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Thursday Open Thread: Aspen Bound

The TL kid and I are headed up to Aspen for the annual NORML drug law conference. There's live coverage this year. We're staying with Anita at Owl Farm. The TL kid gets to sleep in Johnny Depp's room. (No, he won't be there, it's called that because it's the room he always slept in when he visited Hunter.) Here's the speaking agenda . I'll be speaking Saturday on new forms of electronic surveillance.

I'll have my iPad and my laptop and will be checking in, and maybe posting occasionally. (I will be following developments in Peru with Joran Van der Sloot but won't be able to devote as much time to them.)

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    I don't know if you (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by JamesTX on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 12:51:45 PM EST
    can be off topic in an open thread, but I think where Jeralyn and the TL Kid are headed is not only absolutely and outrageously cool, but I think there is something in the quote on the Wiki page for Hunter S. Thompson, under Hell's Angels (1967) which is very relevant to our discussion of Joran van der Sloot. Many people make a lot of why Joran lies and generalize from that his moral character and his guilt, as if they understand his world and can conclude his behavior is simply due to lack of conscience. Read what Hunter S. Thompson had to say about how one comes to think like a Hell's Angel. The quote begins with, "A man who has blown all his options can't...".

    Joshua wanted to eat at Huddle House (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 03:47:04 PM EST
    for late breakfast, spouse came home for early lunch due to car being repaired so we went together.  My spouse was late coming home last night.  He is a workaholic, and he felt he needed to splain.....again.....why he is the volunteer nanny at work.  There was some politician in there politiking a bit and having breakfast with his kids.  I was intent on my family discussion though.  So my spouse was pulled aside by a GS teacher yesterday because an active duty instructor has been discovered to be handing out "study guides" which are nothing more than copies of the actual test.  The active duty instructor's class is supposed to be at least a two hour class as well but he magically has turned it into a 45 minute class on one day that he tests for the next day and he "hardly ever" has to reteach and retest anyone who didn't get it.  He has to teach this one class once every two weeks and then his time is his own.......pretty sweet huh?  So last night my husband had acquired a "study guide" for the class and gone to have a pow wow with the commander, that's why he was late last night.  He will be late tonight because he is now sitting in on the "magic class" this afternoon as well as performing his regular duties.  It is pointless to fight with my husband about how much he has to champion accountability, I knew he was like this when I married him too.  I do have to remind him though that upon being exposed many people will change their behavior and that is the goal right?  Cuz people like this guy really tick him off and he can lose a bit of focus. People are actually on the ground right now spilling their own blood while other people are pulling shameful crap.  That is the way of it though sometimes and probably always will be.  I was being grumbly though about how government employees have to be babysat and then I realize that the politiking candidate can't help but lean an ear into our table.  I thought for a minute he was going to introduce himself, but my sour puss must have made him think twice.  I get home though and decide that I must know who he was so I start looking for faces among current Alabama candidates and I discover that he was Barry Moore....Alabama's tea party candidate answer to Terry Spicer's seat.  Boy would he have been disappointed in us upon deeper examination huh?  An old style Democrat and an Independent resigning ourselves and actually volunteering our family time in a way to attend to government paid accountability.  The only thing I'd have to say to Barry Moore is that I'm pretty sure the New Dems are nuts, but the tea party has had a full lobotomy.

    MT (5.00 / 2) (#62)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:56:15 PM EST
    Love to read your posts on pretty much any subject, particularly Joshua, but could you pretty please throw in a few paragraph breaks?  It's really, really hard to read and follow anything in one big long graph.

    Parent
    Please wind up your husband to (none / 0) (#79)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:57:50 PM EST
    sort out Arlington National Cemetery.  

    Parent
    YES - sounds like he could (none / 0) (#87)
    by ruffian on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 09:16:31 PM EST
    get them sorted out.

    Parent
    OMG yes (5.00 / 1) (#45)
    by ruffian on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:05:56 PM EST
    From Digby

    It's truly embarrassing and offensive to see the Republicans responding with more class to their crazed teaparties than the White House does to its labor union and netroots allies.


    EPA vote barely fails (5.00 / 3) (#49)
    by waldenpond on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:24:48 PM EST
    jeez, this is disgusting.  Murkowski's 'strip the EPA' bill .....

