Good Morning, again, everyone. We are supposed to get some sun today. I hope so. My plants need it and so do I. Several of my peppers have popped up. I just looked over my planting calendar and I hope to get some more seeds started next weekend. If the weather predictions are on target I might actually be able to work the soil in my containers this week and get the plastic tents put up. The last time I checked the beds my shovel bounced off the frozen soil.

Woke this morning to the news of the quake in Japan. That is actually the second major quake in about 4 days for them. Three, if you include the major after shock from the first quake. The mainstream media didn't report that--not enough drama since there wasn't a lot of death and destruction. They barely mentioned the latest Chinese quake about three days ago. We wondered if we are simply getting more news because there are more occurrences or if there are actually more disasters happening. However, when the quake is the fifth strongest in Japanese history...? And the winter we have had was one of only five to top 50 inches of snow...? And last year was tied for the warmest on record...? Maybe we really have pissed off Mother Nature.

MSNBC has some good cartoons this morning--painfully funny. Go to the business section and click on the 'Trapped in the Economy' entry on the right hand side.

So this little item has resurfaced and the first thing the banks do is threaten their customers with higher fees or no more free checking programs. At least that was the news coverage in the snippet from last night. As usual we responded with what we would do if our bank decides to do either. Go back to cash and checks. But I have much more sympathy with the merchants than I do the big banks having worked in a small business that saw a lot of their receipts go for the swipe fees. The business closed after three years never having made a profit. I will be honest--it wouldn't have made a profit without the fees. But the fees were just one more nail in the coffin.

The Economic Populist puts in words many of the thoughts I have had as I listened to much that passes for news lately. On the one hand you have the Repthuglicans pontificating that we must (absolutely must) 'reform' Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid before we bankrupt not only ourselves but future generations (to the biblical 7th generation, maybe??). And on the other we have John McCain and others declaring that we must (absolutely must) establish a 'no-fly zone' over Libya to prevent Gaddafi's massacre of his own people in what has become a civil war. And he does so without ever saying where the money would come from to pay for yet another war. God, I wish some one of our giant pharmaceutical companies would invent a sanity pill.

I have often thought that the only really effective way to punish business for their anti-labor and other anti-social actions is to boycott. Evidently the unions and their supporters in Wisconsin have also hit on that. Of course, some of the biggest offenders are global in scope and how much a boycott in this country would hurt is an interesting question.

I would say good morning but the over night news from Wisconsin rather contradicts the notion. I do, however, hope everyone out there will have a pleasant and fruitful day.

I wondered when I listened to the morning news how the Wisconsin Repthuglicans had managed to get the legislation passed; that is, by what maneuver they had done it. Here is Huffington Posts' description of the events. I wasn't sure exactly why separating the anti-union provisions from the budget provisions made a difference but this CNN story explains that without the fiscal matters the legislation required a smaller quorum well below the majority the Repthuglicans have in the senate. I thought that might be the case because a number of states require a supermajority quorum for budgetary bills.

For a very good analysis of the implications of Wisconsin for the rest of the country go to Rainy Day Things and read Rain's take. All her points are right on the money but one I think needs to be emphasized more is the question of 'who is the 'our' in 'our movement?' When I taught Western Civ courses (way back when) I inevitably had to answer the question students raised about how the ancient Greeks could have a 'democracy' when the majority of their people had no voice. After all women and slaves couldn't vote. I told them that the matter is all in the definition--who is by definition part of the 'demos' (people). And then you refine the definition even more since women were considered part of 'the people' but only for determining who among each succeeding generation were citizens but they had not voting rights. Anyone remember the end of 'Animal Farm?' "All animals are created equal; but some are more equal." We are now deciding who is more equal.

Here is another 'sign of the times' story from Huffington Post. Although the buzz word in today's politics, economics and society seems to be 'transparency,' I would say that the true governing principle is 'opacity.' If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, bamboozle them with bullshit (as the old saying goes.) It doesn't matter so long as their money becomes yours. Or in this case so long as their debt becomes your profit.

