PSoTD

Worst final episode since Seinfeld.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, June 29 — A Mickey Mouse look-alike who preached Islamic domination on a Hamas-affiliated children's television program was beaten to death in the show's final episode Friday.

In the final skit, the character Farfour was killed by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land. At one point, the mouse called the Israeli a "terrorist."

"Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, the teen presenter.

For activities concerning illegal fireworks to hit the news:

California: Illegal fireworks found in Visalia home; teen arrested

Colorado: Fireworks illegal in Aurora

Connecticut: Police confiscate illegal fireworks

New Jersey: Seizures of fireworks are skyrocketing in N.J.

New York: As Fourth Of July Approaches, City Cracks Down On Fireworks

Wisconsin: Police plan crackdown on illegal fireworks displays

For college students at California State University, Sacramento seems to have been considerably diminished.

I sure have good memories of beer floating on the river.

Young Galaxy - Swing Your Heartache

There's not getting it ... and then there's Philly Mayor John Street.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mayor John F. Street abruptly ended his wait in line for an iPhone Friday after a passer-by asked him about the city's murder rate.

Street, who showed up outside an AT&T store at 3:30 a.m., left shortly after a 22-year-old sporting a mohawk asked him, "How can you sit here with 200 murders in the city already?" The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on its Web site.

Street told the man: "I'm doing my job," the newspaper said.

Street had planned to stay in line for most of the day, waiting for Apple Inc.'s iPhone to go on sale at 6 p.m. When he left at 11:30 a.m., Street said he planned to return to his spot.

The mayor said he wants the new device because he loves trying out the latest technology. Apple's new handheld would allow him to work some of the day outside the office, he said.

"We don't have to be sitting in City Hall to be conducting city business," he said.

Supply your own punchline.

I wish I could say otherwise, but I am not impressed with Obama:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama laid out list of political shortcomings he sees in the Bush administration but said he opposes impeachment for either President George W. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney.

Obama said he would not back such a move, although he has been distressed by the "loose ethical standards, the secrecy and incompetence" of a "variety of characters" in the administration.

Why in the world would you remove an option before facts are known? Again, first you investigate, if the investigation brings out such crimes that are necessary for further action, then you look at impeachment. What's most disappointing about Obama's statement is that it is political, rather than legal, in tone. His approach is about what is expedient rather than keeping an open mind towards what is best for the nation in the long-term. Bleh.

Weird. I get a computer-generated phone call stating to be a survey from freeanncoulter.com, with some BS about trying to find out the attitudes of "true Americans". It asked two questions:

Do I plan to vote in 2008? (Yes)
Do I think the news media is too liberal? (No)

That was it - apparently my "no" answer was the cue to end the computer-driven survey. Or maybe that was all there was to the survey, and it's just a ploy to drive people to her site in an effort to increase readership or show popularity or something.

Regardless... very creepy. What kind of list would have my phone number on it that would be sold to her for her purposes?

The Democrats want to expand the successful State Childrens Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). Bush counters with his pat answer to everything - tax breaks.

The Democratic lawmakers have focused their efforts this year on expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The program was established in 1997 to help families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but not high enough for private insurance.

Democrats have proposed adding $50 billion in new spending to SCHIP over five years. The president made it clear that he opposes such an expansion. His budget recommended adding $4.9 billion. He and his advisers called the coming fight over how much to expand the program a decisive moment in health care - a moment that could lead to more government-sponsored coverage or more coverage through the private sector.

My name was once pulled out of a hat to attend a dinner party with the very rich President and founder of a company I worked for. During the course of the evening, the subject of Reagan's tax cuts came up. The head honcho's mildly disdainful comment was "you have to make it first".

That's the bottom line. Tax breaks are great for people who can already afford health insurance. But those who can't are going to be tempted to use any tax benefits they get on more pressing day-to-day expenses and keep their fingers crossed that they and their kids don't get sick.

S-CHIP works. Expanding this program is a winner for the Democrats and most importantly a winner for children.

Feed your head!

Oh, Sacramento Kings, first Reggie Theus, and now picking a nonathletic center with the first round pick... a little deja vu is okay, but this is a bit much...