    Benen

    [The final roll call was 47 to 53. Every single Republican -- including so-called moderates Snowe, Collins, and Brown -- voted against science, against the environment, and for Murkowski's scheme. They were joined by a few too many Democrats, including Sens. Bayh, Rockefeller, Pryor, Landrieu, Lincoln and Ben Nelson.]

    Also Interesting (5.00 / 1) (#65)
    by squeaky on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:02:04 PM EST
    It is amazing that corporations who produce toxins, could, until now, escape disclosing the toxins in their product to the EPA.

    While BP knew the ingredients in Sea Brat #4, most dispersant formulations have been kept secret by their manufacturers. Indeed, Nalco kept Corexit's formulation under wraps and only revealed it to the EPA after extensive negotiations. The ingredients were revealed by the EPA on June 8. Perhaps not coincidentally, on May 28 the agency changed the Toxic Substances Control Act, giving itself power to suspend industry confidentiality claims on chemical compounds. Knowing the identity of each chemical used should help the EPA better characterize each dispersant.

    Wired

    It does appear that the EPA is another entity under Obama as compared to BushCo, and the GOP does not like it.

    Parent

    Agree about the positive change @EPA (5.00 / 1) (#86)
    by christinep on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 08:47:51 PM EST
    Just a note, squeaky. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act TSCA), companies producing certain threshold levels of toxins have had to update the TSCA inventory yearly. Failure to report is actionable. I think what is added here is the lifting of certain confidentiality claims for EPA to hone in on the toxins' components.

    Parent
    Trade secrets (none / 0) (#74)
    by waldenpond on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:41:01 PM EST
    I know.... under the guise of 'trade secrets'.

    CNN has been on quite a bit of this stuff.... their toxic town show, Mass 1969 spill and the fact that the oil is still there.

    Another interesting.... Brinkley stated last night that the govt is going to do a 'gulf restoration' project and divert the Mississippi as the only way to restore the marsh from the damage from oil dredging and the spill.

    Breaking news: BP execs called to DC for Wed.  Obama will be present for part of the meeting.  It wasn't clear to me if this is a hearing or simply a meeting at the WH.

    Parent

    Divert the Mississippi? (none / 0) (#77)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:53:14 PM EST
    Are you saying the gov't. plans to change the course of the river? At the delta?  That seems like a rather extraordinary undertaking. And one rather fraught with peril.

    Parent
    All I can think of is that (none / 0) (#80)
    by Anne on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:59:47 PM EST
    if Obama's involved he can invoke the biblical grandeur of Moses; it can be a New Age parting of the Red Sea.

    I mean, the FDR and Lincoln thing isn't working out too well, is it?

    Parent

    Although I remember my parents, (none / 0) (#83)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 06:36:07 PM EST
    who lived in Nebraska at the time, telling us about telephone operator alerting people in the area in the middle of the night that the Platt River had returned to its original channel.

    Parent
    Red flags popping off (none / 0) (#82)
    by nycstray on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 06:30:34 PM EST
    in my head . . . Oy.

    Parent
    Restoration (none / 0) (#85)
    by waldenpond on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 06:57:33 PM EST
    No... the key word here is restore.  I imagine it is a restoration project to undue the damage from the dredging and put it back to prior patterns of behavior to restore the silt to the marshlands which have been decimated.

    Of course, what came to mind for me, is the fact that the Mississippi creates a dead zone at a certain time of year because of run-off pollution.  Based on the ol' environmental science classes in college.... the marsh grasses will serve as filters for the run-off?  If the silt would serve to rebuild the barrier islands and expand the marsh grasses, that would be great.

    Parent

    More like un-doing the diversion (none / 0) (#88)
    by ruffian on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 09:21:42 PM EST
    that has been done for the last century. So much of it is far upriver though, and the people in Missouri and Iowa would not like the resulting floods.

    Yes, it was extraordinary and fraught with peril - the delta area paid the price. After Katrina many of the righties were marveling about how stupid the founders of New Orleans were to build a city in such a vulnerable area. Well, it was not as vulnerable when they built it.

    Parent

    un - effing - believable (5.00 / 1) (#84)
    by ZtoA on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 06:38:39 PM EST
    Seriously. And wait till the suits start rolling in. Sounds like a quagmire. These republicans must be insane - and their constituencies might well have negative health impact from Corexit.