This story illustrates why I don't rely on American mainstream media for information. I have been reading about the depletion of the Oglala aquifer for the last twenty years or so but the sources have rarely been the media. Recently the notion of 'peak water' has been gaining coverage. This article shows the complexity of the problem that has been largely under the radar.

I missed the "60 Minutes" program featured in this Huffington Post story. That program, like so many that used to be among my favorites, has become too much oriented toward 'infotainment' and are too light on the 'info.' Again, the subject of this story--the right to clean water and adequate sanitation--has surfaced in the mainstream media sporadically over the last couple of years but with no resolution. Except, of course, to leave things alone to get worse. Note the impact of the proposed federal budget.

To segue only slightly, Grist has an interview with James Howard Kunstler (who is one of my favorite writers) on the topic of the "American Dream become nightmare."

Good morning to you all on this Ash Wednesday. We have rain but not as much as the weather people originally thought. Most of the energy with system stayed well to the south. Daytime temps are supposed to stay in the 40s so what is left of the snow should be gone even though we are supposed to have a couple of minor spurts over the next week. I still have a pile of snow where we put what we shoveled from the path to the shed, the trash tote, and the gate. But it is only half of what it was yesterday morning. I agree, Lois. It is nice to see sprouts coming up. I just hope I haven't, in my enthusiasm, started them too early. I am thinking of delaying the next round--the lettuce, spinach, beets, and herbs--until later in the month. I hope that the snow will be gone and the containers thawed enough to get the plastic tents up.

Your comment on your teacher friends who have retired reminded me of a story I read last week from Wisconsin. The department that deals with retirement filings for state workers noted a large increase in the numbers of state employees deciding, suddenly, to retire. It seems a clause in the contract, which expires in the middle of this month, requires the employee to file the request at least two weeks before the expiration date or they will loose health benefits that would roll over into their retirement health plan. For some that would amount to $10k or more. Many had planned on working for several more years but faced with a 'use it or lose it' scenario--they decided to use it. Can't blame them.

I wonder if the Wyoming legislature will decide to rename their state capital 'Beijing.' Since the ozone pollution from the gas rigs has exceeded even that of L.A. on its worse days and has come in at double the EPA limits, it looks as though the state is seeing the downside of their economic boom. I wonder if the situation will get so bad that having a 'blue sky day' will be as noteworthy as it is in the Chinese capital.

Thanks to our wonderfully informative mainstream media I doubt very many people know about the film that won the 'Best Documentary' category. It is 'Inside Job' and I loved the trailer enough that I will buy the disc when it comes out--and I don't usually buy documentaries. Go here for more info.

This story from Grist stirred some memories for us. Some time ago we read the labels on the milk we usually buy and were surprised to find that only 20 calories separate the whole milk from the skim milk. We asked ourselves what real benefit we got from drinking skim milk when whole milk is so much more palatable. Mom has been on cholesterol lowering medication for some time so we were a bit worried there but her blood tests did not budge any after we went back to whole milk (and whole milk cottage cheese and whole milk cheeses). We both figure that the 'convenience' of not having to stir the oils back into the peanut butter isn't worth the rest of the crap that comes with it. At present, we avoid anything that touts low or no fat.

This is sad but oh so typical. Who is going to tell the spooks at the CIA that their pensions were 'over-promised?' And how many other Federal pensions, like most state pension plans, have been criminally underfunded?

Good Fat Tuesday morning to you all. Google seems to be behaving well this morning. We'll see if it continues. About half of my tomato seeds have sprouted and I have to bring out my other starting tray because several are already too tall for this first one. Since our inside temp is set at 68 and the area by the patio door is actually a bit cooler than that, I figure that the germination time may be as much as 20-50% longer for some of these seeds. No peppers up yet and still only one ground cherry.

I agree, Lois. Michael Moore says it like it is and minces few words doing so.

While reading some of the various articles and blogs I suddenly realized how much a little time has changed things. Does anyone else remember the stories that surfaced on the new broadcasts every year in August and September concerning the dedicated teachers dipping into their own slender resources to buy needed supplies for their classes? Basic things like paper, pencils, rulers? My how heroically the news media painted them. Now no one remembers and the news media is not reminding us. Please don't tell me that it isn't the teachers the Repthuglican idiots are fighting but the greedy, selfish unions. After all who makes up the unions? If the unions are selfish and greedy then the members must be also. Where did all those heroic, sacrificing, and selfless teachers go?

