Happy Camp blogging -- from Stinson Beach

Much of my head is already in Happy Camp, moving furniture, making up beds for Garretts arriving for Big Foot Days, staring at the cabin shower before taking the plunge. By the time I get there, I’ll be exhausted without having done a thing…Cleverly arranged for Siskiyou Phone and Direct TV to arrive Wed, giving me almost no time to set up the desk in anticipation between then and arriving Tues pm. My priority seems to be getting the computer set up and online immediately – but why? Just writing this makes it seem less and less important. That is a good thing.

Matt Taibbi article on health care due out this week

From Matt Taibbi's column this day:

"I’ll say this for George Bush: you’d never have caught him frantically negotiating against himself to take the meat out of a signature legislative initiative just because his approval ratings had a bad summer. Can you imagine Bush and Karl Rove allowing themselves to be paraded through Washington on a leash by some dimwit Republican Senator of a state with six people in it the way the Obama White House this summer is allowing Max Baucus (favorite son of the mighty state of Montana) to frog-march them to a one-term presidency?"

http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2009/08/17/key-feature-of-obama-health-plan-may-be-out-washingtonpost-com/

Another Democrat FAIL -- you lose!

It is becoming more and more apparent that Obama is caving on the so called Public Option. The Public Option was the compromise plan to the Single Payer Plan, which is what would really work and is what the people want but would have made the Blue Dogs, the Republicans and anyone getting payouts from the Medical Industrial Complex unhappy. The Co-op option is a joke. The only difference between Reid and Obama is that the latter doesn't fall asleep while he is talking the talk.

Would someone explain to me why the msm portrays these teabagging trailer trash morons as an actual part of a national debate on health care? In fact, why do they even suggest that we have dialogs and debates in this society. According to the "news" , we have had National Conversations on race, religion, health care, the stimulus package, guns, immigration etc etc. Generally these conversation are set in motion by some trivial event blown out of proportion by a bunch of wingnuts and the conversation consists of wimpy liberals trying to defend themselves against an organized group of loudmouthed assholes whose only goal is to discredit Obama and other uppity colored folk (that applies to you, Maria Sotomayor) threatening their soon-to-be-gone white majority status. Mixing guns and brainwashed low-lifes can't have a good outcome...

“I feel like I’m living in a cartoon where no one remembers anything.”

And so the Democratic Party slides inexorably to the right, filling the vacuum left by the Republican Party’s descent into lunacy. I have not been a real Democrat for years, just by virtue of the fact that I’ve stayed where I have always been. Since changing addresses requires re-registering, I have used that opportunity to also change my affiliation to independent voter.

This morning's Frank Rich:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09rich.html

Newsflash!: American Journalists Refuse to Leave Korea

Two American women freed by North Korea have refused to board a private jet with Bill Clinton. "We aren't that grateful" they said.

George put in a new outdoor thermometer yesterday; it records the day's high and low; yesterday's high 110 degrees. And the damn thing isn't even in the sun. How does it know when a new day starts and it should start over? I don't think I'll ask...

If you still need a Bald Eagle, go down Chambers Drive and hang a left on the River Road. Not too many yards, there it be, sitting on a post to your right.

Sum Gai a-Birding

A couple of days ago, this guy shows up at the Dump (excuse me, that would be the Transfer Site) hoping someone there could tell him how to get into the sewage ponds, which are located on the river road not many yards from where I am sitting right now. In hand was a pretty cool birding book about where to find what, obviously written for those compiling a list of some sort ("if you still need a Pileated Woodpecker...") which mentions the sewage pond boss man as being amenable to letting birders into the ponds to look for duckies and stuff. Alas, the boss man (who is the only man) had locked up and gone home early and so our visiting birder slogs up to the dump and discovers that the guy Chris at the dump is the brother of one of California's most famous birders, Kimball Lewis Garrett. (Of course I may be prejudiced; I am his sister.) So I took Sum Gai to one of the old barns to look for roosting owls, but there weren't any. And we walked down to the sewage pond gate that fronts this property, but it was locked. Alas, lamented Sum Gai, his fence climbing days are over, but he did take a walk around the perimeter and saw Swainson's Thrush and something else I can't remember because when it comes to birding I am a disgrace to my family. --kg

Tom Horton -- but not the Blues

I've been thinking a lot about Tom these weeks here at Happy Camp. Maybe because of the garden he would have loved, even more the pool and Ramada area, dining in the evening next to the pasture. Give Tom some mowed grass and a bit of tile (even gravel) and he had a Piazza. When he was well enough to sit on the front lawn of 14 Dipsea, we would drink martinis and joke about the Seadrift Life Style. That was before he moved to the City; soon it was Kate and KH pretty much 24/7 and I was out of the picture (how out I didn't realize 'til later) which was as it should be. And when he died, I just carried on, no tears -- it was not my loss but theirs, or so it seemed. And I cried so hard for so many months when he was first diagnosed I don't think I had any tears left.

