Liberal talk radio goes on the air

Ok, I listened to a little bit of this, some of Al Franken's show and some of Randi Rhodes show. Not real good. Al Franken was ok, but Randi Rhodes is just as bad as any other talk show host. She shouted down Ralph Nader while he accused her of "filabustering."

Pathetic. Now I know why I don't like conservative talk radio: I don't like *any* talk radio!

Listen to them yourself: Air America

Watched "The Point" yesterday. Very interesting. About as good as I remembered it. The animation style is very period, but I really enjoyed it. At 11 to 13 bucks, it's not a bad way to spend and hour and a half or so. You can pick it up at Amazon.

Had a great weekend, went backpacking with the Scouts. We hiked up the Trail Canyon Trail to Tom Lucas campground. Actually, it's hard to tell exactly what campsite we were in. There are several Tom Lucas Campgrounds - "Old" Tom Lucas, "New" Tom Lucas (which is now abandoned) and then there's the camp where we stayed. It's a beautiful spot, next to a stream. There are three picnic tables, a BBQ and a fire pit. We lugged in our own Duraflame log so that we were assured of firewood. There's plenty of down and dead wood there - but it sparked up quite a bit. We felt better about bringing our own log in - it made for a nice gentle flame and no danger to the increasingly dry brush.

Nice hike out too, Patrick twisted his ankle pretty hard, but he hung in there and made it all the way. I was very proud of the way the rest of the crew responded. Several of them immediately came to his aid and took a few heavy items to lighten his load.

We got home very early Sunday, the boys were motivated! Several made it home in time to go to church! I got to go out to REI with my friend Brigitte and buy a new bike. I need to stay in shape for Philmont this summer, and I have to be able to keep up with Brigitte and Mike! (Mike and his son are coming in from Texas to be on our crew.) I had my REI dividend burning a hole in my pocket, so that's what I spent it on this year. I certainly do not need another sleeping bag!

All in all, a great weekend. I'm looking forward to riding my bike this Saturday - down to the Rose Bowl and back for a little 15 mile trainer. We'll see how much of an improvement this bike is over my old beater. Of course there is a price difference - my old bike was pieced together from spare parts!

Here's my totally inconsistent Tuesday Scout Related link:

Philmont Food MMM, mmm! Buy yours today!

I'm watching The Point!

Can you just imagine it? A tie-in with McDonald's Kids Meals and Michael Jackson?

That's just wrong. Soon enough, kids won't even know what a record store is.

W.Va. Governor Protests Spoof T-Shirt


Doesn't he have more important stuff to do? Or, maybe not. It is West Virginia after all....

A Nature Story

"Let us have peace" the tiger said,
As he gobbled up a girraffe,
"Let us have peace" the lion sighed,
As he gnawed the bones of a calf;
"Let us have peace" cried the jungle folk,
As they hunted in packs together-
But an elephant herd, to anger stirred,
Scattered them yond and thither.

A mouse, hot-footing from nearing slaughter,
Turned the elephants' blood to water,
But fierce eyed bird, with a venomous beak,
Grabbed the mouse without time for a squeak;
While monkey high in the bamboo tree,
Cried,"the jungle's now safe for democracy".

Then a coconut fell on the monkey's head,
And the monkey arose, with eyes blood red,
And yelled "Let the lad that shook this tree,
Come out for a tussle with me,
And I'll swat him so hard in the solar plexus,
He'll find himself twenty miles south of Texas".

So, sad to relate, the story goes,
When peace is a thing to be won by blows,
And jungles war upon jungles until,
There isn't anything left to kill;
And the last lone victor cries "Look at me!
I'm safe, I'm at peace, I'm democracy.
(Teresa Brayton 1868-1943)


Courtesy of Pete Briquette on the Reborn list.

How useful is this on the trail though?

Might be a nifty thing to have, but you'd have be careful not to get it taken away at the airport!

No Man is an Island - But it appears the US is

Mistrust of America and other negative feelings have grown stronger nearly a year after the Iraq war began, a survey in nine countries says.

By Sonni Efron, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — "A year after the start of the Iraq war, mistrust of the United States abroad has intensified, and the ill will toward America has begun to erode support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism, according to a global attitude survey released Tuesday."