I liked Julian Wright with this pick. I guess we'll see...

Corner kid Rich Lowry peers ahead to 2008 ...

There's really not much more damage that Democrats can do to Bush with this stuff. What are they going to do? Take him from 29% to 27%? But they can further cement their own role in the ongoing saga Inside the Beltway called, "Everything Everyone Hates About Washington." Republicans can hope after another year-and-a-half of this both parties will have unpopular high-profile symbols, Bush for the Republicans and Congress for the Democrats. That will make a little wider the best opening a Republican presidential candidate is likely going to have in '08 ...

Lowry makes a damn good point. Bush is done, toast, kaput. He's already destined to go down in history as the most incompetent, reviled President ever. And he no longer has the support to f*ck up anything else. As satisfying as it might be, it would be counterproductive to spend the next eighteen months kicking his rotting carcass around Washington

Where is the Democratic resume of accomplishments to run on in 2008??

I'd like to see the Democratic Presidential candidates begin to debate press coverage of the President's office. Among the things I think should be discussed:

How access to the President should be provided to the press;
Whether organizations such as WHCA should be involved in determining who is and isn't "credentialed";
Whether there should be floating access for news media from outside the Beltway that can have interval access as part of the White House press coverage. There are 48 months in a Presidential term. There are 50 states. Is it so hard to give 3-4 journalists per state a month of daily access?

I don't think candidates should be afraid of discussing the journalistic access issue during the campaign - in fact, I think it's beneficial to the rest of the public to hear details of it. It is a big part of the problem in Washington, and the only way it is going to be changed if it is confronted.

I think it's going to take a while to get used to these.

At the end of August our daily trips to The Children's Garden in Shiremanstown will end as our youngest will be entering public elementary school. We've been there over 10 years, and our kids have flourished there. But starting at the end of August, both kids will be getting on the bus half a block from the house, ending my decade-long 4.5 mile, 20 minute round trip which occurred probably an average of 5 times per week (my wife usually picked them up on the way home, but not always, and much of the 10 years the kids went 4 days per week).

So I did some calculations of what that little trip has been:

2600 trips. 11,700 miles. 52,000 minutes - 866 hours. That's over 20 40-hour work weeks. What will I do with these resources over the next 10 years?

Pam's House Blend has an interesting theory of the evolution of John Edwards' thinking about full marriage equality.

It would bum me out if my old high school was sinking...

Here's your chance to weigh in on the World Album Covers Ever!

Hey Mark and Dean, check it out, now you know!

Will the Loonie soon be worth the same as the U.S. dollar?

Yes, PBS and the Tavis Smiley show need to answer the question: who decided to hire Frank Luntz to provide post-forum analysis of the Democratic presidential candidates.

41% of Americans answered 'Yes' to the question "Do you think Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq was directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. This is one of the most disturbing stats you can find about this country, because it's evidence of willful ignorance on current events most impacting our country. It's irresponsible for that 41% to expect the other 59% to carry them in the practice of civil discourse and social discussion, and it's immoral for them to think they should be part of the debate. If they want to be part of the discussion of the future of this country, they owe the country a much, much better grip on reality than that.

Freakin' Chinese tires.

So when will the game show "Are You Smarter Than Bill O'Reilly" happen?

No more masks for professional political pundits on television. If you're going to go on television and give your political "expertise" then no hiding your face behind sunglasses. Eyes are used by humans as they determine the validity of a given message. Unless there's a physical reason to the contrary, if a professional political pundit can't show their eyes while casting their political beliefs, they shouldn't be on television.

Why do you think it was over a year between the time Ann Coulter was on Hardball last and her appearance on the show yesterday?

What the hell...? Oh, just another bizarre side-effect from Silvio Berlusconi...

I'm not sure, other than Carraba's and Outback, that there will be a reason for me to go into that shopping center in Hampden Township after September since OfficeMax is now moving out of there at that time also. I was wondering how long they were going to try to be the anchor to that dying shopping area...

Next month I'm sure I'll see plenty of Javelinas on Parade.

