Japanfilter: I couldn’t let the 63rd anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb pass without some sort of remembrance. Please check out the Japanese American Relocation Project Archives, renovation of a trail through the woods that used to be a Japanese neighborhood, and a virtual noblewoman reading what is widely regarded as the first novel ever written in Japanese or any other language.
You know what other anniversary it is?: Harriet handing George a report warning that some guy named Bin Laden wanted to attack the United States.
Clean, Clear, Water: preferably without getting killed.
Good advice: The folks who brought us P90x and 10 Minute Trainer (which is a very good workout, by the way) tell us to Think Thin.
A damn shame: The CDC reports that average waits at American Emergency Departments have risen from 38 minutes to almost an hour. What makes matters even worse is that’s an “average” number, not a “typical” number. About half those people actually waited less than 31 minutes, but the other half had much longer waits. Why? More visits and fewer ERs to take patients! Oh, and 17% of those patients had no insurance. No word on the relative acuity of those patient’s complaints.
Running Argument: The USPS says private companies always do things better. Congress says prove it. The USPS replies duh, private companies always do things better. Now think about this. For under $0.50, I can get an envelope delivered almost anyplace within a hundred miles the next day, and delivered almost anywhere in the lower 48 within 2-5 days. How much does FedEx and UPS cost to get the same letter delivered in the same time frames? How much would a courier for a local letter cost? In what possible way could privatization make things better?
I love Paris?: I have to admit, Paris Hilton is classier (and smarter) than most people give her credit for. Her reply to the McCain ad is clever, polite, and cutting.
Maybe e-passports weren’t such a good idea: They’ve already been cracked.
Get BAC: The Countrywide merger with Bank of America is threatened by bondholder lawsuits. That’s over and above the State AGs that want a piece of Countrywide.
Oh Freddie: Freddie Freddie Freddie, what’s with the losing so much money? How on earth did you end up with a situation where 10% of your portfolio accounted for half your losses?
Where’s Poochie?: (Reference) Diane Duane (yes, that Diane Duane) points out GPS for dogs, and notes that it should work for cats too. Some nut suggesting using it for your kids in 3… 2… 1….
And finally: why bailouts stink but why we need them anyway.
(bemused look) How come I keep getting this “yes, *that* Diane Duane” thing? Doesn’t anybody know I’m online? It’s not like I haven’t been blogging for six years. (pout) 🙂
(Well, five years. I kind of took last year off. But since 2002, anyway.)
Wow! I guess I’m not the only person who looks into trackbacks. I just wanted people to know who you are. Sadly not all my readers are SFF fans.
BTW, so glad you’ve gotten back to blogging (and finishing “The Big Meow”).
I totally agree with everything you’ve said. Americans need to do more critical thinking when it comes to issues of important ideas in which we cannot all agree but all have so much at stake. I really think it’s important to have this kind of dialogue in a broader context to take the words and put them into actions. Information is power. It’s necessary and vital to a democratic and ideopathic service for the nation.