Finally

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I'm real sure you can't tell the difference but Montana is behind me. I made it to Rugby ND and it was too cold for as tired as I was to go farther in the dark. This puts me about 200 miles from MN. 1541 miles traveled since Thur morning so I'm holding to my 500/day. I lost track of the mile markers the last few miles but I believe it is 650 road miles across Montana on US 2, a long ways and not real interesting riding. I've sure met a lot of real nice people on food and gas and rest up stops. That is one of the things about lightly traveled routes, the locals still like new folks that are friendly and interested in them and their locale.

I've had fun and the bike is a hit with those interested in such a thing.

Crossing The Rockies

At the top of the pass there is a monument to Pres TR.

Then there is the rest of Montana, most of it - a long damn ways. I'm posting from Havre, MO and worn out. Quite cold tonight for August.

Outside Bonners Ferry

Read the sign for yourself
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I didn't realize until I posted this that I'd gotten the Walmart truck I played tag with for 300 miles.

Getting On The Road

If you start with a bike like this there are some things you need to do to use it for a trip.
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Harley makes a quick detach seat back and package tray. Oddly enough, the dealer had this in stock - nothing else, ever, you order before you need.

You can then create a mess like this.

Now the truly odd thing about the last picture taken outside High Desert Harley Davidson is the other bike owned by the pretty lady - it is the black and lime version of mine which pulled in as I was finishing loading after the 20K mile service. You will probably never see one of these except at a bike show and rarely then - there were 2500 made in one year only. A fair number will have been bagged and garaged as investments but even without that this is a tiny number and just being in the same place at the same time as one is really unlikely. We were both stunned and spent a few minutes "competing" with how much we love our bikes.

I got away from High Desert HD at about 1:30PM and headed north on ID 55 to US96. Temps were climbing toward an expected 103F which wasn't too bad as long as I was moving at around 60 mph. It was a nice ride until I ran into a storm front that was packing 40-50 mph winds filled with smoke and dust.
This crap took most of the fun right out of this ride. You will note the entire lack of a thing like a windshield. The winds were coming from the range of the right side, head on, and left. The cross winds were enough to get most bikes parked and as stable as this one is it required attention. At one point a head wind was sufficient to make the front end very light on the road, like losing traction... Yes, I slowed down.

I am in Sandpoint,ID about 40 miles from my junction with US 2 which I'll take east. I checked in about midnight (too late and too tired to think about camping) and the miles logged from Baker City show as 559 miles. I fell asleep within minutes of getting into the room. I woke back up awhile ago and showered and posted this, now I'm going back to sleep...

A Major Harley Run

Assuming I can find connections I'll try to blog about this trip, which is from NE OR to Northern Michigan. My parents live in N MI and are 83 years old and also are in good health, physically and mentally - so far. I'm taking the Harley for the sake of the ride and to have something I like to get around on once there.

It's been hectic getting ready for this trip, especially since I made the decision early last week and departure is nailed down as Thursday the 26th for a couple reasons. One is that I need to go early enough to not have my construction season killed and another is that the bike is due for its 20K mile service which involves a 135 mile south and east ride to the nearest dealer and aims me mostly in the right direction and that appointment is for Thursday - today, and I'm there waiting.

It's been crazy getting ready since I had a roofing job scheduled and took Monday and Tuesday at 11 hours each and 1 1/2 hours Wednesday. Nothing in the line of business could get done the first two days so Wed was the day for that as well as trying to get squared around packing and loading. I live in PST and the dealer is in MST which means an additional clock hour to travel time. My appointment was for 8:30AM MST which meant leaving at 5AM PST to have time for delays and to unload the bike. I got the bike loaded and home from dinner and into bed at 11PM.