To paraphrase Bush's comment about terrorists - if you support hatemongers with your show and associate with hatemongers, then you're just as bad as they are. Ann Coulter has absolutely nothing of value to say to the American public. Let her speak to the shit-for-brains that attend whatever conferences she's invited to speak at all she wants, but quit giving her a public venue to insult the intelligence of the American people.

BTW Ann, nice cowardly approach to wear sunglasses on your interview so the American people can't see your scared eyes.

For my friend Christine, whose memories of this program may indicate a problem...

First let me admit that I'm not all that well-versed on this subject. But could somebody please explain to me how it makes any sense to make it easier for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship? I don't see how that does anything but encourage more illegal immigration. I'm fine with raising the legal quotas but giving the illegals any sort of break is just going to encourage more illegal immigration. Isn't it?

I can't stand finding myself agreeing with Limbaugh and Hannity. Help!

I think there's a lot to digest and appreciate in Senator Richard Lugar's speech from yesterday, and I'd strongly recommend anyone go read it. Essentially, it's a call for Americans to grow up, for partisans to grow up, to realize just how fucked up a situation we're in now, and that we can't rely on partisan battle cries to get us out of it. And if we continue to rely on the binary choices currently discussed about Iraq, we're doomed for even greater disaster. I don't agree with all of it, but I find a lot of useful approach and thought here, and most importantly, the idea of the timeline being NOW to move on from the "surge" to something that actually might make sense for the entire world, including the United States, as opposed to just trying to run out the clock on Bush's failed presidency.

Unfortunately, this speech probably requires another speech for the more appropriate oomph it should get, and probably from a leading Democrat, perhaps someone like Al Gore, and the message, although similar, should be this: the news media has to grow up. The idea that this speech is equal to, or lesser than, the release of Paris Hilton in importance is preposterous, but that is exactly how the amount and focus of news coverage is treating it. And if it wasn't Hilton, it would be the murders in Ohio, or the pro wrestling murder/suicide, or anything else that would keep the news media from presenting the news that would require viewers or readers to actually use some brain cells. We'll never know if we could have averted this disaster in Iraq if we had a functioning news media with a reasonable semblance of professional curiousity and citizen priority. We didn't have enough of that then, and we don't have it enough of it now. America is not going to grow up as long as we have a news media that prefers a viewership state of infantilism.

And so, someone has to bullypulpit the news media to grow up, do its job and report the news that is important, discuss the future that is important, and reduce the mindboggling crap they've become addicted to pushing. Linking it to the piss poor coverage so far of Lugar's speech would be a good idea.

Can I say that? Gay conservative pundit Andrew Sullivan can! Sounds like it should have been the title of Warren Zevon's follow-up to "Werewolves of London". Aaah-oooooooo!

PS - The blog entry had something to do with a rather tepid incident at a mostly gay fundraising event for Hillary in Leftcoastia. Excitable Andrew.

So he finally says it's time for the U.S. to change course away from the "surge" and to a different approach in Iraq and the Middle East. I'm waiting for the first conservative blogger to begin the demonization of Lugar. I see that Instapundit is tiptoeing to the line, with a faint brush casting Lugar as unhelpful in the least, tossing the line that "Our political class isn't known for bravery or discipline."

Not that I really disagree with that sentiment - if our political class was known for bravery or discipline, we wouldn't be in Iraq in the first place.

Thank you.

Pennsylvania's apples might be in higher demand this year.

Tennessee isn't the only Southern state seeing a drought. Many of our neighbors are also feeling the burn.

"South Carolina lost 95 percent of their peaches, is what we were told. That's why the price is driven up," Fox says. "They'll see prices driven up on other things, too."

As Southern states demand fruit from other regions, the price could shoot up even more.

Shoppers who normally buy from the Fruit and Berry Patch in Halls could see more apples from Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, rather than those grown from north Knoxville trees.

Of course, with the exception of the storm last week, it has seemed like we in Pennsylvania are in a very dry period as well. Central PA is 3 to 4 inches of rainfall behind average over the last 60 days.

One last thing - I didn't realize that AccuWeather had blogs!

Tank on Empty might have the answer.

This sure sounds like a waste of money.

We have a company credit card. However, I applied for a different credit card - I'd like to transfer our account to a lower interest rate card. Today I received a nice little letter from Citi Cards that they could not approve our account because...