    Clean up people are putting oily sand into plastic bags. What are they going to do with them?

    speaking about suing, from The Atlantic:

    A prominent Houston attorney with a long record of winning settlements from oil companies says he has new evidence suggesting that the Deepwater Horizon's top managers knew of problems with the rig before it exploded last month, causing the worst oil spill in US history. Tony Buzbee, a lawyer representing 15 rig workers and dozens of shrimpers, seafood restaurants, and dock workers, says he has obtained a three-page signed statement from a crew member on the boat that rescued the burning rig's workers. The sailor, who Buzbee refuses to name for fear of costing him his job, was on the ship's bridge when Deepwater Horizon installation manager Jimmy Harrell, a top employee of rig owner Transocean, was speaking with someone in Houston via satellite phone. Buzbee told Mother Jones that, according to this witness account, Harrell was screaming, "Are you f*cking happy? Are you f*cking happy? The rig's on fire! I told you this was gonna happen."


    Parent
    Yeah (none / 0) (#61)
    by squeaky on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:55:07 PM EST
    Amazing. I guess that the GOP figures that most americans are against anything that would raise the price of oil, or gasoline, and they are going to pitch that the Dems want to make americans pay more for their freedoms.

    Anti-regulation sentiment... counting on greed.

    Parent

    USC Football is in a whole lotta trouble (none / 0) (#1)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 12:25:32 PM EST
    fo' sho'.

    And people wondered why (none / 0) (#3)
    by scribe on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 12:28:40 PM EST
    their coach made a beeline back to the NFL.

    I gotta think he knew USC could not win the way they did without violating the rules and that it was inevitable it'd be found out.

    Parent

    Your first sentence (none / 0) (#4)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 12:31:30 PM EST
    was my first thought when I heard the news last night.

    Parent
    Annointing Barkley over Aaron Corp (none / 0) (#22)
    by MKS on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:56:07 PM EST
    was a mistake imo.....

    The two did play against each other in high school--being in the same 6 team conference....Corp won the state championship, and Barkley his senior year threw a lot of picks trying to pad his stats and his team was disappointing in the playoffs....

    Parent

    Does this mean it is possible (none / 0) (#56)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:49:35 PM EST
    (although not probable) Michigan may have a change to win a Rose Bowl?

    Parent
    Sorry, oculus, no. (none / 0) (#66)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:03:13 PM EST
    If the rumors are true, and I think they are, Nebraska will be joining the Big 10. If they can't overcome the Buckeyes, how are they going to beat out the Cornhuskers?

    My Ducks and Beavers fare no better. Colorado is coming to the Pac 10. And our rumors speak of a major expansion that may include Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma, maybe more.

    One possible bright spot to all this conference shuffling-- the end of that *&#@%^  BCS.

    Parent

    Has the President commented on (none / 0) (#67)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:05:18 PM EST
    thse changes as yet?  He did weigh in on the shoulda-been perfect game in Detroit.

    Parent
    LAT sports writer opines the Pac 10 (none / 0) (#70)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:15:03 PM EST
    will need a new name.  Hasn't he been following the Big 10?

    Parent
    It's all about the Benjamins, (none / 0) (#71)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:24:25 PM EST
    as so many things are. Television contracts and the resulting revenue stream are behind this massive realignment of college conferences.

    Whether the changes will bring about an overall elevation of the level of play in each conference is up for debate.

    Parent

    "Benjamins." Into my learn something (none / 0) (#72)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:28:07 PM EST
    everyday pile of stuff.

    Parent
    Mr. Franklin would, I (none / 0) (#73)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:38:51 PM EST
    feel certain, approve of your "learn something everyday pile of stuff."

    Parent
    Happy trails! (none / 0) (#2)
    by scribe on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 12:26:52 PM EST
    You weren't one of the iPad folks who got their email addresses and such hacked, were you?

    The Big 12 just ended. (none / 0) (#5)
    by Farmboy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 12:47:56 PM EST
    Colorado is joining the PAC 10. IMO, now that the seal is broken, we'll see the rest of the schools scramble for the best deals they can make.

    "The best deal"... (none / 0) (#21)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:50:26 PM EST
    isn't that why USC is in trouble, Reggie Bush getting the best deal?...:)

    Parent
    Iowa State... (none / 0) (#27)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:41:35 PM EST
    ...is left without a date to the prom.  I hear Big Chet is raising quite a fuss trying to get ISU into the Big X.  

    Good luck with that.  

    Bring on the NU/Iowa games!