It looks like we are increasingly isolated from the way the rest of the world feels about us, and our actions.

Major League Baseball bans steroid THG

So do the home run records now get an asterisk? *

*I think they should. It's been obvious that for some time now the biggest HR hitters have been on the sauce. At first, everyone examined the baseballs to see if they were juiced. Turns out, it was the players!

He's number three! He's number three! :

"The remarkable life of John Paul II has reached another milestone. His papacy has become the third-longest in the history of the Catholic Church."

What? :

"Law last month called a four-year $26 million offer from New England an 'insult.' The contract calls for him to make $16.9 million over the next two seasons. The proposal would guarantee Law $15.6 million over the next two years, the Globe reported."

Nearly 17 mil next year is an insult? Sheez - would somebody puh-leeze insult me a little?

Ooopps

Maybe the guys in the Middle East have a better handle on International Women's Week than GWB does?

Bush unveils negative ads vs. Kerry:

"Bush's toughest ad, titled '100 days,' envisions Kerry's first three months in office. 'John Kerry's plan: To pay for new government spending, raise taxes by at least $900 billion.'

'On the war on terror: Weaken the Patriot Act used to arrest terrorists and protect America. And he wanted to delay defending American until the United Nations approved.'"

Oh come on! Bush created so much new government spending in his first term that we're now trillions in debt. And he wants to pin the "tax and spend" label on Kerry?

I especially love the "soft on terrah" approach. "Weaken the Patriot Act?" You mean, make it conform to our constitution? Or complain that Kerry would have "delay(ed)... until the United Nations approved?" like we should have? Maybe even discovering that there were no WMD's and no imminent threat? Oh, that's rich. Really rich.

Ewww! Good thing I don't eat any red meat anymore. That includes "the other white-ish meat."

I wonder if bears tell other bears that humans, "taste like chicken."

How soon before this arrives at REI?

Backpackers be ready for the ultimate in "wilderness gear!"

Gender equality = drop in birth rate = immigrants

Interesting. Of course gender equity doesn't have to mean that more women work, only that more women *could* work. Or that those who do choose to work have the same opportunities for advancement and salary as men.

Men are the only ones who want children, but are being stopped by working wives? This, dear readers, is phooey. But it is interesting to see how other parts of the world see things.

I thought UCLA's cadaver program had trouble.But Tulane's donated bodies were used in land mine tests.

What I wonder is: Why did it take them over a year to cease dealing with National Anatomical? They discovered the use in January 2003, yet only severed ties with them a month ago.

Maybe this whole problem goes deeper (six feet?) than we thought.

Clinton got excoriated in the press for letting people sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom. GW said, "I believe they've moved that sign, 'The buck stops here,' from the Oval Office desk to 'The buck stops here' on the Lincoln Bedroom. And that's not good for the country."

Well, I frankly don't care if GW has campaign donors over for a slumber party. I do mind when he comes off looking like a hypocrite. If it wasn't good for the country when Clinton did it, why is it ok now? Or is this another example of a War President "taking charge?"

Teacher suspended for showing 'Passion' clips

So, is this teacher being suspended on religious grounds, or because he showed an R rated film to 11 year olds? Or because they suspect he has some pirated scenes?

I think he shouldn't show R rated material in that class. But it's likely that other films get shown in classes that shouldn't be as well. I wonder if they get this sort of publicity?

'Idol' Reject Hung Has Recording Deal


His name doesn't hurt his fame at all....

Bush campaign defends ads

So now, Bush pretty much admits it. If it weren't for 9/11, he'd have nothing else to talk about. Good thing for him 3000 people died, huh?

'Chronicles of Narnia' to be film

If they do as good a job as "The Lord of the Rings" this will be fabulous!! If they aspire to the level of "Lost in Space," it will be a disaster.

This is one series that I read over and over to my kids. The stories are perfect for children and the length of each chapter works great for each night. We'd read each one in 20 minutes or so, by then they were ready to sleep. If you haven't read these to your kids, do it right away!

Voters at Super Tuesday polls

I voted. Did you?