"The credit report shows the company is no longer in business."

What kind of credit report would that be? According to Citi Cards, that would be Dun & Bradstreet. Very strange. We've been in business for 11 years, and we've used credit since sometime in the mid 1990s... with positive revenue growth and showing profit and paying taxes and payrolls and everything else a business does, so how could we not be seen as being in business? Well, other than not paying some sort of fee for a "credit building" program?

Some in New York state want to lead the way for the new era of positive lobbyist public relations:

These are hard times for lobbyists, at least when it comes to public perception. The City Council is moving to limit their campaign contributions. Some top aides to Gov. Eliot Spitzer are letting it be known that hiring a lobbyist might not help one’s case in Albany. Even the movies portray them as soulless influence peddlers.

So these days, when some of the most powerful lobbyists in New York City get together in private, they talk about the insults they are hearing and attacks they are feeling from all sides. Some have suggested banding together to change their image, to spread the word that they are not bad people. Perhaps even ... hire a lobbyist.

"I think the problem is the public image," said Sid Davidoff, one of the elders among the lobbying elite. "If you don’t address it, then you’ll never change it."

Note to these lobbyists: paid advertising won't succeed against the constant stream of negative REAL news about lobbyists. If lobbyists want the public to have a higher view of them, the first thing they need to do is actively pursue a cleaning of their own profession and promote much greater public visibility of activities by their profession.

Of the Ford Freestyle. Especially the part about not buying Ford again...

Ford has used poor brakes and tires on this vehicle; I replace mine at 30K. FORD tells me that they are not covered in the so called "Bumper-Bumper" warranty. (I wonder why brakes are not between the bumpers?) I never replaced brakes/tires on any new vehicle in the past before 50-60K miles. I am concerned about the over longevity of the vehicle from my experience with these items. I have been loyal FORD owner of 6 new ones in the past 2 decades, but this may be the last one I’ll buy.

So, I wake up at 6 AM on Sunday morning, go downstairs to make some coffee and I turn the television on. There's Tim Russert, being interviewed by somebody, about his book(s) concerning his Dad and fatherhood. I hear him say the same things I have heard him say 4 or 5 times earlier, something along the lines of:

and I get these letters, from liberals and conservatives, from Republicans and Democrats alike, and they're all saying, your Dad's values were my Dad's values! And blahtiddy blah blah blah...

And it occurred to me how little Tim Russert is actually like a newsman, and how much he's like the early morning paid commercial programming hosts - you know, those infomercials. He's selling "Russert Values" as something value-added in his books. There's very little difference between him and this guy as Russert's out there pitching his wares...

No disrespect to Tim Russert's dad, but honestly, I'm not impressed by Russert to find any reason Russert might recommend to read a book about the values his father held. I believe there's value in looking at commonalities of how we are/were raised. I don't believe there's much value in having someone try to "brand" it. And I also think it's important to look at the differences, too.

Yes, it DID rain hard here last week...

Melanie at Just a Bump in the Beltway saw fit to include me in a little blog tag meme. And I thought she liked me...

1. All right, here are the rules. 2. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts. 3. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves. 4. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. 5. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So, here's 8 true things about me, although I can't say they're truly interesting.

I am a true baseball geek. Yeah, I play in a fantasy tabletop baseball league, and what's more, it's based on historical performances of all players for all seasons. I started playing in 1924 (the season, not the year) and we play about three shortened seasons a year. Currently we're playing 1966. There is no possible way of describing this to make it sound cool to a non-baseball geek.

My fashion goal is to stay within a 34-inch waist pants.

I like to melt my ice cream from the freezer for about 8 seconds in the microwave before eating it.

If I was forced to go back 25 years ago and re-select my study for college, I would choose entomology.

I go to a coffee shop almost every day as part of my routine.

I lived in California for 20 years. I do not miss living in California in the least.

Someday I want to take our kids to the Pantanal region of Brazil and spend some time on a butterfly tour.

I'd fly to England to hear Kate Bush in concert.

Okay, now I get to the fun part - tagging 8 bloggers. Here goes:

Uncle Horn Head
Toad in the Hole
Ellroon
Motherlode
Lab Kat
Michael at Content
A Big Fat Slob
The Crone Speaks

Enjoy!