With the bike loaded the garage looked to be a difficult operation so I parked it on my front walk just outside the porch door with the light on and the inside door open - so my dog could lay up on the enclosed porch. He's a 150# Great White Pyrenees and an excellent alarm and guardian. Well, pretty much so. At 2AM I was awakened by very large barks so I put on some pants and went to take a look. Nothing in sight anywhere, just a diesel truck blocks away; and me wide awake. Very wide awake. I gave up at 3:30 and got up and drank some coffee and rode figuring to kill some time with breakfast. So here I am at High Desert Harley Davidson with a grand total of maybe 3 hours sleep after a very hectic day at the start of a 2500 road mile each way trip. I thought about beating the dog with something large and heavy but he was doing what he sees as his job.

I'll put up pictures as I move along and post whatever seems to interest me and hopefully, you.

Responsible Politics - Oh Sure... Scare 'Em Works

You'd think a nation with a basic document nearly universally nationally revered could manage to act in something like a reasonable manner regarding it. The basic law of this nation is the Constitution and its Amendments, the Declaration of Independence may pertain to its foundation but no other document pertains. First in order of the Amendments is the one that says that there will be freedom of religion in this nation. First.

There are a lot of quibbles about how much influence religion should have in governing, but there is not a bit of wiggle room regarding people's freedom to practice religion. Zoning laws cover matters like parking and traffic for any and all religions - there are not exceptions for a brand name.

I understand that the GOP loves it some wedge issues and frequently Democrats manage to not deal that. This one that the GOP has latched onto is irresponsible at the very least, and potentially quite dangerous. The fact that the dumbasses involved cannot separate religion from actions is quite telling and that they want to do something about a religion rather than actions is even more telling. Political advantage is small reason to muck around in the basic law of the nation and that they will play at it means that something is fundamentally wrong with such a group.

It seems that the Christians involved can't manage to wrap their heads around the idea that a religion that preaches peace can have followers who preach and practice violence. That's just a bit of a queer view point for them to hold. Distant and recent history are littered with examples of Christians (of some sort) doing serious violence. Not doing that in some minor manner, nasty murderous stuff done under the banner of their supposedly peaceful religion to those perceived to deserve it. Reason would get someone to a different result, but then reason isn't supposed to have anything to do with pumping such an issue. Fear is what is appealed to and that worked just fine for GWB; didn't it?

Basing a political party's future on fear rather than policies makes for real nasty politics. If you're willing to wear the brand of such people there isn't much I can say to you in a polite manner. This crap is the behavior of assholes and if you support such people that really does make you an asshole. If you don't like being insulted in such a manner then separate yourself from that kind of activity - don't bother complaining to me because I don't give a damn about your feelings in this. Confederate Party of Republicanism; well I guess so...*

* Their enablers in the other Party don't get any respect from me, either.

Tina Fey And Sitting VP Palin - WTF?

Dylan Ratigan just got done making the assertion that if not for Tina Fey we might be talking about sitting VP Palin. Yes, Tina Fey was funny as hell as candidate Palin and to be sure some of her routines bled over onto Palin. This idea of Ratigan's seems to be that a large voting demographic took Fey seriously and that the clips of her counter posed with clips of Palin didn't show Palin to be ignorant and extreme - in fact not in comedy.



Sure, the Right would like to scapegoat anyone other than their favorite for her failure and they'd certainly like to ignore the failure of McPOW to connect with much of anyone. I don't mean to minimize the number who voted McCain/Palin, I'm talking about enthusiasm for McCain in general and the narrow appeal of the Palinesque approach. I'm curious as to whether this is a view held by that 27% that seems to always be around and around the damned bend or if Ratigan is repeating something more generally held. I'm pretty comfortable with the idea that he just repeated RW talking points, but these folks aren't my speciality.

Islamic Center In NY

I ought to be surprised by the inflamed rhetoric surrounding the establishment of an Islamic Community Center four blocks from the World Trade Center site - ought to be. While I am ashamed of it, I am not the least surprised. I understand that some the families of those killed might get into an uproar, even that is an emotional response rather than a reasoned one. What I do not understand, in terms of patriotism, is the GOP response.