Good morning, everyone. Oh, I am so tired of snow. We got about 2 to three inches overnight. Blast!!! I got most of my containers uncovered and the temperatures were high enough to melt some of the ice just before this round. Well, I can celebrate a bit--five of my tomato seeds have sprouted. Four Big Rainbow and one Brandywine. I need to check my schedule to see when I need to start some more seeds.

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As you can see I didn't have much to say yesterday (Sunday). The news either isn't news or is 'same old--same old.' We'll see what I can find today.

I noticed this Huffington Post item this morning. I can think of a couple of other governors who should also face recall efforts which I sincerely hope would be successful.

Then there is the on-going discussion of the rapidly rising oil prices focusing on the equally rapidly rising gasoline prices. This story, noting that the Obama Administration is considering opening the 'strategic reserves' to dampen the price hikes, is fairly typical. But I have a couple of nagging thoughts about the whole situation. I have also read experts opinions that we have plenty of oil and the price hikes are entirely out of alignment with the realities of the situation. Mostly the writers attribute the rise to fear and speculation. And the Saudi government has promised to make up any shortfall due to the Libyan situation. Given how often the 'experts' have been surprised lately over reports of oil inventories that are suddenly more than, or less than, what they had expected, I am not at all sure we should rely on the experts estimates on supply. Given other reports that the Saudis have over stated their reserves by a whopping amount (variable depending on the source of the story) and other experts questioning the ability of the Saudis to actually carry through with that promise, I am not at all sure we should rely on those promises either. So many of the statistics we hear are so massaged, surgically altered, or otherwise manipulated by which ever group wants to make its own point I really have a hard time making heads or tails of any given economic situation. Which brings me back to the matter of 'fear and speculation.' Isn't it a sad state of affairs when our economy is held hostage by the lily-livered and the greedy?

But then that last question is somewhat answered here by Michael Moore.

I am going to have to quit here--for some reason I can't get back onto my Google home page.

Good morning, everyone. We should be getting some heavy rains today. The weather reports last night noted that large areas of Indiana (south of us) and Illinois may experience flooding because this system will be followed by another due in next Wednesday. I was really glad to see that none of the projected daytime temps are supposed to fall below freezing. I have a couple of containers that have two to three inches of ice in them and that will take a bit of time to melt away.

I rather like our system for the water also, Lois. A decade ago we might have gone the faucet or pitcher filtration route without thinking about the filters we would have to replace continuously. At that time I was desperately trying to find some way into a full time job that would pay for my rather modest lifestyle and time was as much at a constraint as money. Now we have the time to use more labor intensive methods (like cooking from scratch and gardening), are not so easily seduced by promises of 'labor saving' products (which we have often found to be overblown), and are cautious about solving a problem with a process that requires an increase in our trash and an expenditure that may be bearable now but may not be sometime down the line.

So, Hillary Clinton says we are loosing the 'information war.' I wonder what has taken her so long to figure that out. I noticed the (very slight) mention on a newscast a couple of weeks ago that Al Jazeera is negotiating with Comcast hoping to be included in the Comcast line up. I hope that comes to fruition. Much of what she said before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was right on target. Several times a week I tune into the PBS News Hour and a couple of foreign news programs on another PBS channel. I can't begin to tell you how absolutely wonderful it was to get news without commercial interruption and without a single mention of Charlie Sheen. If Al Jazeera does come to Comcast I hope it is included in the package I already have and not on one of the premium packages. I will definitely tune in.

Robert Ellsberg has a wonderfully sarcastic comment on how right the GOP is to blame Teachers, et. al., for the economic crisis. Wonderful to see someone call out the right wingers for their blame-the-victim game.

