Okay, so Harriet Miers has resigned. And now Charles Krauthammer is going to be insufferable to his friends and enemies, because he correctly called dibs on how the White House could “gracefully” get out of the nomination Nina Totenberg called a “disaster.” Nina dished some dirt; apparently in the WH coaching sessions for Miers, they couldn’t even get her to speak up loud enough to be heard; let alone get her to answer questions in a manner that would reassure Senate Judicial committee members as to her fitness. A previous story filed by Ms. Totenberg had detailed that “she’d flunked…
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For about a week and a half we’ve been trying to make our schedules mesh with Steve and Ruth’s so we could all see Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. I heard an interview yesterday on the BBC World Service program that WBEZ now runs at the time I have lunch… I’ve learned all kinds of odd and interesting things in the weeks since the program change, and now I’ve learned that in Portland (in Dorset, England) it’s such bad luck to say “rabbit” that advertisements and posters for the film had to be modified. Locals prefer the term…
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FEMA Official Says Boss Ignored Warnings – Yahoo! News A FEMA employee tried frantically to get his superiors, including Michael Brown, to respond to his emails warning the agency of the first levee break in New Orleans and the desperate need for supplies for the Superdome. Meanwhile, a few hours after he again warned Brown that “many will die” after people began gathering in the streets by the thousands with no food or water, Brown’s press secretary was attempting a form of communication – written English – that was a little beyond her capabilities. Later, on Aug. 31, Bahamonde frantically…
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Religious bias cost job, says teacher In Sevier County, everyone noticed she was a coffee drinker. Co-workers looking for the sacred garments worn by church members never saw her wearing them. Erin Jensen says those clues revealed she was not a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and led to even more talk about her beliefs. “There were rumors around the community that I was a witch,” the former South Sevier High School teacher testified Wednesday. The end of the hallway where she and another non-LDS teacher had classrooms was referred to by students as…
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New Storm Measures as Most Intense Ever for Atlantic Basin – New York Times Hurricane Wilma, which appeared headed toward Cancun, Mexico, and possibly the Gulf Coast of Florida by this weekend, intensified into the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean basin early this morning, with winds of 175 miles per hour. Oh, goodie. The “named” storm after this one will be Alpha, because we’ve run out of names for this cycle. They could have named it Xena if they really wanted to. I just hope we don’t get all the way to Omega, or the tinfoil…
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Okay, men will not want to read this post. It will squick you out. So just go read HULK’S DIARY THAT IS ON THE INTERNET and whistle the theme song to “the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” for a few minutes.
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New Orleans ‘mourners’ bid adieu to Katrina – Yahoo! News A few denizens of the renascent Crescent City held a traditional funeral parade for that old beey*$!0tch, Katrina. That’s how you respond, everyone: grace AND HUMOR under pressure.
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Apparently American Girl isn’t squeaky clean enough for some conservative groups, because of their support for a respected girls-advocacy group. Chicago Tribune | Groups Threaten to Boycott American Girl NEW YORK — American Girl, manufacturer of a highly popular line of dolls and children’s books, has become the target of conservative activists threatening a boycott unless the toy maker cuts off contributions to a youth organization that supports abortion rights and acceptance of lesbians. The protest is directed at an ongoing American Girl campaign in which proceeds from sales of a special “I Can” wristband help support educational and empowerment…
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this little Iraqi girl? I ran across another essay today written by a Catholic nun, Joan Chittister. It reminded me of the story and I wondered if anything further was known, beyond the Newsweek followup a couple of months later. The original photos were taken by Chris Hondos. He has some other news stories about the Hassan family here. Remember her and her siblings. The soldiers were cleared of wrongdoing, but after they come home, will they remember, or try to forget? I don’t know – but these images should not be forgotten, ever.
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