I bought a case of Stella Artois yesterday. It's probably my favorite hot weather brew. I don't get it that often because of the price. But they had a real nice deal down at Westy's - $24.99 a case instead of the usual $30.99.

When I got home, I poured up a tall pilsner glass full and was perplexed to come up almost an inch short of the rim! Turns out they were only 11.2 ounce bottles instead of the traditional twelve. When did this happen? No wonder the price was so sweet. Of course, good old Westy didn't highlight the smaller bottle size just the bucks off.

Actually I really don't mind trading off the .8 ounce for the six dollar savings. But can't say I care for the aesthetics of a short pour. Feels like having a chintzy bartender. If this is the coming trend, guess I'll have to get new pilsner glasses.

As a family that owns a Freestyle, we're wondering about the company.

Our daughter just completed the week of Kanaskie Girls Basketball Camp, held at Cumberland Valley High School. She loved it - and from what I can tell from the other parents, so did the rest of the girls. Great week, I just wish they held another one at the end of summer - I'm sure our daughter would want to do that also.

So, in honor of the past week, here's a bit of "basketball camp bloggin..."

In Pursuit of Strange

I’ve been traveling a lot lately and spent some time at a youth basketball camp at a big-time university. This particular school has a major college basketball program and the players are very active in the camp.

It was inspiring to see these athletes giving something back, working so attentively and patiently with the kids and teaching them the game.

Bob & Sandra's Place

Today is Katie's last day of basketball camp. She's been coming home every day from it exhausted, but she's ready to go back each morning. I think she has enjoyed it. Sandra left work early today to go up to the school and watch Katie play.

Taylor Coppenrath

Summer is officially here and what better way to celebrate and combat summertime boredom than with a treasure hunt? Beginning June 28th Professional Basketball player, Taylor Coppenrath will be located at area attractions and offering clues to his whereabouts on his blog (taylorcoppenrath.blogspot.com). When you’ve figured out his location you can meet him there for an evening of fun! Kids (and adults) across the state can participate in four separate treasure hunts with one huge prize- - free admission to Taylor Coppenrath’s Summer Slam Basketball Camp. Not to mention four opportunities to hang out with Vermont’s favorite basketball player! Each child who successfully finds Taylor will be entered to win a free week at his basketball camp.

Glen Woods

I turned the lights out. I put the balls away. The echoes of cheering, squeaking shoes and bouncing balls resonated in my memory. Alone I stood, gazing across the darkened, empty gymnasium. The boys and girls had gone home, but the images of their hard work remained. I smiled. I remembered. I remember. I smile. Joyful sadness has a poignant flavor of hope, helping me to realize that soon I will see the children again. I also hope that those who were new to our church will have opportunity to take part in Power Club Kids.

Contentment in a week well spent is a satisfying conclusion to four evenings of intense coaching. The laughter, smiles, frustration and aches and pains give way to a certainty that life lessons found fertile soil in the imaginations of the participants. Friendships were forged by our brief time together. Latent talents were discovered. New opportunities are now being considered for the days to come.

Jeanette's Corner

Kaitlyn has been attending basketball camp this week. It runs Monday through Thursday in the afternoons. It’s for girls ages 9 to 15 years of age and let me tell you, she can keep up with the big girls. Funny enough, the camp is held at Corona del Sol, my alma mater. So strange it was to walk through the gym again. Back then it seemed so big and looking at it now it seems so small.

Yep, it's all good stuff.

I just had to use that term since it's so widely hated by the non-blogosphere. Why can't they make a list of the most hated words used to describe dunderheads? Maybe non-blogosphere would make it...

(hat tip: Gort42)

Hey, you Australian aborigines, no booze and no porn for you! But it's for your own good, Howard swears.

Worm Watch 2007!!!!!

I see a new movie from the producers of Snakes on a Plane: I was forced to sit next to human excrement for seven hours!

This was foreseeable, and Democrats should try to force Lieberman's hand in every election in the country. C'mon, Joe, support ALL the Republicans openly, not just in private.

Blogs, federal style.