And then there is this post from Robert Reich that pretty well sums up the 'good' news on the employment front that was supposed to push the stock market higher. Again I feel somewhat like the canary in the coal mine. I said above that I once desperately searched for one job that would pay a living wage. I never found it. The closest I came during the last decade was a job as a legal secretary paying $10/hour for a 32 hour week and a period of about 8 months when I had two (and at one point 3) jobs paying between $6.50 and $9.50 per hour. Between them I actually got about 48 hours/week. In each case, though, the net pay was only about two-thirds what I needed to pay my full share of the expenses. I am sure it has gotten worse over time. A year after I left the inventory counting job I saw an ad for the same job starting $1/hour less than I started at. Those 8 months I split my time between three part time jobs was the most exhausting and depressing of my life.

Good morning, everyone. There wasn't really much to say yesterday as most of the news consisted of continuing stories and I had a trip to the library planned and a couple of errands to do. The latter took more time than I expected because finding one of the items on my list was a very difficult task. We have not liked the local tap water for some time. It is very hard and making tea and coffee with it is less than satisfactory as the calcium mixes with the acids and tannins to make a scum that is unappetizing and hard to clean off the surface of the pots. We can't put in a household water softener system since we rent this little townhouse but we didn't want to get either the system that attaches to the faucet or the kind that works in a pitcher. Both require filters that have to be replaced and we didn't really want something else that has to be thrown in the trash. About a month ago I was skimming through a new book on basic food preservation methods and found a small section on water quality in the introductory chapter. That author suggested a couple of different low tech ways to get rid of the calcium. One of the methods was to boil water for 20-30 minutes and, when the water cooled, skim the floating calcium and then decant the remainder of the water, carefully, so the calcium on the bottom isn't disturbed. The procedure works beautifully--no floating scum on either coffee or tea and nothing sticking to the sides of the pots. So we decided that we would like a container with a spigot for the treated water. I tried Menards. I tried Home Depot. I tried Target. At Target I thought would look in their bottled water section for the larger sizes and simply take one of them home. Well those don't come with a spigot any more and I really did not relish picking up a 2 gallon jug every day to set up our coffee. I finally found what I wanted thanks to the suggestion of a salesperson at Home Depot. Someone he knew got a stoneware crock with a spigot from a local bottled water supplier. And that is what I finally got. It holds about two gallons easily. The only draw back was that it had been designed to be the decorative dispenser for the five gallon jugs and had no lid. But we are inventive we are. I figured we could use one of the small stoneware plates or a bowl until I remembered a set of stoneware canisters we got from one of the relatives. I am using the larger one to hold plastic bags in the sewing/computer room and have never used its lid with it. That lid now sits atop the new water reservoir. We always seem to want something that has been discontinued or that most stores sell only on a seasonal basis now-a-days and we are always out of season.

I saw this story right off this morning and thought: Kay, you are probably apoplectic right about now. And rightly so. For some time now, twenty years at least, I have had the nagging feeling that the late 20th century was an interlude or an aberration in human history. Most of us alive today cannot remember when unions were illegal and any attempt to unionize was met with state sanctioned violence. Most of us alive today cannot remember when the working class could live a middle class lifestyle because they were well paid. Most of us today cannot remember a time when the elderly did not have the cushion of Social Security. Most of us today cannot remember a time when children as young as 8 or 10 worked in often dangerous conditions doing hard labor for 12 or more hours a day and few would get through the 4th grade. But that is what we seem to be going back to.

Then HuffingtonPost had this little story that proves the old adage that 'figures don't lie, but liars figure'. It all depends on the numbers you use to do the figuring. We have been bombarded with stories of late about how unfair our corporate taxes are and that the 35% tax rate on business revenues is one of the highest in the world. That may be true but that doesn't say what proportion of the GDP businesses actually pay in taxes and that has been going down steadily since its high in the late 1940s. That raises the question: if our corporate taxes are the highest in the world how come business are paying so little of the tax revenues?

This should have come as a surprise to no one and I am amazed at the number of supposedly intelligent and supposedly well-informed commentators who were surprised. Much as I despise the loudmouthed bigots who have neither a sense of propriety nor shame, I don't see how the Supreme Court could have come to a different decision. I would suggest that communities who want to effectively and non-violently deal with these assholes take a page out of a couple of communities who did not get nearly enough publicity--they made sure that every available space anywhere near the funerals was occupied before the Westboro people arrived.