There certainly is a political strategic point in targeting Muslims, they represent about 0.8% of the population of the US, a vanishingly small voter block to offend with a much larger payoff with the block offended by ... well, I'd say a Muslim center close to '9/11' but more realistically offended by Islam, period. There is also something to be said about people who would beat the race and religion division drum in the name of electoral numbers.

Despite the illusions presented by casual views of history, this nation has never been monolithic in its view of race and religion and national origin. There is virtually no group that has not been victim to prejudices generated in the name of those categories. It is one of the easiest buttons to push, it is called most properly xenophobia - fear of the other. Some of the very groups shouting the loudest about this Center were at one time generally despised and feared on the same basis. I won't go through a list of the calumnies propagated against various groups, that would be simply offensive, if you're unaware Google is your friend.

The First Amendment is in place for a reason and playing politics around that is damned dangerous to what is supposed to be a major tenet of the basic law of the USA. I don't care what a person's view of a religion or race or national group is, our basic law says they are allowed to exist unmolested in this nation. What any other nation does about this kind of thing has not spit to do with us. There is the danger of physical violence and more broadly there is damage done to our social structure and possibly our legal structure - not to mention international relations. If the GOP thinks this will stay narrowly focused, I believe they are seriously mistaken.

To be sure, I have a low opinion of the GOP to start with, but this simply convinces me that they are pretty much cretins.

Border Security Whack-a-mole Continues

So a $600M bi-partisan bill passes to increase law enforcement on the Mexican border and... I suppose that there is a criminal element that is violent and uses that border to create wealth for themselves who really ought to be discouraged. Primarily that involves drugs and that isn't really what drives the illegal immigration furor.

People crossing the border in search of jobs is what it is really about. People are pretty smart about things like fences, they figure out ways to get around that. If the number of illegal aliens in this country is something like 20M, you can be real sure that drugs and other criminal activities isn't what needs addressed. The job picture is what needs addressed. Enforcement of the pissant employment laws is virtually non-existent, employers know that the chance of getting caught out is tiny and the fines small enough to cover with their illegal hire profits.

SS numbers really should be fairly easy to track, verify, and catch contradictions. Dead people and 80 year olds don't work construction. People seldom live in two places simultaneously, that might not be a disqualifier but it should hang a flag. Employment is the magnet and employers are the problem. Lacking real dis-incentives to do so, many will put profits ahead of the law and the well-being of the nation. This country cannot afford to have an illegal serf class socially and workers cannot afford to have labor devalued by cheating.

If I were to try to discourage employers I'd hang a first violation fine of Davis-Bacon wage for a year for each illegal employee, second time fine and jail, third time fine, jail, confiscation of the offending business. That would include an out for having verified the number/employee and notification of denied prospective employees and a corrective method for false negatives. I won't address the idea of guest worker programs, the impacts and methodology are beyond my knowledge level and time at this point.

Now you can judge for yourselves whether the GOP has any real interest in something that would address the problem or they're simply interested in pumping race and the interests of wealth. The one variable all businesses can most easily address in profit pursuit is labor, most other costs are very nearly equal for all. Labor is the smallest single cost in most enterprises that involve a product, but it is the most easily modified in this environment.

There are all kinds of other issues involved in some kind of comprehensive immigration reform that I have neither the time nor interest in dealing with. Issues like amnesty begin to vanish if the magnet itself is addressed and what to do with long term illegal residents really ought to be reasonably dealt with in a humane manner. St Ronnie's amnesty failed badly because no other issues were dealt with - a mistake we ought not repeat.

You Think I Don't Know How To Have Fun?

Maybe you think all I do is ride a Harley and play at politics, not quite. My little operation is named CHBIII Enterprises Inc and its business is construction contracting - in this case roofing. This is a turn of the century house with wood shingles under composition shingles, in some cases a lot of them - like 5 layers in places. You could call this work considering that it is 26 feet of ladder from the ground to the first jack plank and these architectural shingles are 3 bundle square packaging and a bundle weighs in at just under 90 pounds. Yes, packed up on my shoulder to the 10 pitch roof (40 degrees) and it is summer, temps from mid-80s to mid-90s.