I think of Tom when I am doing the receipts here in the morning, very much like he taught me at the Stinson Beach Grill back in 1992. And I think of how I came to be here -- so many miles away from Stinson Beach and an eternity away from him. And how far from the (honorary) family status I once enjoyed; how little that family, other than him, had any real regard.

I guess it is OK to indulge a little sloppy sentiment now and then.

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III

From Dailykos this morning:

If Only ...

by BarbinMD

Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 08:26:03 AM PDT

Matthew Yglesias articulates what I'm guessing most of us are thinking:

I would pay good money to hear Sonia Sotomayor say, "Senator Sessions, I think it’s ironic to be facing these questions from a man whose judicial nomination was rejected by this very committee on the grounds that he’s a huge racist."

Watching Consummate White Man Sessions question Sotomayor on her ability to be unbiased -- maybe not the clash of civilizations, but demographically, Sir Sessions will soon exuent stage right. And take that horrible Kyl person with you please.

In Country

Since I am too lazy to do any original posting, I'm just gonna use some excerpts from my outgoing email this last week.

New Friends, Old Enemies: So Chris got the water on in my cabin, which pleases both me and my roommate, Mr. Daddy Longlegs. Mr. L looks nothing like Fred Astaire and has a large family -- hundreds it seems. Sometimes I shoo them away so I can clean, but next day, there they are. with their cute little hammocks strung around the walls and ceilings, singing "You are not alone; I am by your side."

You must be in the city. I too am going to the big city today, downtown Happy Camp, which boasts two -- count them, TWO- statues of Big Foot. I wonder if Mr. BigFoot knows Mr. L. Hope he doesn't come to visit.

Did you watch Obama and Medyvedy? I found it too boring (come to think of it, almost everything about Russia seems drab and boring*). Obama is breakfasting with Putin; do you think he will look for his soul in his eyes? Or just eat his eggs and be nice...KG

*exceptions: caviar, vodka, blinis....

MJ: And here's a not-so-wild-prediction: Jackson's funeral is gonna be a riot. Literally. kg

Honduras: Who knows. The ousted Pres is one in a series of dark-skinned-not-of -the -upper crust- leaders South of Mexico -- Hugo Chavez being the most well known. Also, the Ecuadorian President (Correa) and Bolivia (Morales). Correa has roundly pissed off the US by insisting that Chevon compensate for the damage they did to the rain forest. These guys are left of center, i.e. they want to use systems that work for them, not for the IMF and Dick Cheney. I suspect the CIA has its fingers in the current mess, just as they aided and abetted the 2002 failed coup against Hugo Chavez. That is not to say Obama would approve, but I think Panetta walked into the CIA and crawled in bed with those guys. I will never forgive the CIA for sabotaging Jimmy Carter; why don't they spend some time getting humint in the Middle East, huh????

As for what is specifically the deal in Honduras, I'm afraid I haven't kept up. But it looks like your classic upper class instigated military takeover of a democratically elected president who does not cater to them...Apparently the new guy is pretty right wing. Think Pinochet....

Have to go move sprinklers around. KG

Cabin/Palin/Etc: Chris is at my cabin -- hopefully he is turning the water on. Then I can start cleaning it up....The Vanity Fair article is about Ms. Palin and I am printing it out as we speak, so to speak...So don't buy no mags for moi! George cancelled a lo of his TV stations so I didn't see any talk shows; maybe later. He does John King's show but JK had that horrible Ed Rollins and that horrible black Demo whose name I have blessedly forgotten -- you know, the break bread lady. [on edit -- this would be Donna Brazil.] Also some other right wing moron. So I didn't watch it. Watering the garden takes up a good deal of the morning around here anyway. Let me know the update on Ronnie Wilhelm....kg

