Another great one gone. R.I.P. Mr.Terkel

More here

This independent documentary has already won rave reviews at the Toronto International Film festival and will be in Los Angeles at the AFI Film Festival. Dates and times: Sunday Nov.2 @ 7:10 pm and again Mon.3 @ 3:15 pm.

I doubt this film will make it here,but again we will have the attention of the larger world.

"From the film site: "Witch Hunt' chronicles the unraveling of a small town's justice system. The main characters in this film were working class moms and dads who all were wrongly convicted of child molestation. They served lengthy prison time and were ultimately exonerated. All of the convicted were recklessly pursued by the same District Attorney who remains in office today."

More on the documentary here

We think our local ads are bad? Politico asked campaign operatives to submit their favorites~ as in really bad~ ads this election cycle

"Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Diane Benson (D-Alaska) “Experience.” Benson, a Democrat running for Alaska’s at-large seat, made a handful of curious spots, so choosing one was difficult.

“Experience,” gets the nod for its footage – perhaps a first in political history — of the candidate scooping up dog poop in her backyard. We’re still not sure what she was trying to say — maybe she was trying to secure the dog vote. Then again, we don’t pretend to understand Alaska politics.

2. Colleen Callahan (D-Ill.) “Daisy.” LBJ had the good sense to run his infamous “Daisy” ad — the one where a little girl picking petals off a flower is annihilated by a nuclear explosion — once. Here’s Democrat Colleen Callahan suggesting Daisy could get wiped out by her opponent’s support of nuke sales to Taiwan. Added bonus: her easy-listening campaign jingle.

3. Jim Slattery (D-Kan.) “Hosed.” We’re not sure what it is about candidates and bodily waste this cycle. But Slattery’s ad makes the list for its suggestion — and gag-inducing dramatization — of voters getting whizzed on. The end of the ad makes clear they’re only being doused in gasoline. Slattery’s running against Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts — Is it a coincidence that the man holding the hose looks like Roberts?

4. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) “Big, Bad John.” After the ad went viral, Cornyn said, “My staff convinced me that it would be a good idea… Maybe I need a new staff.” Yeah, maybe.

5. Carl Mumpower (R-N.C.) “Glasses.” Mumpower, an eerily sedate self-described “independent” Republican, can’t seem to decide if he wants his glasses on or off. It’s mesmerizing.

6. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) “I’m sorry.” This ad — like Benson’s — was nominated by political operatives on both sides of the aisle. The Florida Republican apologizes for going on a junket to Scotland paid for by “a corrupt lobbyist,” Jack Abramoff. “Public service is about being honest, even when you make a mistake,” Feeney earnestly tells his constituents. But is he really sorry — or just sorry he got busted? “I embarrassed myself, embarrassed you, and for that I’m sorry,” he intones. We’ll find out Nov. 4 if his constituents accepted the mea culpa.

7. Andy Harris (R-Md.) “Recycler.” This one makes it on sheer laziness. We can accept the occasional campaign volunteer serving as the “man on the street” for his or her candidate. But Harris took it to a new level – recycling the same exact people — and using the same exact footage — to attack both his primary opponent Rep. Wayne Gilchrest and his general election opponent, Frank Kratovil. The cherry is the ad’s title: “What people are saying about Frank Kratovil.” “Just too liberal,” says one guy in a warehouse. “He is a big spender,” says a woman in a grocery store. Both clips are from the Gilchrest ad.
Andy Harris on Gilchrest and Kratovil

8. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) “Damp.” The ad begins with Cassidy’s wife pull-starting a generator – for no obvious reason — and yelling, “Okay, Bill!” Cassidy then begins an anti-earmark, drill-now spiel in the rain, under an umbrella, again with no explanation. Maybe it had something to do with Katrina. The ad – the candidate’s first – has been taken down from the campaign’s YouTube page. But we dug it back up.

9. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) “Workers.” State of the art ad – during the Ford administration. The awkward shoulder pat in the beginning, Kanjorski’s slow-mo spin toward the camera and the scripted testimonials can’t be moving too many swing voters to do anything more than snicker.

10. Harri Anne Smith (R-Ala.) “Shabby Sheikh.” This ad makes the list for its jarring shift from an Alabama grocery store to Middle Eastern oil fields, along with the line, “It’s about time those billionaire Middle Eastern sheiks show us some gratitude by lowering their oil prices.”