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I generally avoid some sorts of practices, if I roof over an existing composition roof I remove the preceding roof's hip and ridge shingles and I do not wrap field shingles over hips and only one side over a ridge. The "roofers" who went after this thing not only put on too many layers of comp, they wrapped over the hips and went over the preceding hip shingles - the result was well over 3 inches of shingle and a forest of nails.


The above picture is from the only small roof section with only 2 layers of composition over the wood shingles. There are two methods of dealing with a wood shingle roof, one is to take off all shingles and put OSB or plywood over the skip sheeting (wood shingles were applied over planks spaced a couple inches apart) or if the wood shingles are in fair shape and the customer doesn't feel a need for a smooth roof to go over the wood shingles. Going over wood shingles with 3 tabs created an obviously lumpy roof and the tabs sealing down was somewhat questionable, architects have performed well for me over the last 20 years in this application. So you understand, redecking very nearly doubles the cost of the roof for a fairly minor improvement in performance.

I thought I'd managed to get the cell camera level to give you a feeing for being up high on something steep, not such a good job of that. You'll just have to tip your computer until the trees in the background are upright.

It is a fact of life that construction contractors are considered rip-offs by a large percentage of consumers and that those engaged in manual labor are over-paid ignoramouses. Next time somebody comes up with that kind of crap feel free to ask if they'd do this for any amount of money if they even began to have the physique to do it. I'd bet not, and I've heard from enough people who've tried simple projects that they'd never ever do it again. This has been hard filthy work and I'm not complaining about that - I bid the job, after all - but I do get pretty tired of people acting as though only their level of education qualifies them for decent income.

Dear Mr President & Assorted Democrats - They Lie

I'm not sure how to break this to you: the Right lies. Yes, Rupert Murdoch's crap-tastic propaganda Faux News network lies, repeats the lies, and then blames you if you fall for it. They start with the assumption that Liberalism is guilty of some crime against America and uncritically repeat any such accusation. The Right view themselves as at war with a somehow evil foe and any means is justified.

It would seem that that the lies propagated about Van Jones, burying his actual problem, would have given you a clue. No, a perfectly useful organizantion like Acorn gets destroyed because you fall for concept that accusation is fact - you do understand that video can be used to lie? Then comes Shirley Sherrod making a speach before a reputable organization like NAACP and you assume racism because a Right-wing blogger with zero goddam credibility feeds his shit to Fox. In the face of the reputations of the conflicting organizations you buy into the demonstrably crappy ones?

This isn't an example of an exercise where compromise will serve the interests of the nation - they are at war with you and your destruction is the aim. There isn't a middle ground in that, their lies won't cease because you're partially wrecked. Surely some of you watched the health care "debate" and their actions. You know what was proposed or in the Bill and you know what they had to say about it. And you keep letting them set the dialogue?

I know you expect Democrats to get out and work for you in the upcoming elections and you'd like to be touted and defended. What exactly are we to say? Do you expect us to point out the lies that you fall for and thus justify and encourage? You may not want to be at war with your fellow citizens, but they do want to and you'd best get used to the idea. You are allowed to call people who lie, liars.

Weigel, WaPo, And General Stupidity

Just to be up front about my sentiments regular readers will know that I've long ceased to link the WaPo for anything other than mockery. My anger with that publication goes back quite a ways, Judith Miller damn near tearing it but I kept hoping - and being disappointed until last year I just gave the hell up and I don't even remember the straw that broke the back.

Dave Weigel gave some interesting reporting in the WaPo on "The Right" and I had occasion to read him from time to time thanks to other links (I'd quit on the WaPo before he was hired). I was actually impressed and evidently so was the Right - emails from "journolist" were published and they weren't flattering of some. His private opinions weren't acceptable so he resigned (take "resigned" as you will). The WaPo's ombudsman was concerned about the appearance of lack of objectivity regarding who was being covered (as if that's been a concern where the "left" is concerned, much less factuality).

