the CIA committed fraud in his court in another case under George Tenet’s reign. Can we take back that Medal of Freedom? Current director, Leon Panetta, also needs to get his story straight. Dennis Blair thinks the CIA had the legal option to NOT fully brief Congressional leaders about DICK’s assassination squads. Senator Russ Feingold doesn’t agree – to put it mildly. Here’s Scott Horton again. Can we get Senator Feingold on SCOTUS? Can you imagine the damn GOP reaction if HE was the next nominee?! The appropriate House committee is investigating any possible wrong – doing from DICK, but he may have appropriate cover. Can we get another Special Prosecutor in the house?
** A guy in Iran climbed a mountain sans ropes or any other rigging. Sheep poo is being used to make a kayak in Wales to raise some money for charity. Um...wow...uh...are there no sporting goods places in Wales where you can BUY a freakin’ kayak? The Queen of England watched her swans being counted today. Was that the best part of her day? **
#3 "Taken" - Look at our brave American in that AQ video. David Shuster made a faboo point; we need to be praying that his captors don’t think the Geneva Convention is "quaint." A retired Lt. Colonel named Ralph Peters had an "interesting" reaction to the captured soldier this past weekend:
I want to be clear. If, when the facts are in, we find out that through some convoluted chain of events, he really was captured by the Taliban, I’m with him. But, if he walked away from his post and his buddies in wartime, I don’t care how hard it sounds, as far as I’m concerned, the Taliban can save us a lot of legal hassles and legal bills.
1...2...3...CLASSY! Professor Turley will have a FIELD DAY with this ilk. Sending out messages that we don’t care about what happens to our captured soldiers ain’t good! Professor Turley had good remarks for SOD Robert Gates.
*** I ain’t bloggin’ American Idol; nope, I won’t do it! Sorry!! ***
#1 "40 Years Later" AKA "One Giant Leap" AKA "Boldly Go" - In case anyone here has been under a rock today, it was 40 years ago that we walked on the moon. The original guys were at the White House today. What about the poor guy that never got to leave the ship?! I wonder if he feels cheated? Neil Armstrong had interesting comments about the moon landing! Buzz Aldrin thinks we need to go to Mars. He thinks going back to the moon is so yesterday. :D Derrick Pitts thinks going to Mars should be a long – term goal. Is it just me, or does Mars look like Death Valley? The original Apollo astronauts think the international space station is a white elephant – OUCH! I bet the guys who are there appreciate those sentiments. So, who’s ready to go to Mars? WOW! Did you hear Mr. Pitts talk about current cell phone technology VS. the computer technology available on all the Apollo missions?! Geez, those early astronauts HAD to have the chutzpah!