    Parent

    How's the virgin kidney... (5.00 / 2) (#28)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:43:56 PM EST
    treatin' ya bro?  Feelin' ok?

    Parent
    For the most part... (5.00 / 2) (#31)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:52:19 PM EST
    it is going OK.  The Docs seem pleased with things so far.  

    But, still have the usual problems and pain associated with major surgery and a foot long incision.  Plus, every little twinge freaks me out 'cause I wonder if something is wrong.  

    Parent

    Keep on hangin' there... (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:58:19 PM EST
    I'm thinking the virgin kidney could never reject a cool mofo like you...keep us posted on your recovery holmes.

    Parent
    Err.. (none / 0) (#35)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:58:45 PM EST
    hangin' in there...I'm shot.

    Parent
    Did the early game take it out of (none / 0) (#68)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:05:59 PM EST
    you?

    Parent
    Oy! (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by squeaky on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:58:35 PM EST
    Well hang in there MileHi, we are all sending healing waves your way. If the docs seem pleased, that is a really good sign, imo.

    Parent
    best wishes! (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by CST on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 03:01:41 PM EST
    a happy doctor is a good sign.

    And on the bright side, that's gonna be one cool looking scar :)

    Parent

    Thanks guys! (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 03:24:11 PM EST
    Just trying to take it one day at a time for now.  Getting labs drawn 3x's a week and clinic a couple times per week, getting all the meds adjusted just right and no smoking of nothing.  

    Parent
    "no smoking of nothing" (5.00 / 2) (#39)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 03:30:39 PM EST
    oooo

    insult to injury.

    get well soon.

    Parent

    Yeah... (5.00 / 2) (#51)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:37:51 PM EST
    ...straight edge is a strange concept!

    Parent
    A Binge (5.00 / 1) (#59)
    by squeaky on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:52:15 PM EST
    Straight edge style... lol

    Parent
    I know potential liver donees (none / 0) (#69)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:07:58 PM EST
    can't be current smokers or mj or anything else, users of street drugs, or drinkers of alcohol both before and after transplant.  What are the criteria re kidney?

    Parent
    Good friend (none / 0) (#75)
    by Raskolnikov on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:46:01 PM EST
    removed from donor list for failing a drug test (MJ).

    Parent
    Same effect re an inmate attempting (none / 0) (#76)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:48:57 PM EST
    to be placed on liver transplant list.  Unfortunately, on the date of the evaluation he tested positive for mj.  

    Parent
    also (5.00 / 2) (#41)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 03:42:34 PM EST
    "virgin kidney?"  I dont remember that box on my organ donor card

    Parent
    Glad to hear you are recovering well, (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by Anne on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 03:30:03 PM EST
    and that your doctors are pleased; after so many years, it must be a true joy to be on your way to the best health you've had in a long time.

    As others have said, hang in there - I'm pretty sure there's a corner you will be turning soon, and it will be easy-breezy from that point on.

    Sending healing thoughts your way!

    Parent

    GOod Work (none / 0) (#7)
    by squeaky on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 12:55:59 PM EST
    It does seem that the war on the war on drugs at least in the MJ department has been gaining traction.

    Keep up the fight!

    Key word "seems"... (none / 0) (#26)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:41:30 PM EST
    the man just seized 69 tons instead of letting it go to market...bastards.

    But thank goodness for our hostess and the NORML folks fighting the good fight against insurmountable odds...can't imagine where we'd be without 'em.

    Parent

    Yeah (none / 0) (#30)
    by squeaky on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:47:50 PM EST
    Well here's to a future toast or puff, to when that sort of thing is quaint history.

    I was thinking more of the states efforts in medical MJ, and the growing tolerance among those americans who do not imbibe.

    Parent

    You right... (none / 0) (#32)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:54:36 PM EST
    sadly though the change it attitudes is all about benjamins, not morals.

    That being said...whatever works!

    Parent

    Give my regards (none / 0) (#8)
    by Chuck0 on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:05:08 PM EST
    to Hunter's ghost. I met him once in Baltimore. Have read nearly everything he ever wrote. I wept when I learned of his death, but after reading his last note, I understood completely. He is much missed.

    With that sentence (none / 0) (#19)
    by CoralGables on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:43:54 PM EST
    the nuns in Catholic school would say you had met Hunter's ghost

    Parent
    Yes. (none / 0) (#90)
    by Chuck0 on Sat Jun 12, 2010 at 01:55:16 PM EST
    I realized that after I posted it.

