Good sunny Monday morning, All.  A bit colder than normal today.  How often have I been able to say that over this winter?  Not often!!  We got maybe 2 inches of snow overnight--thanks to Lake Michigan.  The weather people expect highs in the mid to upper 30s but going into the 50s tomorrow.  Maybe 60 by Wednesday.  A very nice sight this morning was the sun on part of my fence.  The more sunlight the fence gets the more my patio gets reflected onto it and the faster it warms up.  I checked the thermometer in the mini-greenhouse after I cleared the snow off the patio.  The temperature is holding at about 5F above the temperature registered by the other thermometer on the patio door.

Well, it looks like some of Rush's sponsors are not accepting his 'apology.'  Good!!  Hope many more join them.  I agree with you, Kay.  The whole idiotic episode is nuts.  Rush may have researchers but they don't really have much input.  His whole modus operandi is to engage mouth while putting brain and ethics in neutral.  Truth doesn't matter.  He claimed in his non-apology that he aimed to use absurdity to put a spotlight on absurdity.  That was massively disingenuous.  He intended to use absurdity to diminish and make absurd a political/social argument he disagreed with in the process dehumanizing and marginalizing the person making the argument.  The conservative arguments against contraception and abortion have never fared very well in an honest debate so Limbaugh fell back on the old tactic favored by those bereft of reasoned arguments and common sense: personal attacks against those arguing for the opposite position.  As I said yesterday: Rush lied when he said he never intended to attack Fluke personally.

Another good reason to not shop at the big-box stores.  They could stop this by simply demanding their subcontractors follow all legal requirements instead of insisting on the lowest price possible.  It is funny that the news media has made a big deal over the treatment of chinese workers at companies that supply Apple with its products but haven't made a peep over the treatment of warehouse workers in the U.S.  And, in case you wondered, I have read several posts over the last few months dealing with the issue so it isn't as though nobody knows about it.

Ezra Klein has an interesting question on his Wonkbook this morning and provides a very cogent answer.  What will President Obama do if he wins a second term?  Answer: whatever Congress lets him do.  That is something our political campaigns obliterate.  Every candidate of whatever party from the national levels down tell voters what they will do if elected but never a one ever indicates that s/he depends on the cooperation of other elected officials fulfill his promises.  The problem is that no one (individual voter or member of the press) asks exactly how the aspiring politician hopes to fulfill the promises.  I heard a commentator (and not one of the mainstream media) say bluntly that Presidents get too much blame for what goes wrong and take too much credit for what goes right.  He was absolutely correct.  But then we, the voters, encourage that.

Good Sunday morning, Everyone.  Cloudy and cold this morning with some snow likely.  Nothing that will accumulate.  I looked  out this morning and saw very early buds on the tree in the front.  And next weekend we go back on Daylight Savings Time.  As I say twice a year every year--I wish they would leave it alone.  The disruption to my system isn't nearly as bad as when I had jobs to go to but it still upsets the rhythm of our lives.  I will be glad that daylight comes earlier.  In deep winter we have two or more hours between when we get up and when we can see what is going on outside.

The news already infuriates me.  They have played up Rush Limbaugh's 'apology.'  It wasn't an apology.  The news writers are soft soaping the whole thing saying 'some are calling it a non-apology.'  I have to amend this.  The Political Wire carried a quote in which he said he 'sincerely' apologized to the woman he called a 'slut.' He was 'sorry' for his 'choice of words' and excused it all as a failed attempt at humor.  He also claimed he didn't mean anything personal.  Really!!!  How can it not be personal.  You have to have a very skewed sense of humor to think it is humorous calling someone you don't know and with whom you disagree politically a 'slut' and a 'prostitute.'  I am so tired of these assholes acting badly, issuing a sort-of-apology, and going on as if nothing happened.  I call this a 'sort-of-apology' because the term 'apology' indicates you think you did something wrong and will reform your behavior.  I rather doubt that Limbaugh, who has made his livelihood making outrageous and insulting statements, really feels any remorse or will try to reform his behavior.  This also illustrates one of my pet peeves concerning the mainstream media:  they played up the story for the drama and conflict but provided very little accurate information.