Sure seems like a lot of turnover on that AFI list of the 100 Greatest Movies of the 20th Century in just 10 years.

Mimus Pauly gets more response on his questions of the day than I do. Must be my questions.

Or whatever the airlines are calling them, what they ought to call them is practically worthless because of all the flight restrictions and requirements involved. And the miles just disappear if not used over an ever-shortening period of time.

It was no idle question about credit cards yesterday. We've decided to dump our credit card that offers mileage for a cash-back rewards card. We pay it off every month, so interest is less of an issue.

Their 10 year anniversary festival is coming up July 16 - 22, 2007. There are three main categories for the world championship:

Brush/Sponge
Airbrush
Special Effects

as well as in one special category, the night contest for UV effects. Good luck!

There's lots of credit card programs out there, with giveaways and other bells and whistles. If you were looking to use just one credit card, what program would you choose?

I don't understand the obsession about polls about Congress. Congress was not constructed to be a popular place, Congress was constructed to provide a place for compromise between conflicting political opinions, and in the case of where opinion is very conflicted, nobody is going to be very happy with the results. This article points out the history. So why is this news?

Conservatives are unhappy because they're not in power. Republicans are unhappy because we've finally reached a time where Congress will do its job and investigate the activities of an executive branch run amok. Those against the Iraq War are unhappy because Congress hasn't been able to do anything. Those who support the War are unhappy because Congress keeps hinting it will do something. The state of the nation is still screwed, frankly, and will be until the worst President in history is removed from office and replaced with something smarter than a hammer, and there doesn't seem to be anything Congress can or will do about that, either.

So, what is there to be happy about with the Congress? It is an institution basically following its constructed design, and not showing the ability to go beyond that construction. Are we going to change the design? No. So, why are we polling about design? It's an incredible waste of time.

What polls should be about - that is, if they want to provide some content that is actually useful to Americans - is about the American situation and policies going forward. Please, please, let's stop with the popularity contest polling - in normal times, it would just statistical masturbation for psuedowonks. But in these very troubled times, it also serves as news noise for Bush apologists - they use it as a jumping point to blame "government", not the policies that the current Administration is pursuing. Can't Gallup see that?

Anyone in Pennsylvania with growing kids has to be interested in that.

Yeah, it might be the most entertaining thing about him ever, if he were to be sued for faking his own death. Of course, it might be the only entertaining thing about him ever, too.

I think one of the best things about choosing Reggie Theus as coach of the Sacramento Kings is that it gives the Kings a chance to build upon their history in the community. Reggie was the first fan favorite on the team, even though he wasn't in Sacramento long. He was stuck on some horrible teams - do you remember Joe Kleine, Brook Steppe, Othell Wilson, Joe Arlauckas? Reggie Theus probably does - he played with them in Sacramento.

It was pretty surprising to me how the Kings - and their losing ways - would fill up the old Arco Arena in the 1980s. We had season tickets, and the big appeal was that they were great seats to watch Jordan, Magic, Larry Bird, and all the other league's superstars. But after a while, we realized that we had a pretty snazzy scorer in town with Reggie.

And now he's back. I think it will be good for the Kings.

I tend to agree with upyernoz that a Bloomberg independent run for President is DOA, at least as far as putting him in the White House.

What's worse, I tend to agree with this assessment:

Several analysts argued that a three-way race with Mr. Bloomberg running as a third-party candidate could ultimately prove more of a threat to Democrats than to Republicans. Until he ran for mayor in 2001, Mr. Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat, and his success in New York reflected his ability to draw Democratic votes: he is for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.

I really see no benefit to America by having Bloomberg run. He can't win, he has no plank I can see that he can (or will) uniquely push, and he will only serve to dilute the actual choice we have for the office. I hope he is just stirring the pot for attention and has no real intention of running.

Thirty seconds of aural torture.

Some of them are disappearing.

Anyone who has sat in the darkness of the small amphitheater at American Players Theater near Spring Green and enjoyed a Shakespearian play probably remembers the beauty and the mystery of the whip-poor-will's call. The song echoes from the nearby woods during plays and is one of those things mentioned fondly by those who make a visit to the theater an annual summer event.