    Parent
    color me (none / 0) (#9)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:10:08 PM EST
    jealous

    so (none / 0) (#10)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:14:41 PM EST
    BP now stands for British Pensioners?

    I would not be afraid to bet that over the next few weeks and months British Pensioners are going to have many friends they never had before.

    wont someone please think about the Pensioners?

    I'd be more concerned (none / 0) (#12)
    by Zorba on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:30:09 PM EST
    about the British pensioners, if I weren't so concerned about the entire ecosystem of the Gulf (and possibly beyond), and the people and wildlife living down there.  You come up with some really good links, Cap.

    Parent
    still (none / 0) (#14)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:31:36 PM EST
    I bet they are going to have a bunch of new friends those pensioners.

    Parent
    you mean like (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by CST on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:23:50 PM EST
    the "drill baby drill" crowd?

    Wouldn't be surprised.  I can think of a number of people in congress who will be "oh so worried" about the "poor retirees across the pond".  And somehow I have a feeling that there will be a strange correlation between those people and the ones who b*tched about bailing out GM pensioners...

    Parent

    Boehner wants US to (none / 0) (#16)
    by waldenpond on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:32:39 PM EST
    Boehner wants US taxpayers to bail them out.  I remember when you made an investment and if the company did well you did well and if the company didn't do well you didn't.  Shouldn't Boehner be demanding Britain contribute to the clean-up let alone bail out their own company?

    The President was too nice, now he's too mean. wah.

    Parent

    You could smell this one coming... (none / 0) (#29)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:47:42 PM EST
    I mean we overthrew a democratically elected government in Iran for BP back in the day...of course they'll get a blank check...be glad they have no use for every American first born...yet.

    Parent
    No, that's a misunderstanding (none / 0) (#57)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:50:39 PM EST
    He wants government to take responsibility along with BP, but make BP pay for it.  It's gotten to the point that anything that originates with TPM probably ought to have verification from another source, IMHO.

    Parent
    Please keep (none / 0) (#11)
    by Zorba on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:15:14 PM EST
    my dear friend (Ann) in your thoughts.  She and her husband have been close friends for over thirty years, and our kids grew up together.  We have shared good times and bad, holidays, family celebrations, sad times, happy times, graduations, weddings, many meals, etc., etc.  She has breast cancer, had a lumpectomy yesterday, and all looks good so far, but you never know.

    My mother is a 32-year survivor (5.00 / 0) (#13)
    by me only on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:30:21 PM EST
    and still going.  Good fortune to Ann.

    Parent
    my sister (5.00 / 0) (#17)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:37:35 PM EST
    good vibes being sent

    Parent
    should have said (none / 0) (#18)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:38:28 PM EST
    61 year old survivor of two episodes

    Parent
    At least she has a Zorba (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by jondee on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:47:20 PM EST
    in her corner. We all need one of those.

    I know it sounds all New Agey and la-la land but, some of that visualization stuff can really help, at least on psychic/spiritual level..

    Godspeed and healing to your friend..

    Parent

    My almost-80 yr old mother (5.00 / 2) (#23)
    by Anne on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:15:23 PM EST
    was just recently found to have DCIS - ductile carcinoma in situ - after a routine mammogram showed new calcifications, and a biopsy was done (I did not know this, but it isn't the calcifications themselves that are a problem, it is that their appearance suggests cell growth - and that cell growth could be cancer).

    Her surgeon, who is the head of the Breast Center where she will have the surgery, has indicated that she will need no other treatment beyond the lumpectomy, which we were glad to hear.

    It's startling news to get, but she is handling it well - she's been at the beach with her girlfriends for the last week - and after the MRI with contrast she's having on Monday, we will meet with the surgeon on Tuesday and, I assume, schedule the surgery.

    All good thoughts for your friend - and for you, too, because she is your friend and you love her; that she had "just" the lumpectomy - as opposed to a mastectomy - probably is a sign that they caught it early, and she will make a full recovery.

    One day at a time, as they say; control what you can and let the rest go - life's too short to miss out on any opportunity to laugh or love or take pleasure from the things that make us happy.