The Best ad of the season. All 2:51 of it "

 by Glenn Thrush, Ryan Grim

I caught this the other night on PBS. A very interesting look at the search by Mark Oliver Everett, a member of the British American rock band The Eels, who discovers his estranged fathers dead body at 18 and then found himself at 40ish.

His father, Hugh Everett III, is a physicist who penned one of science's most bizarre theories—the "many worlds" interpretation of quantum mechanics. At the PBS NOVA site the theory is published for the first time (for the brave only), there are other links to a book, who believes this theory and much more.
I think this story touched me, because the search to connect with your roots is one I have personally felt. Somehow finding out as little as I did about my biological mother helped fill a void that only the adopted and the estranged can understand.
Tuesday was the premiere, but you can watch it on-line here.  I recommend it, both for the human story and a look into a world we (at least I) seldom understand. Now I know a little more about this subject. The clip has a bit of music,and one "bad" word at the very end ~ work  and age appropriate warning.

 

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I like my facts, that is why I appreciate all those hard working folks at FactCheck.org, PolitiFact.com and other such non-partisan groups out there. They scrutinize speeches, ads, mailers from both sides for truth, half-truth and down right lies.
The most hard to decipher are those that come from (pretend groups) Americans for Cute Animals, Real Americans~ groups known collectively as 527’s, special interest groups that spend big dollars for or against a issue  or a candidate. These ads are often quite effective, usually attacking and inflammatory ~ but hard to find out the what, when, why and who behind the messages.
I have a new group of political fact checkers that I stumbled across today~ NPR’s The Secret Money Project: Election 2008.
They have it all~ news, ad content, a list of the 527’s,a listing of who’s who in the PAC world, key leaders of independent groups, profiles of union groups.
That DVD that Floridastategrad received? ~ breaking news about who made it and why. It seems it is only going out to swing states and had an anti Muslim message
A Who Wants to Influence Your Vote and Why? section, interactive maps that allow you to watch ads across the country.
Here’s the good news~ a Tip Us Off section that lets you send in ads, robocalls,  direct mail or strange e-mails you come across.

Find this site here.

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AP – 
KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban gunmen killed a Christian aid worker in Kabul as she was walking to work on Monday, and the militant group said it targeted the woman because she was spreading her religion.
The dual South African-British national, who worked with handicapped Afghans, was shot to death by gunmen who drove by on a motorbike in western Kabul, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary.
The Taliban claimed responsibility.
"This woman came to Afghanistan to teach Christianity to the people of Afghanistan," militant spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press. "Our (leaders) issued a decree to kill this woman. This morning our people killed her in Kabul."
The aid group SERVE — Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprises — identified the woman as 34-year-old Gayle Williams. A spokeswoman for the group in Kabul denied that its workers were proselytizing, which is prohibited by law in Afghanistan.
"It's not the case that they preach, not at all," said the spokeswoman, Rina van der Ende.
In a statement on its Web site, SERVE described Williams as "a person who always loved the Afghans and was dedicated to serving those who are disabled."
Rest of the article here

I was really saddened to read this~SERVE is one of the organizations I have written about.This organization has lost a good person,the Afghan dis-abled community has lost one of the few assets it had.

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Christopher~ Happy Birthday, this year you would be 38. It is hard to believe it's been that long.But these last five years without you seem longer still.

The memories swirl around me,your sweet face as a babe,the night of that terrible fight,your love of my pancakes and corn chowder...so many more that both fill me with love and choke me with sorrow.

I will get through this and the loss of your brother.I get under,around one side and then the other ,of both of your deaths everyday. But I will never get over this loss. Till soon my beloved~Mom

October- 19 -1970

April -13-2004

Click here for PolitiFact.com sorting out the truth about Acorn and Obama.

Click here for PolitiFact.com She's no Red about Hillary Clinton.

Click here for PolitiFact.com All statements by chain mail.

Best bet for anyone is to go here here  or here when either side says some outrageous statement.

Or as a good friend of mine says " Never confuse the issue with the facts".

Ignorance is not bliss~it is un-American.