Now I don't have a clue what Weigel thought he could do within the confines of "journolist", maybe he actually thought private meant private in that collection of people. Personalities being what they are, you'd think he'd have known better. Founder Ezra Klein has now junked it as a result of this crap. I'm not privy to the membership of the list, but I have noticed that cretinism isn't missing in that profession. Noting the cretinism of some on the Right is always a fairly dangerous practice since they hit back just as hard (and dishonestly or disreputably) as they can. Weigel had been covering that mess for awhile and it seems he ought to have been aware of that propensity - especially since what he got into trouble for was pointing at it.

I give a damn about making enemies in that camp, there isn't a thing they can do to me, but both the WaPo and Weigel engaged in stupidity of the really general sort. Weigel for trusting a listserve and the WaPo for not being aware that anybody covering the Right from something other than a cretin point of view was going to note cretinism on the Right. Apparently to the WaPo all view points are equal...

"All The President's Men" my ass.

House Cleaning

The sidebar just got a lot shorter with the removal of useless "apps" and the sad trimming of the blog list. There have been a lot of fatalities over the last year. I don't know if Facebook and Twitter are part of that or if the lack of BushCo to kick around or just weariness is responsible. What is left are active and interesting voices - with the single exception of "Jon Swift" which is kept as an exemplar and a memorial.

Posting here has become sporadic at best and along with that a shrinking readership. I'm not sure which came first -chicken/egg thing - but it sure isn't as much of a driver to write for just a few. I keep vaccilating on whether to get motivated and write a lot of content and see what happens or just let go of this thing, indecision isn't a good quality in production. Well, I continue to vaccilate, so we'll see.

The hell of it is that I added some good tools to my blogging arsenal right before I got ... whatever it is that ails this blog...

Idiotological Slaves

Ideology is a fine thing as long as it doesn't get confused about its place in regards to reality, when it does it becomes idiotology. The US Senate had a bill before it - several times - to, among other things, extend unemployment benefits that are expiring. It seems that there is a little matter of the Federal deficit and the bit about encouraging lay-abouts to go get a job rather than subsidizing their ... laziness.

The rather nasty contrast between wealthy Senators (you know of a blue collar income one?) and the recipients of unemployment checks might clue you into my general regard for these cretins (sure, who are the cretins he speaks of?). I suppose there'd be some kind of justification for the "market approach" if there were jobs out there. Employers are not going begging for employees who are laying around licking their nuts on the taxpayer dime.

The Federal deficit is a result of spending out pacing tax and fee income - it isn't rocket science. It costs money to extend unemployment benefits - the taxes paid for unemployment insurance aren't sufficient to deal with this kind of extended unemployment. There is a little matter that the Confederate Party of Republicanism and Plutocracy won't deal with and that is what happens to those benefits after they're issued. Unemployment checks don't offer a life of luxury and savings, they get spent on directly sustaining products and rents or mortgages. Somebody makes and distributes those products or depends on payments of obligations and those are taxable - they are government income and they are jobs which is something different than unemployment to come without those consumers spending. Adding to the roles of the unemployed and foreclosed properties is not a recipe for recovery.

This is a case of the interests of business and of workers coinciding and the GOP standing pretty much alone as assholes. There is even talk of the GOP gaining seats in November. I just can't talk myself into the proposition that America deserves even more of their asshattery and needs some real suffering as a lesson. I don't care whether it is left or right, idiotology isn't the way to go.

The World Is My Oyster

I'm 14 months old and visiting my Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandpa is a construction guy and he never seems to do things half-way. Grandma went out and bought a plastic swing with nylon rope hangers about three feet long which Grandpa thought posed a bit of a problem considering the best place to hang my swing. Grandpa got some galvanized chain you could pull a truck with and added another three feet and wound up with something he could swing on - if he'd fit.

***Click on pics for full size***

Grandpa is a pretty interesting guy so I like to keep an eye on him, even if he isn't pushing me. He's got that camera thing going on again.