    Parent

    DCIS (5.00 / 1) (#60)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:54:43 PM EST
    My mother had two of those in her early 70s, but that was before they figured out that few of them actually go on to be cancer sites.  At her age, rather than have a lumpectomy and then lots of radiation and chemo (which is what they were doing then), she opted for modified radical mastectomies both times and no follow-on therapy other than Tamoxifen, which had just become available, for the second one.

    Tough choice for her, and irksome to find out it made little sense to have the big surgeries years later.

    But her nodes were all clear and she lived to 93 without any evidence of cancer.


    Parent

    Anything for Mrs. Z... (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 02:18:49 PM EST
    thoughts with ya and your friend pal.

    Parent
    Thanks to all (5.00 / 4) (#40)
    by Zorba on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 03:32:25 PM EST
    for your good wishes.  I have been worrying about this for awhile- she really is a dear friend.  But she has a really, really positive outlook (which I think really helps) and it does seem as though they caught it early.  She will have follow-up, of course, including radiation, and her kids and Mr. Zorba and I will be with her every step of the way.  Thanks again!

    Parent
    Will do. (none / 0) (#44)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 03:49:09 PM EST
    FIFA2010 (none / 0) (#15)
    by star on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 01:31:59 PM EST
    Opening ceremonies on... yay! excited. in time for 1st day of kids vacation too... nice way to keep em occupied since I have 2 soccer freaks at home :)

    the latest (none / 0) (#42)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 03:45:20 PM EST
    ok (none / 0) (#46)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:13:11 PM EST
    this is not good.  I should not have seen this.

    link

    link

    I have a white background to work with.

    sorry (none / 0) (#47)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:14:17 PM EST
    duped link but you get the idea

    Parent
    Oh yeah, what's it gonna be for your crew? (none / 0) (#48)
    by ruffian on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:20:31 PM EST
    That is really cute. I love that they can't even make a Golden Retriever look scary as a tiger.

    I got my redder Golden a tiger mask and my yellower one a lion mask for Halloween a couple of years ago,  but I never thought of doing a full dye job.

    Parent

    I can totally (none / 0) (#50)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:34:34 PM EST
    see Daisy (the white shaggy huusky) as a tiger.
    and assuming its not in any way permanent I can see a Ghost panda.

    Parent
    Do any of your dogs have sunglasses? (none / 0) (#52)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:40:08 PM EST
    I saw a display of designer styles in upscale shop window this a.m.

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    no (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:42:14 PM EST
    no sunglasses no clothes.

    but a dye job . . . .

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    Further thoughts and coverage on Helen Thomas... (none / 0) (#53)
    by FoxholeAtheist on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:41:25 PM EST
    What Helen Thomas said, and what she meant, in a 1 minute video clip, should be examined alongside the public record of what she has said, and written, about the Arab-Israeli conflict over the course of her long career in journalism.

    There has been an appalling rush to judgment here; a judgment that those few recent off-hand, isolated remarks on Palestine are indicative of a core antisemitism.  Yet, no credible authority can claim that there is any other corroborating evidence of antisemitism in her 50+ years of reportage and commentary -- if there were, Helen Thomas's career would have ended long before June 07/10.

    What Thomas's record does reveal is a resolute, long-standing critique of Israeli political leadership and its U.S. enablers. More particularly, the ongoing encroachment  of Israeli settlements into the Palestinian territories (condemned by the UN);  the Israeli Defense Forces's  increasingly brutal treatment of the Palestinian civilian population (condemned by the UN); the inhumanity of the Israeli blockade preventing food and basic necessities of life from entering Gaza (condemned by the UN); and of course most recently, the IDF raid on the Gaza Humanitarian Aid Flotilla, which resulted in dozens of injuries to the people on the flotilla -- and nine deaths, including one American citizen, shot at close-range, four times in the head and once in the chest (condemned by the UN).

    The political establishment, and the mainstream press -- the servile Fourth Estate -- have wanted Helen Thomas's head on a platter for as long as she's had a head on her shoulders. On May 27/10, an heretofore unknown individual, Rabbi David Nessenoff, stuck a flip-cam into Helen Thomas's face and asked her if she "had any comments about Israel". What the good rabbi captured on video, in 1:58 minutes, was not particularly remarkable, within the context of what Helen Thomas has been saying, albeit in more diplomatic terms,  for her entire life as a journalist.  But, Rabbi Nessenoff tucked it away for a rainy day nonetheless -- evidently, the foreseeable rainy day of May 31, when Israel had forecast the use of military force against the Gaza Humanitarian Aid Flotilla.