Yet a landmark report Thursday from the National Audubon Society raised the possibility of a landscape absent this evocative song. The whip-poor-will was among hundreds of common birds listed in the report as being in serious decline. Populations of the bird, according to 40 years' worth of data from Christmas bird counts and breeding bird surveys, have declined more than 57 percent, said the report, "Common Birds in Decline.''

A number of other common Wisconsin birds, many familiar to backyard birders and weekend visitors to the state's parks, are also listed as suffering steep declines in their numbers, largely because of loss of habitat due to sprawl and large-scale agriculture, threats which become even worse when combined with the perils posed by the warming climate and by ever-encroaching invasive species.

...

Though none of the birds are in immediate danger of extinction, bird experts with Audubon and in Wisconsin say the population declines are significant because they are happening to species with historically abundant populations thought to be somewhat insulated from threats such as habitat loss.

"These are not rare or exotic birds we're talking about--these are the birds that visit our feeders and congregate at nearby lakes and seashores and yet they are disappearing day by day," said Audubon Chairperson and former EPA Administrator Carol Browner. "Their decline tells us we have serious work to do, from protecting local habitats to addressing the huge threats from global warming."

Every once in a while you get a storm like we had Tuesday night. Thunder, lightning, rain, hail, wind - it had it all. Almost 2 inches of rain, most of that within about an hour time period. Local flooding abounded.

The ferocity of the rainfall was helpful for me - I've been doing projects around the yard to improve drainage, and the sudden heavy rainfall showed where the work remains. Of course, I'm sure it also flooded away most of the grass seed I spread on Sunday...

Clearly, I don't check out the Pennsylvania General Assembly web site much anymore, but it is good to see that you can now get the Daily Session Update sent via email now.

At least it's good to find out in advance that a food manufacturer is going to increase price by product size deflation:

General Mills later this month is reducing the sizes of boxes of many types of cereal, such as Cheerios, Wheaties and Cocoa Puffs. Although the company will sell the boxes for less than it's been charging for the bigger sizes, the change will increase the price per ounce.

This Thursday in Mechanicsburg.

In other local news, XPN is increasing signal and changing frequency in the Harrisburg area.

And, for those of us that drive on Orrs Bridge Road, they're reducing the size of trucks that are actually allowed on the bridge, although I'm not sure I'll notice the difference.

Apparently there's a top 20 Pennsylvania Influential Blogs. This blog is number 9 (the larch). (Sorry, can't resist a bit of Python...) Tony Phyrillas has details on the list.

If you wondered about the point of the Barna Group's "survey" about atheists and agnostic believing people, just look at how easily the followers are riled up against the atheists and agnostics.

That's the Barna Group, doing their job, agitatin' society's most agitatable.

Harrisburg at night.

Oh my God, Sacramento, for the good of the franchise don't do it...

I wonder where she is now...

I guess I don't understand why this survey included those with agnostic philosophy and those with atheist philosophy as a lump sum result. It is not even close to the same.

Of course, that is a true indicator of the interests of the surveying organization. Too bad the LA Times couldn't - or wouldn't - point that out. I don't understand why any news publication would treat a survey by the Barna Group as strictly information - that's not what the Barna Group does:

Through its five divisions, The Barna Group provides primary research (The Barna Research Group); communications tools (BarnaFilms); printed resources (BarnaBooks); leadership development for young people (The Josiah Corps); and church facilitation and enhancement (Transformation Church Network). The ultimate aim of the firm is to partner with Christian ministries and individuals to be a catalyst in moral and spiritual transformation in the United States.

Our Vision

To provide leadership and unique, strategic information and resources that help facilitate spiritual transformation in America.

They are in the business of Christianity promotion. Yet the LA Times article makes no mention of this. It's sad to see such POS* journalism being allowed at the Times.

Interesting post about the Barna Group at Goosing the Antithesis.

*piece of shit

As anyone who buys anything at the grocery knows, product size deflation continues to dominate the packaged food sector. Primarily the deflation occurs because the quantity in a package decreases, although there are also products that have shrunk in individual unit size as well - for example, the Quaker Oats Granola Bar seems to be quite a bit smaller today than when I first started eating them.

