tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38614682009-07-15T15:44:22.054-04:00DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.comBlogger2272125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-40891710815226751142009-07-15T15:25:00.004-04:002009-07-15T15:44:22.063-04:00

First, to the 19 House Democrats who have told Nancy Pelosi to include them out of any health care legislation that funds abortion. From the Michigan perspective, notably present is the reliable pro-life soldier Bart Stupak (a good reason to relocate to the UP) and notably absent is the usually, if not perfectly, solid Dale Kildee of Flint. Time to hit the phone.Second, to the Democrats for

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-2980601851267097222009-07-15T09:11:00.003-04:002009-07-15T09:15:39.106-04:00

Except for the outline of the ears, Madeleine composed the rest of this. Her first try at art class, a week ago.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-76862528073710139432009-07-15T08:20:00.000-04:002009-07-15T08:28:36.565-04:00

Economist Nouriel (Dr. Doom) Roubini explains why the economy isn't in recovery mode. Indeed, there are thunderheads on the horizon, starting with an accounting fudge (ah, transparency) which is concealing weakness in (where else?) the financial sector:The other important aspect of the labor market is that if the unemployment rate is going to peak around 11% next year, the expected losses for

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-70471090255174263812009-07-13T12:15:00.012-04:002009-07-13T14:10:24.240-04:00

And a request for advice.We planted our first garden this year, taking a run at putting what the charts show was once farmland (into the early 20th Century, I believe) back into productive use.We acquired books on the subject, interrogated wise mentors, borrowed a rototiller to break ground (just once--rototilling every year kills off essential worms, fungi and other creepy things living in your

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-15596284804276425252009-07-09T12:49:00.003-04:002009-07-09T16:38:42.541-04:00

1. First, congratulations to dear friends and Louis' godparents, Matt and Heather ("the Other Heather") Siekierski on the birth of their fifth daughter, Anna Maria (yes, I congratulated them before today, over on FB--I'm not *that* out of the loop). Mom and baby are both doing well.Five...daughters. Let's just say that I think Matt qualifies as the most together guy on the planet in the face of

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-43475635549259238372009-07-09T12:26:00.003-04:002009-07-09T12:32:22.517-04:00

And it is as follows:I'm still reading it.OK, one impression: there's something to stick in everyone's craw, if you are reading it right. If nothing brings you up short, ring the buzzer for your nurse.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-12851458615693413942009-07-07T15:45:00.004-04:002009-07-07T15:51:31.050-04:00

Thanks to all who voted for my slogan in the Be Mean To Jennifer Lynch Contest!I took second, so I'll be getting a pair of T-shirts to wear on my excursions across the Free Speech DMZ (a/k/a the Detroit River). Big thanks also to Blazing Cat Fur for coming up with and hosting the contest. Nevertheless, the fact that something like the CHRC could exist a stone's throw away makes me ever so glad

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-90603287400107971512009-07-07T15:38:00.002-04:002009-07-07T15:43:54.762-04:00

It's an old blog given new life, to be precise: Evangelical Catholicism. As mission statements go, this is a good one:[I]f Christians take the Incarnation seriously, then they necessarily repudiate any separation between faith and works, spirituality and action, belief and reason, and piety and political participation. We do not and cannot separate Catholic doctrine from its lived expression in

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-3306064869813696662009-07-07T11:53:00.003-04:002009-07-07T15:09:43.831-04:00

OK, that's overstating it a bit--running out of money is another problem. And I do develop a little homesickness, too.But we're back after a week plus of fun up north. Here are some of the highlights.Technically, this one didn't happen on vacation, but I'm a big fan of Louis' pasta-eating acumen:This is Gladys, our winter refugee. She managed to escape from the house while we were gone. Did I

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-15808912066436223782009-07-07T10:17:00.002-04:002009-07-07T10:21:16.465-04:00

And exploding TVs, and fossilized brake drums, and a lawn out of Greener Than You Think, and work coagulating on my desk, and...Blogging will recommence shortly.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-89494140270261926462009-06-26T15:38:00.003-04:002009-06-26T15:40:33.900-04:00

You can legitimately vote more than once in the great Canadian t-shirt contest. I'm currently in third, hint, hint.And thanks for the votes, not so BTW.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-51603528694383679452009-06-26T15:31:00.003-04:002009-06-26T15:37:53.429-04:00

Our long metropolitan nightmare has come to an end: noted embarrassment Monica Conyers pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.Detroit city government's slow but steady return to sanity and integrity continues apace.The chortling you've been hearing is from Ken Cockrel and Kwame Kenyatta.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-60868991591781647842009-06-24T21:41:00.003-04:002009-06-24T21:48:30.026-04:00