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PBS Frontline at 9:00pm tonight ,both KCET and KVPT~ this excellent show begins it season with biographies of both Senators McCain and Obama. For those undecided out there it is an opportunity to learn more about these men.

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An untrue story of madness:

Hello, my name is sage and I am a snail murder.

 I started small, as most mass murders do. The first time was an accident; I heard the squish of shell underneath my boot before I even saw the creature. The joy it gave me was indescribable, a thrill rushed up my spine, some small part of me knew it was sick, but who would miss a snail? Thus began a never-ending quest, my desire to save my petunias at any cost. That is right~ my murder spree began as the simple human need to have a few flowers, some small vegetables, but inextricably grew into madness.

At first, the occasional “accident” would keep me satisfied, but the need kept growing for more and darker thrills. I have used beer to lure the hapless creatures into the nightmare of addiction and early death. I have placed traps, wooden boards, large rocks, to supply the unsuspecting snail what appears to be a safe haven for rest~ but in reality was a one way trip to the bucket of death .I have laid alluring bait, a veritable snail feast to their senses, but it will be the last meal they ever have. I have gone alone on a moonlit night to gather the oblivious snails~ sometimes even whole families~ on my relentless killing spree. Repeatedly I convinced myself my lust for snail death was under control, that I could quit anytime.  Nonetheless, I would soon develop the need for a new thrill to satiate my taste for slaughter.

 I descended into insanity after a month of snail free beds, my flowers bright, my vegetables thriving ~ and no sign of snail tracks or their scat. The moon was near full, so I went to the yard to moon bathe…there they were!  Hundreds of them emerging from my peaceful neighbor’s yard ~ the coward let them thrive! They slowly came towards my plants, inching towards me, their little stalks waving …my mind whirled and it hit me…salt.  A quick sprinkle from above and they oozed, bubbled, twisted in agony, the slime turning into a horrid shade of green. Like some vengeful god, a snail Shiva goddess of death, dancing madly across my own personal killing fields, I sprinkled and gamboled about, as hundreds met their genocide. My mad cacophony of laughter and shrieks of sick perverse giggling awakened my husband. The porch light snapped on, there I stood, caught shaker in hand, dead twisted bodies surrounding me. I could not hide my lunacy any longer.

I spent some weeks in treatment; it was hard but the thought of exposure to the world as a snail sociopath kept me there. My family needed me a wholeperson again, not always in a semi-dazed state between desire for my drug of choice and their needs. I graduated, came home to my precious family, finally sane and to find I had a gardener, thoughtfully provided by my husband.

One bright sunny normal day I was reading a seed catalog, my eye caught an article all about escargot~ imagine my delight to see our very own common snail was the base for this gourmet delight. I justified, rationalized and finally convinced my husband that this was normalcy! Now I could simply switch from murderess to “cook”…
The End ?
 
Inspired by recent comments about waiters, garlic, France, and snails. Now for the “rest of the story”,the true story.

While I am no sociopath, I do not have an affinity for snails, they seem to know just when I have planted what they consider fresh tender snacks. I did read an article about escargot and promptly sent off to the Farm Home Adviser for instructions. One needs a bucket, a mesh cover, around 5lbs.of cornmeal and of course, snails, the larger ones work best. For a period of two weeks feed them the cornmeal, provide them with some water and remove any sluggish or dead snails. They do climb to the top to expire and to try to escape. Freshen the cornmeal as desired; as they consume the meal they are purged of any toxins, poisons and what have you. If you are suspicious as to a snails health ~ toss them out!

Then you simply boil them, about 10-15 min., skimming the scum that forms on top of the water until no more appears. If you want to go all out boil them in a broth of onions, carrots, celery and a bouquet garni.  They usually come free of the shell when cooked; the stubborn few can easily be pulled out. Save the shells. Dice the meat, and then mix with some minced garlic, chopped parsley, a bit of butter and a slash of good olive oil. Spoon the mixture back into the shells and bake until bubbly. They do have special baking dishes for this, but I find a pie tin works fine.

I first had these locally, a tasty dish but expensive (for snails!) and they were definitely canned. Fresh they are still chewy; hence, the dicing of the meat, but like most things fresh is better. If you like parsley, garlic, butter and olive oil, you may well enjoy escargot. In these hard economic times, it is good to have survival skills! LOL