Good Saturday morning to you all.  And it is a good morning because once again the most severe weather went either north or south of us.  The tornado devastation is mind boggling and all too close.  Actually, anywhere something like that happens is way too close.  I just spent a few minutes on line looking for statistics on tornadoes.  I was trying to see if there was any evidence form my own gut feeling that this kind of severe weather had become increasingly common over the last couple of decades.  I remember in the late 1980s being surprised when tornadoes hit Denver.  I had always been told that tornadoes didn't happen at higher altitudes but I remember one that hit Colorado State University's Pingree Park campus and that is even higher than Denver.  I found a mishmash of information--a lot of it contradictory.  Nothing to unequivocally confirm or disprove my gut.  Right now we are getting intermittent bouts of snow but nothing much.  The outside temperature is about 36F and in my little greenhouse--40-42F.

I have just turned off the news and put on the first of a stack of our own DVDs.  The news went from the tornado outbreak and a couple of small but interesting stories to 'Rush Limbaugh acting badly (again or still, whatever).'  The best part of the story was that three of his sponsors have pulled their support.  My question: why haven't all of them done so?

The NY Times Magazine has an interesting dissection of Olympia Snowe's career and announced retirement.  I have had a strange sense of dissonance reading the accounts (nothing has been said on the broadcast news--perhaps because retirements have been coming often now-a-days).  The accounts from mainstream calls her a 'moderate' Republican but I couldn't remember anything especially moderate about her.  The analysis presented in this editorial reveals nothing particularly courageous or principled either.  But it does reveal a strong sense of opportunistic self preservation.

Cornell has introduced a new purple strawberry.  Burpee's has it for sale.  And no I am not going to get it.  Beautiful though it is it bears in June and I want an ever bearing variety.  And it is almost $10/plant.  A bit more than I want to spend.

The results of this study doesn't really surprise me.  Children who are regularly given home grown produce and vegetables are likely to eat more of them than those who are not.  Home grown simply taste better.  We have found that out repeatedly.  I wonder what they would find if they looked at those kids whose veggies and fruits came from a local farmers' market?

I find the math involved in this story somewhat--screwy.  Detroit has hired a private firm to manage their public transit system for 10 months for which the company will be paid $2million.  The company has instituted service cuts that will 'save' the city $11million.  And the company will also be eligible for 'bonuses' of as much as $3million.  So approximately one-third of the 'savings' will go the the private company.  All for 10 months of work.  And for the people of Detroit?  No service on some routes as early as 8pm and no service at all between 1am and 4am.  Anyone care to be a night worker without access to a car in Detroit?

Good first Friday in March, Everyone.  Yes, I did write March.  The weather people have taken to calling Fridays "Fickle Friday" because the weather over the last few weeks has changed from warm and sunny to cloudy and blustery.  And today is no break from the pattern.  We may be clipped by thunderstorms changing to snow but most of that should go north and the the severe thunderstorms should, again, go south.  But the higher than normal temperatures appear to be thawing my containers.  I saw wet patches under my large containers on an otherwise dry patio.

I have read a couple of stories about a British village that has a 'free' garden set up.  It isn't localized but rather uses what ever space is available around public buildings or medians or even private lawns.  This takes that idea a good bit farther.  I rather like the idea.  I noticed the concern expressed near the end about people who might harvest more than their fair share.  However, the English town found they had no problem with that.  Maybe once the citizens of Seattle got used to having a 'food forest' where they could harvest fresh fruits and vegetables they would not be as gluttonous as feared.  I wonder if they would actually be able to recognize the fruits and veggies without those being on a labeled can or plastic bags.

Point taken, Kay, and I amend my comment: BofA is still acting badly.  David Trainer at Market Watch has an interesting assessment of BofA.  He lists four symptoms of an ailing financial institution and claims BofA has shown all of them over the last year.  The last--squeezing its customers--they have tried more than once.

Oh, Yeah, WiseFather.  BofA does need another smack.  I noticed on an economics news segment last night that the reporter softened the BofA action a bit by noting that many of the big banks are changing their rules to eliminate free checking and add fees.  The practice then becomes a 'new normal' implying that we all should just suck it up and get with the program.  I think that is ridiculous.  Take your money to a bank that treats its depositors with respect.  And, after my bankruptcy almost a decade ago, I swore off credit cards.  I have a debit card that I use and I watch it carefully.  I love my little local bank but I don't care to subsidize it with overdraft fees.  By the way, welcome and hope you come back.