That is all.The title is to gum up the works for the theocracy, as is the time zone.The Twitter picture is of part of the facade of the stunning Shah Mosque (the work of the Safavid Shah Abbas back in the 17th Century) in Esfahan. Speaking of which, the heroic work of the Tehran Bureau could use your financial assistance. Let's all put our money where our mouth is. In this fight, information

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-27457063847726176322009-06-24T15:21:00.003-04:002009-06-24T15:37:12.663-04:00

Devoted readers:You can win me at least one, and possibly three, t-shirts by going over to Blazing Cat Fur to vote in the "Be Mean to Jennifer Lynch" contest. Ms. Lynch is Big Sister, the head of the Canadian Human Rights [sic] Commission, which has been tasked by the solons of the Dominion with salving the imagined and potential hurts of politically approved groups. Here's the problem with Ms.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-3392768339132298822009-06-24T15:05:00.003-04:002009-06-24T15:16:48.906-04:00

Governor Mark Sanford admits to travelling to Argentina to knock boots with his mistress.He also used his office to lie and conceal the affair.But here's the best part: he's a father of four, and he spent Father's Day getting jiggy.Unbelievable. Wretched, rotten, foul, putrid--insert your decomposing adjective here.This married father of four recommends you STFU, leave office and spend the rest

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-8950086771569822442009-06-23T12:48:00.005-04:002009-06-23T13:17:10.917-04:00

1. The President's last statement was pretty good. But determining to press on with negotiations no matter what is not. Oh, and the "come on over for halal dogs" tactic is...how can I put it...a great, barking obscenity. Should be an interesting set of conversations. "Hey, man, nice shot. How do those Basiji do that on motorcycles, anyway?"2. What is "realist"ic about the belief that you can

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-65102953303003465112009-06-19T17:04:00.003-04:002009-06-19T17:06:31.580-04:00

She was injured in a car accident on the 16th and is still hospitalized.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-38350007484138488652009-06-17T22:02:00.004-04:002009-06-17T22:10:30.987-04:00

This is not a "debate," spokesflunky. Nor is this (content warning). [By the way, Esfahan is one of my favorite cities in the world. I'll show you why sometime in the next few days.]"Realist" foreign policy: making everyone feel grimy and ashamed since 1945. I can't do a whole lot more, so enjoy the new color scheme.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-35413466518142335832009-06-17T21:57:00.002-04:002009-06-17T22:00:42.265-04:00

Details are thin, but deeply worrisome. The Fourth Estate hits the snooze bar again.The implications of the securities being legitimate would be bigger than investors may realize. At a minimum, it would suggest that the U.S. risks losing control over its monetary supply on a massive scale. The trillions of dollars of debt the U.S. will issue in the next couple of years needs buyers. Attracting

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-65797367448800084022009-06-16T18:04:00.004-04:002009-06-16T18:10:57.592-04:00

Plane lands on 5th hole of Michigan golf course.Probably a beta test for Extreme Polo!, coming soon to The Ocho.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-13703163437066120872009-06-16T13:22:00.005-04:002009-06-16T13:33:01.558-04:00

[Graphic created by the Free Press. Click to enlarge.]I find the urban village idea really intriguing.The committee suggests that Detroit could recreate itself as a 21st-Century version of the English countryside."Isn't that basically what's happening? Even without any plans or strategies?" Mallach asked.But he added, "It's happening in a sloppy, destructive fashion where you get areas that are

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-40995018055321185132009-06-16T13:18:00.003-04:002009-06-16T13:22:30.660-04:00

Happy birthday to two of my friends today, commenter and expired blogger Bryan and commenter and largely hibernating blogger Zach. Welcome to old. The view's ok--one of the happy side effects of weakening vision.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-1922900950849695352009-06-16T11:11:00.003-04:002009-06-16T11:50:40.185-04:00

That has fewer girls in't.Where the "reduce the need, not the number" approach to abortion smashes into bloody reality.And stands mute, where not actually enabling or approving.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-33026636724714580042009-06-16T11:01:00.003-04:002009-06-16T11:07:50.264-04:00

For some reason that keeps coming to mind.Dude's got more finales than Cher or Return of the King.Enough already.

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-52506782363429546592009-06-15T10:29:00.004-04:002009-06-15T12:41:42.027-04:00

Commenter Ed the Roman has a new job--delighted for you, Ed!As does my neighbor Brian, who was called back to work unexpectedly by his former employer. Which, given the unemployment rate in Michigan right now, could be used in support of a beatification cause.Thanks for the condolences on the Wings. First, congrats to the Penguins and their fans.Yeah, it stung/stings. Saturday, I went to my

DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0