Re: Palin At first I thought it was a Pawlenty deal -- that she did not want to run again because she would lose and that would compromise her rep for a presidential run. But not if she is actually resigning. Rumors have it that there is some about-to-come-out scandal involved (oh, I'm SURE not...) but I have no idea what it would be. Maybe she is gonna fess up that Trig or whatever his name is, is actually Bristol's baby - hee hee. Maybe she is just an idiot. Oh, and it could just boil down to she is just an idiot. Remember -- it's now silly season, 24/7, 12 months a year. And we thought only Friday was Anything Can Happen Day! --- kg

Letters to the Editor Department

Mike Slizewski, managing editor
Siskiyou Daily News
PO Box 129, Yreka CA 96097
530.842.2963 x 105
editor@siskiyoudaily.com


Dear Editor:
Thank you for printing this lengthy diatribe. (...Nation is in Peril; guest opinion 6-9-09) Although it was lacking in facts and long on whining, it did provide lots of chuckles. Evidently, President Obama is the straw that this cabal thinks will break the back of the camel. Pulleeze, President Obama enjoys a 65% approval rating and where was your outrage when Bush- Cheney & co were gutting the constitution , torturing detainees,and handing out no bid contracts to their friends. When progressives and the left complained, we were called traitors, un-american and on side of the terrorists. Here's the deal: The right proved in the last eight years that they can't lead, in the last four months that they can't follow, so now it is time to get the heck out of the road and watch as we get this country back on track. Have your little meetings and whine about loosing the election, taxes, and having a president that does not look like you as you drive on the roads and expect the fire department to save you when you really are in peril.

Christopher Garrett

Hike, eat, hike, eat...

Went up to the Pt. Reyes Visitor Center Wednesday; took the Earthquake Trail and the Woodpecker Trail. By now C is fully aware that as a Birder I am a complete fraud. But she is too nice to say so. Lunch at Olema Farmhouse. Last week with the Kirby X!s took the short loop at Audubon Canyon Ranch and picnicked on the grounds (thank you Cindy!).

At Play in the Land of the Wingnuts

News Release: Summer Food Service
Source: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services


Rep. Cynthia Davis' latest outrage is Missouri’s Summer Food Service Program, which provides food during the summer for thousands of low-income Missouri children who rely on the school cafeteria for free or reduced-price meals during the regular school year. This week's newsletter from Davis contains a point-by-point response to a press release announcing the program, at the end of which she concludes the program is really "all about increasing government spending, which means an increase in taxes for us to buy more free lunches and breakfasts."
And to cap things off, she offers this very helpful tip:
Anyone under 18 can be eligible? Can't they get a job during the summer by the time they are 16? Hunger can be a positive motivator. What is wrong with the idea of getting a job so you can get better meals?
Tip: If you work for McDonald's, they will feed you for free during your break.

********************
“A Republican Indiana congressman has a new plan to protect members of Congress from a terrorist attack: enclose the Capitol gallery with a Plexiglas shield.
In a little-noticed proposed amendment to a bill last week, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) sought a study to examine the feasibility of enclosing the Capitol gallery chamber with a protective shield.
“What this bill does is it would authorize a study to look at enclosing the chamber, the gallery chamber, with Plexiglas so that somebody can’t throw a bomb down on the floor and kill a lot of us,” Burton told the Rules Committee Thursday.”


Why do I hope people like this lose their jobs, lose their health insurance, end up being carried on a cot to the local soup kitchen and have to sleep on the corner of Fifth and Mission. Or we could just encase them in Plexiglas and ship them to Disneyworld. One way only.

It was good of my bro Kelly to call me on Father's Day. As well he should, being a father and all. Now all I need are some pictures of mi sobrinos mas guapos.

"Take what you want, God said. And pay for it." -- Arab Saying

I am in awe of the brave young people of Iran....

"We should go under the rain.

We should wash our eyes,

And we should see the world in a different way."

-Sohrab Sepehri, Iranian poet

Give 'til it hurts...

The Associated Press: Pacific state Palau to take Uighur detainees: Two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a mutual defense and cooperation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.


I have always admired the generous and hospitable people of Palau. Or would have, had I known it existed. Having been enlightened I am inspired to do my part for these unloved and unwashed Uighur people whose only crime was to move to Afghanistan for training in how to overthrow the Chinese Government. Okay, let's add stupid.

Nevertheless, at $12 million a pop, I'll take two.