A minute ago I had my sippy cup with juice in it, I don't have it now because it is great fun to watch it fall and Grandpa pick it up. It's really cool to grab it from his hand when I swing up to him.

The camera thing is pretty nice but cameras don't run all the time and they seem to miss the moment, that little space of time that happens when the camera isn't doing the picture taking. I really like my swing but Grandpa makes Grandma crazy with it. He'll pull me head high and let go while Grandma shrieks, "Not so high!" Grandpa just laughs since I'm wearing a seatbelt and I couldn't even manage to get out of the swing on my own much less fall out. I love to go high, and what that camera missed is the wind blowing my hair up and my mouth open to catch that breeze. Grandpa will pull me way up and let go and then sit down and watch me until the swing slows down. I like it all but the best is going high and fast so I kick my legs until he comes and gets me going again. Sometimes he'll stand and push me and I like that best because I keep going high.

Maybe you're too old to really get this without doing it so I'll try to explain. My Grandpa loves me and tries to keep me happy like today. I've got my sippy cup with good juice in it to drink and I'm swinging high and fast while Grandpa watches me. The wind is in my face and it's a beautiful warm morning. I make faces and Grandpa laughs and so do I. Yep, the world is my oyster. (I'm not sure why that means what it means - and neither is my Grandpa)

Ending Secret Holds?

Freshman Senator Claire McCaskill (MS-D) has made a bid to end secret holds in the US Senate. This practice allows any single Senator to secretly stop business from happening, just one whether in minority or majority. There is something a tad odd:

The thing about the practice, though, is that you won't find it written down anywhere.

"I don't think the word even appears," said Senate Historian Donald Ritchie. "It's obviously a very powerful instrument used by every senator. It gives them a lot of influence over the administration and gives them individual clout."

Since I'm no Parliamentarian I can't make too much of this but that it is abused in secret isn't a real secret. I suppose one question for Senators is whether the body is of any real use to American politics or simply an impediment?

The GOP Tells The Truth ?

You can find out who the The Republican Study Committee is but you won't be terribly surprised to find out that Rep Joe Barton (TX-R)is a member especially in light of this statement made under their banner:

“BP’s reported willingness to go along with the White House’s new fund suggests that the Obama Administration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics. These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this Administration’s drive for greater power and control. It is the same mentality that believes an economic crisis or an environmental disaster is the best opportunity to pursue a failed liberal agenda. The American people know much better.”

That would be about 100 Representatives of the GOP persuasion having their say about how BP is a victim before member Barton stepped in the dog-poo. Now Rep Boehner (OH-R) may have spanked Barton and some other GOPers may have yelled about it, but with a membership of around 100 that makes it ... well ... The GOP in the House.

Don't misunderstand me, the Democratic Congress-people are plenty cozy with big business. I have to do business and I like to actually make money at it so I'm not inclined to smash businesses but there is a difference between doing business and buying it. The fact, though, is that the GOP is downright plutocratic in agenda and this what it is about. These idjits actually told the truth about themselves and leadership isn't happy.

Candidate Rand Paul isn't in hot water (or wasn't) with GOP leadership for his beliefs, look under the GOP dog whistles, as much as he is in trouble for stating them. The GOP doesn't talk about illegal immigrants as an exploited working serfdom, they talk about them as low-life invaders carefully avoiding talking about employers - understand that this isn't racism, per se, as much as it classism. The interests of wealth must at all costs be protected from the grubby working masses. These people are running for re-election, think about that and the fact that they will mostly be elected. Go ahead, and then wonder why this country is a mess and these people claim government is bad.

Lying Liars And The Lies They Tell

Joe Barton now:

What Barton Said a Few Hours Later The New York Times reports on Barton's mid-day clarification: "I want the record to be absolutely clear that I believe BP is responsible for this accident, should be held responsible and should in every way possible make good on the consequences that have resulted from this accident. If anything I’ve said this morning was misconstrued from that I want to apologize for that misconstruction."