    On Tuesday June 1st, Thomas confronted White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs for the administration's unwillingness to condemn the homicidal actions of the IDF. On Wednesday June 3rd, Rabbi Nessenoff carpeid the rainy diem and posted a 1:03 minute clip of his 'interview' with Helen Thomas on his website. (Apparently, the Rabbi felt that the interview, in its 1:58 minute entirety, was not sufficiently damning to Thomas -- whose manner is quite jovial and kind in the deleted portion.) Still, the video failed to sell itself -- even within the incendiary context of world-wide uproar over the IDF raid. According to mid-level right-wing blogger Jeff Dunetz, Nessenoff contacted him on the morning of June 4th, asking for assistance with getting some publicity for the video that was still refusing to go viral. Dunetz applied himself mightily.  He posted the video clip and his commentary on his own website The LId; he enlisted the assistance of high-level right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart; and he sent out a slew of tweets and emails. Dunetz gloated in the afterglow:

    [Within five hours] the video was posted on the Big sites on the net. By the end of the day it was on radio and TV and the calls for Thomas' head were all over the place.

    Dunetz wisely failed to give credit to former GW Bush White House Press Secretary, Ari Fleischer, who is widely reported to have shopped the story to numerous entities over the June 4th weekend. Firedoglake adroitly discusses Ari's role and his motives in this story, from June 8th: Who hired Ari Fleischer to take out "antisemite" Helen Thomas?

    The Firedoglake story correctly surmises that Helen Thomas's recent remarks are reflective of " anti-ZIONISM" -- the presumed divine right of Israelis to occupy increasingly larger swathes of Palestine. American public opinion may be turning -- in the wake of  IDF violence against the Gaza flotilla; and the subsequent firing of its most vocal critic. Last night, Stephen Colbert interviewed the unsurprisingly belligerent Israeli Ambassador to the UN. At one point, Stephen ironically suggested that the Arab-Israeli conflict would be resolved if all the Palestinians "went back to where they came from". For a moment reality was turned on its head. The audience, and the ambassador went silent as the tomb, as they collectively grasped that the Palestinians "came from" the place that became the state of Israel in 1948. Nobody is saying the clock can, or should, be turned all the way back; but there has been an undeniable wake-up call to the plight of the Palestinian people.

    Peace.

    Cross-posted at Corrente (n/t). (none / 0) (#55)
    by FoxholeAtheist on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:46:52 PM EST
    Teenager trying to establish (none / 0) (#58)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:52:09 PM EST
    record for solo sailboat feat.  Emergency alert activated.  LAT

    McCourt's hire Russian emigre (none / 0) (#63)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:59:24 PM EST
    with 3 degrees to send good thoughts from Boston to LA on behalf of Dodgers.  I kid you not.  LAT

    McCourts hire Russian emigre (none / 0) (#64)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 04:59:59 PM EST
    with 3 degrees to send good thoughts from Boston to LA on behalf of Dodgers.  I kid you not.  LAT  It's hard work--up to 4 hrs. a day.  

    Dick Enberg is interviewing Jerry (none / 0) (#78)
    by oculus on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:55:31 PM EST
    Coleman, former Yankee second baseman) re longest ball he ever saw hit (legally):  Mickey Mantle at Yankee Stadium.  Much further than confines of Petco Park.  And his All Star infield.  Rissuto, Collins.  Coleman is radio Padres commentator.  

    Micky Mantle was great enough (none / 0) (#81)
    by jondee on Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 06:09:39 PM EST
    to almost make me wish I was a Yankees fan. Almost.

    I think it was all that Yoohoo he used to drink..

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    I lived (none / 0) (#89)
    by NYShooter on Fri Jun 11, 2010 at 01:41:20 AM EST
    in the Bronx, just a few blocks from Yankee Stadium, during the MM era. Couldn't afford tickets so we used to watch games from the elevated subway platform at 161'st St. If you stood at a certain place you could catch a glimpse of a small slice of the field. The one thing that stood out with the Mick was the roar of the crowd whenever he came up to bat. Now there have been lots of stars, and lots of noise for the favorites before and after Mickey but there has never been the kind of roar that came from someplace special, deep inside the guts of millions of Mickey Mantle fans.

    p.s. I believe it was Yogi, with the Yoo Hoo fetish; Mickey preferred Yahoo (the 80 proof kind) lol.


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