Karoli at Crooks & Liars expresses perfectly my thoughts as I read that article about the poor, beleaguered Wall Street types who find their bonuses have been severely reduced.  I agree with the point made late in the commentary that these guys actually earned received enough compensation to have saved a good portion of it for this mild drizzle much if not for a truly rainy day.  A little less than a decade ago I lost a job because my boss had to downsize his staff.  I got another quickly enough but the  reduced wages and the limited hours I was scheduled resulted in a 75% loss of income--and I never earned anything near what those boys got.  Five months later I added another job with what looked like a promising retail venture and in hopes that I would move into a full time position.  Well, the venture lasted three years during which I never attained full time.  Throughout I only got back to 50% of my former earnings and that only when I actually had three part time jobs.  Cutting back to cheap salmon is not privation.  Putting your kids in public school is not privation.  Not being able to move into a larger (overpriced) brownstone is not privation.  Losing your home because you can't pay the mortgage or rent because you lost your job and have run through your savings--that is privation.  Not being able to provide enough food to last your family a full month--that is privation.  To fight with your boss trying to get your hours consolidated so you work your 30 hours in five days rather than six so you an save on the gas--that is economic pain.

I have said often here that I am a 'medical minimalist.'  I don't mean I am anti-medicine; I think it is over emphasized and over used.  And I don't think it has really made us any healthier over all. This New York Times editorial reinforces my attitude.  I will see a doctor when something is wrong--not before.

Good Thursday morning to you all.  We had a beautiful day yesterday.  Temperatures reached near 60F on the patio.  We opened the front door and raised the storm window of the screen/storm door by a couple of inches to let in the breeze.  Later the breeze turned into a brisk wind forcing me to place some of my 5 gal buckets with their frozen soil in front of the mini-greenhouse to make sure it didn't blow over.  I wasn't too worried about that because it is on the most protected fence.  I also found my little thermometer and got it hung in the greenhouse.  The temperature inside got up to almost 70F.  And I don't have it entirely zipped up.  I have been slowly closing the zippers as the plastic relaxes a bit.  I don't want to put too much stress on it because if the zipper broke or the plastic ripped I would either have to find a way to repair it myself or buy a new cover.  I really don't want to do either.

Hey, Nicola, we all have our 'guilty pleasures.'  I don't mind that.  What I have found very irritating is how DWTS (and Great Race, and Survivor, and Bachelor, and Bachelorette and their kin) have taken over the airwaves and news.  I have my own guilty pleasures but over the last few years I have seen more and more of my pleasures cancelled so the networks could put on cheap knock-offs of DWTS.  With the new season of DWTS I expect to see morning and evening news devoting a considerable portion of their time to the day-before speculation and re-cap of standings, the day-of speculation and re-cap of the standings, the day-after results and new standings, and any juicy bits of gossip concerning the behavior or mis-behavior of the contestants.  You may not get all of that.  I wish we didn't.

Well, Bank of America is acting badly again.  Perhaps it is time for more customers to pull out.  However, I doubt it will make much difference.  I read yesterday that BoA has the contract with South Carolina to issue the pre-paid debit cards on which tax refunds will be issued if the taxpayer doesn't have a direct deposit or doesn't indicate a preference for a paper check.  The article indicated that BoA will charge some of the taxpayers as much as $10/transaction to use the cards and, of course, merchants will also be charged for the 'convenience' of accepting them.  Don't you just love all the ways by which they separate people from their money?  But I guess I am not the only one who thinks bigger is not necessarily better.  One might think that a defection rate of almost 10% of my customers would make me reassess.  But then maybe not if I had enough sweetheart deals with enough states to provide me with a large number of accidental customers I can bleed.

So, how bad were the tornadoes that marched through states from Arkansas to southern Illinois and Indiana?  Bad enough that NHKWorld (Japan English Language) had a segment on them last night (Wednesday for us, Thursday morning for them).  Yet again we are grateful: the heavy snow went north of us and the thunderstorms with their tornadoes went south of us.  In the 'Oh, we are having a strange winter' file was the report on this morning's news: Boston is bracing for its first big snow storm of the season.  Last year they had over 80 inches of snow.  This year?  Only about 9--so far.  So far Chicago has had a bit more than 15 inches.  Contrast that with the 45, 53, and 55+ for the last three winters.

In the 'FOX may miss this piece of crap but I certainly won't' file Andrew Breitbart has died of apparently natural causes.  That boy took 'swift-boating' to an all new high low.  There is a definite place for muckraking journalists but preferably those who have a sense of ethics and a passion for truth.