It sure would be useful to have a web site that tracked package and quantity sizes of products over time so that consumers could monitor this form of price inflation.

Time to try this again. I last did it in April with Skippy's blogroll, but today I'm using Poverty Barn's:

Below are a list of blogs that I would appreciate being blogrolled from, and that I think the content here is appropriate to be blogrolled from on a regular basis. And I'd provide a link back, obviously. I'm mostly curious as to whether anyone will salute such an approach - you know, blog barter diplomacy.

It has worked rather well so far. Cheers!

A Curmudgeonly Crab
Blondesense
Boing Boing
Bradford Plummer
DED Space
DenisDeKat's Symposium
Detroit Diva
eponymous
Ezra Klein
Holla Back NYC
Kottke
Lance Mannion
Left of Centrist
Mark Of The Beast
minnie
Notes From a Life in Progress
Range Life
The Snarky Squab
What is Liberalism?
Yoga Korunta

What do you think?

High School Reunions
Are High School Reunions Disappearing As An American Tradition?	Yes No I Don't Know
	Current Results

Don't be surprised. Recent news has found them in...

Northern California
Cleveland
Los Angeles
Wisconsin

So - what are you doing Sunday?

This is an interesting practice - creating advertisements that can only be seen from the air. I wonder if it increases the value of property under takeoff and landing flightpaths?

It all sounds fun except for the amount of learning curve getting the food and drink together.

Check out this site focusing the discussion on Open Records reform in Pennsylvania.

It's that time of year. Hey, even bloggers go, and blog about them. It's a community building tradition, and it is one that more neighborhoods ought to adopt. There aren't many places to:

Get the scoop on the neighborhood "news" of your choice.

Go to a big group thing and dress like an around-the-house day.

Have your kids fall in love.

And of course, scarf on a side variety of food. You'll almost always find something you've never had before that you'll want to have again.

So get in line!

Yes, LeBron seems to be worthy of a superstar to root for...

While we're talking about sports, it does seem that the kerfuffle about the London 2012 Olympic logo is much ado about nothing...

Dear Canada: Stay Canada.

It is the sad truth.

No, it is not rational to keep moving people into Southern California, and hasn't been for a long, long time.

At this pace, this post will move from satire to front page headline in Pennsylvania in the near future.

You're probably richer than you think.

There's a pretty big irony here, especially if you know the history of the son of Alex Grass.

It's the largest single gift in the history of Harrisburg Area Community College.

On Wednesday retired Rite Aid CEO Alex Grass presented a $1.5 million donation to HACC to establish the Alex Grass School of Business Leadership.

You know what's cool about the Federal Library and Information Center Committee?

You can order Cialis!!!

I think I'm going to give this a shot and see what happens. I'm looking for user experience on Interspire's Web Content Management system known as WebEdit. Informed comments only, please.

Who knew that Nouri Al-Maliki could be so deft with irony?

America had its civil war. Why expect freedom to come easy to Iraq?

Actually, that was a question that should have been asked of Mr. Bush several years ago. He's the one that acted like it would be easy.

BTW, do you remember how the British invaded the U.S. during the Civil War and installed troops to keep the peace?

Yeah, me neither. Bad comparison, bud.

It is perhaps true that only people who are denied the gift of liberty can truly appreciate its full meaning and bounty.

Neat, Bush's guy is lecturing Americans about liberty. Does this mean that the folks hidden in Guantanamo know more about liberty than the average American citizen? Should we be listening to their declarations about "liberty", instead of guys like George W. Bush, who has been the recipient of a gifted lifestyle most Americans can't imagine, either?

Our message has been the same to one and all: We will not permit Iraq to be a battleground for other powers.

Oh yeah, he's from the Bush mold. Deny an unfortunate reality at every turn.

It does eventually make a difference. Three years ago today, Crossfire blared away on CNN. Two years ago today, it was gone. Crap eventually breaks down and disappears into the environment.

WWE knows who watches them. My suspicion is that their adult audience skews very much to the Republican spectrum of politics, but that's just a suspicion. Regardless, it's a very, very sad day in the United States when an American faux sports program thinks that their audience wants to see people killed in car bombs.