Joe Barton then:

I'm speaking now totally for myself. I'm not speaking for the Republican Party, I'm not speaking for anybody in the House of Representatives but myself. But I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation could be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown--in this case, a $20 billion shakedown--with the attorney general of the United States, who is legitimately conducting a criminal investigation, and has every right to do so to protect the interests of the American people, participating in what amounts to a $20 billion slush fund that's unprecedented in our nation's history, that's got no legal standing, and which sets, I think, a terrible precedent for the future ... There is no question that BP is liable for the damages. But we have a due process system where we go through hearings, in some cases court cases, litigation, and determine what those damages are and when those damages should be paid. So I'm only speaking for myself, I'm not speaking for anybody else, but I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, he's subjected to some sort of political pressure that is again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize.

Shakedown?

Rep Barton (TX-R) seems to think that an escrow account for BP damages amounts to a shakedown by ... President Obama. He didn't do more than apologize to BP for it, no ideas presented in contrast or such - he's just sorry. Maybe he figures the results from the Exxon Valdez spill are fine - you know two decades of wait. What is it about Texas; something in the water or what? It didn't take Rep Orangeman ... er Rep Boehner (OH-R) to start backing up, but there is the Republican Study Group in the House calling it a "Chicago-style shakedown" and Rep Michelle Bachman (MN-R) naming it a redistribution-of-wealth fund."

Rep Boehner knows political poison when he hears it (sometimes) but these folks wear that (R) and have put themselves on record, however much they try to put it in reverse. It isn't as though people haven't started parsing BP words in statements to fling poo at them and while that's silly it isn't a Congressman. Getting in an uproar because their Chairman, with enough accent to make English something other than his first language, used the phrase "small people" is just piling on. The meaning is clear if not artful and a bit different than saying "peons."

Republicans have made Democrats a gift, running against Barton, et al, or not. In fact, over the young Obama Administration's life they've handed all kinds of ammunition to Democrats and I'll be rather disappointed if they don't drag the whole bunch through their self-generated mud.

Random Observations

TPM finds Sharron Angle being rather ... um ... strange:

If this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.

The juxtaposition of words makes the meaning seem have to do with shooting Harry. Not a good political statement, maybe?

So BP shares have lost half their value, some $9 Billion? Woof. Somebodies can't be happy.

Rep Steve King (R-IA) is the gift that keeps on giving:

"The president has demonstrated that he has a default mechanism in him that breaks down . . . on the side that favors the black person,"

Way to go Steve, that sure will add something substantive to the discussion of ... well:

"looks like Eric Holder said that white people in America are cowards, when it comes to race."

In the light that Holder referenced Americans rather than whites you'd have to suppose that what we're all about here is The Confederate Party of Republicanism. One step a bit too far for CO GOP Rep candidate Cory Gardner who cancelled an appearance with King, though you do have to wonder how this one got them there. Too blatant, not quite dog whistle enough?

It seems to be news that Afghanistan sits on a trillion dollars worth of minerals, even though it was discussed back in 2007. So what does this mean? That the Afghanistan War will pay for itself like Iraq did or that the Taliban has even more reason to fight on or ... what? I no longer know what to think about Afghanistan, what made sense 8 years ago was 8 years ago, now?

Good grief, rightwing Red State is upset with the NRA. It seems they're pissed that the NRA has gotten itself an exception from the political disclosure law being considered in Congress and that they gave a good grade to (D) Strickland versus a horrid one for (R) Kasich in Ohio. It seems Red State is a bit confused about the NRA's mission, the 2nd A, and how conservative it actually behaves outside that - in essence you have to be a major disappointment as a (R) to not be favored over a (D).

The President speaks from the Oval Office ... you can be sure that little said will be left to say what it said - it will be parsed to a fare-thee-well. Nothing will be enough or "correct" enough. All kinds of left and right have united to kick the Administration around rather than the Senate which has let energy legislation stall. The mess at MMS is a BushCo mess, one that this Administration hasn't addressed fully, until maybe now. I've listened to a pretty good speach with some specifics and one that will leave a bunch of talking heads carping. Ah well.