Good morning all on this foggy Wednesday.  We had a good rain overnight.  They say there were some thunderstorms but all I heard last night was rain.  I don't mind the rain--it will help my containers thaw out.  So far the roses, blueberries, and thyme look good.  The mums and lavender are questionable.  I will start the tomatoes and peppers next week and get a list of what I want to start when.  I did make notes on the plants including when to start the seeds but now I want a chronological list.

Well, all the noise seems to be concentrated this morning on the Tuesday primaries in Michigan and Arizona (barely 'won' by Romney) and the new line up for Dancing With The Stars (which I don't watch and couldn't care less about.)  Oh, and the severe weather with tornadoes that ripped parts of Missouri and surrounding states.  I saw an interesting little article this morning with a poll indicating that Americans are finally coming accept the notion of global warming climate change.  Evidently the strange weather (heat wave, drought, and warmer, drier winter) over the last year finally means that their perceptions match their ideas of the theory.  I thought one of the quotes was interesting--the scientist was glad Americans 'believe in thermometers.'  That says something about our general competency (not high) in science.

As Mark Twain (I think it was) said: history doesn't repeat; it rhymes.  This piece underscores that premise.

A relatively new item on TV that has amused us for a while is the prevalence of commercials offering a cure for 'low T' (testosterone deficiency.)  Given the number of commercials for cures for 'erectile deficiency,' I have wondered how historians a hundred years from now would view our poor fragile and beleaguered males.  Evidently, according to this Financial Times piece, the crap really hit fan (or the fragile male egos) after the financial crisis and dealing with it is now making some people very rich.

Grist had an interesting little article on an insect pest that has been showing up increasingly at import check stations.  Mom wondered where it came from and I told her that the Wikipedia list was so extensive it would almost be easier to list the countries where it isn't found.  The Khapra beetle originally came from  India and enjoys a very wide range of foods--most of which humans depend on as well.  And, from what I was reading we don't have many ways of controlling it if it does become established.  As if we didn't have enough problems with the zebra mussel (which has devastated the the lake perch population in the Great Lakes) and the Asian carp (whose possible invasion of the Great Lakes has been the subject of repeated lawsuits going all the way to the Supreme Court.)

Grist also posted this intriguing notion: a little, free library on the front lawn.

Good morning, All.  As you can tell, I didn't find anything to comment on yesterday.  I didn't watch the Oscars and I don't think the awards are worth the news time they have been getting for the last two months. I am so tired of Angelina Jolie's leg. The morning news has been going on about the line up for the new Dancing With The Stars season.  I don't watch it and I really wish I could hear less of it but they seem to think the program is worth repeated stories.  Last season we got the pre-show, show, post-show, post-post show stories and a repeat on Sunday afternoons.  In between we get a sprinkling of real news much of which we have already read on-line.

However, this should get interesting.  I have thought for some time that we should have a 'corporate death penalty.'  There are corporations that exhibit a predatory and corrupt culture--take a look at the accounts of Murdoch's News Corp.  Yet we have no legal way to deal with that.  At best a few 'sacrificial lambs' are prosecuted, get slaps on their wrists, and the company continues on its way having learned new ways to cover up its crimes.  I agree with one blogger (I'm sorry I don't remember who) who said he would believe corporations were persons when Texas executed one.  Amen!!  For more see this from NPR.

For the 'they keep telling us the economy is getting better but...' file--the local (Chicago) news last night carried a story about a major theft from a local cemetery.  It seems someone (or several someones) blitzed through and stole every kind of metal they could find--urns, grave markers, and so on.  The police are investigating but even if they find who did it the families of the dead are still stuck with the expense of replacing what was stolen which will be expensive.

I commented when I first read about this scandal that Japan seems to have its own MF Global mess.  Jess' Cafe Americain has more info and I may have been more accurate than I thought.  I wonder which 'major European bank' got the money by way of the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Hong Kong.

Barry Ritholtz wrote this commentary for the Washington Post which rather nicely sums up the so-called settlement between the big banks and the (now) 49 states' attorneys general.  They used to say that justice delayed is justice denied.  But that was when we had a government of laws.  Instead we now have a government of corporate 'persons' not laws.  To continue with a related theme this story on Fox Business really pisses me off.  Once upon a time there was another saying: ignorance of the law is no excuse.  Now, it seems, if the boys at MF Global didn't know they were committing fraud by raiding supposedly sequestered customer accounts they aren't criminally liable.  First, it was their job to know what they were doing.  Second,  WTF does 'sequestered' mean besides keep your hands off?