More on Ted Stevens

The FBI and the IRS has issued a search warrent and is confiscating records from Ted Stevens home. It appears that an Alaska company payed for the renovation of Ted's home adding an entire floor.
Hat tip to Rachael Maddow

Update: Note to Ted if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's more than likely a duck.

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6861856

Gonzo gets a Mulligan?

When you pull the trigger, drop a bomb or lie and get caught, you don't get a do over. This isn't about a misunderstanding about what was said or what took place and to make a correction or clarification as to that misunderstanding. This is about lies under oath. Gonzo stated one thing in his statements in February and said just the opposite just recently. All of those who were present at the meeting stated it was about the illegal NSA spying program and all the spin in the world is not going to change that.
Gonzo lies

My take

This may be anecdotal but I see a trend at least in my profession that is quite disturbing. It used to be that a large job would require between 20 to 30 people to complete. Such a job would take two to three months and sometimes require two shifts. On very rare occasions there would be a shortage of workers because there were too many jobs happening all at once. These days large jobs are done with 10 to 15 people and supervisors are lucky if everybody shows up for any given shift. Also jobs run four to six weeks.
Then there are the safety issues and environmental laws. When you are told to do a job a certain way even though you know it does not conform to standard safety practices. Then of course there is the bending of environmental rules. Granted there are some rules that actually go beyond the relm of common sense for no other reason than to cover ones one rear legally speaking. There is now an attitude of " whatever you can get away with" and we all know where that example has been set.
Management isn't what it used to be either. There is now the attitude of " get the job done" even if there are no supplies or the right tools to do the job.
I can only hope that the political climate shifts, environmental and safety laws are enforced and management can actually get back to manageing effectively.

If your really want the inside scoop

Here's a really great and quick shot of the daily scoops from the left. Check out
Go left tv

Not much to blog

I haven't been in much of a mood to blog lately. I'm still on that ugly job I mentioned last month under "I must be crazy". Another thought came to me about this job. We use an air system we call type C. It involves using a compressor with air filters and air lines strung all over the place like blue spaghetti. The compressor can't be left outside the building due to carbon monoxide from the other trucks, forklifts etc that are nearby. So the powers that be (the supervisor) had it put on the inside of the building near our containment. Only problem there is that if there were a chemical release from the factory and we couldn't hear the alarm those chemicals could easily make it into the air we are breathing. With that in mind, should you not hear from me for say more that a week then check the Seattle Times for my untimely death.
To end on a positive note. It looks like Ted Stevens you know that republican senator from Alaska who wanted the multimillion dollar bridge to nowhere is now being investigated on bribery charges by the FBI.
Thanks to Rachael Maddow for this bit of good news.

1 in 4 New Yorkers are full of it.

If you live in New York City and you eat a lot of fish then there's a good chance you have high mercury levels
Now in all honesty every time I do a haz mat job involving a chemical I haven't dealt with in a while, I have to hit the books and bone up on the health effects and the protective measures. While the amounts of mercury may seem tiny the effects can be severe as they approach established exposure limits. Common sense tells you to eat fish once or twice per month or (if you really love fish) change the type of fish you eat.
The effects of long term exposures can quite extreme. Hat makers of the 1800's dipped their fingertips in meucury to shape beaver skin hats popular at that time. With the brain damage mercury did there came the term "Mad as a Hatter". And that as Paul Harvey would say is the rest of the story.

More on "screw the children"

Shrub may have his hands full if he vetos the child health care program.

Via the La Times:

WASHINGTON — As they tell the story in Texas, when George W. Bush was governor, he fought hard to put austere limits on a new federal-state plan to provide health insurance for children of low-wage workers in the state. Outmaneuvered by Democrats, he corralled the program's chief sponsor on the statehouse floor and conceded defeat, saying, "You crammed it down our throats."

Now, almost 10 years later, President Bush is threatening to veto federal legislation that would renew the same partnership — the State Children's Health Insurance Program — and expand it to cover more of the nation's nearly 9 million uninsured children.

If he follows through on that threat, Bush could face a first in his presidency: a veto override.

The bill is considered Washington's most important legislation this year on health coverage.

And Bush's fellow Republicans are worried that Democrats may do more than back the president into a corner — they could use his opposition to tar GOP incumbents in next year's elections.

If the House and Senate approve the bill and Bush vetoes it, some Republicans say, there is a good chance that many in his own party would join with Democrats in overriding him.

Let's see. Bush is for a private healthcare system determined by the marketplace. And where does Shrub get money for all those expensive campaigns and other cronies? Wouldn't be the healthcare and drug companies that he so nicely feathered their nests would it? Sure he gives a damn about children as long as they're embryos or he can use them for a photo op.

Okay I'll be the first to say it.

Shrub is going in for colonoscopy on Saturday. Maybe the doctor will actually find Bush's brain in there.
Sorry I just had to say it.

Now the assesment of Iraq

The generals now say the assesment of Iraq will come in November. My question for them is: OF WHAT YEAR!

Steam pipe explosion

Something looks fishy here. Bloomberg says the air is clear. Other reports say 6 of 10 of the air samples came back positive for asbestos. I'd sure like to read the Air sample data
on this one as that is part of what I do for a living. Most old steam lines were wrapped with high levels of asbestos insulation there by making them more dangerous than lower percent insulation or other products containing asbestos like floor tiles.
Oh and one more thing, asbestos can remain airborne for days before it settles.

Smokescreen

A few rethuglicans have made some comments about being against the Iraq war so what did these supposed lawmakers do to show their displeasure with the war? They filibustered and voted against any pullout. And yes there was an actual majority that voted for the bill. Nothing like ignoring your constituents.

Filibuster

Why won't the Republicans in this country wake up to the fact that this war must end? This isn't even a war by definition. It's a civil strife with no end in site until we leave. Yes there will be blood shed after we leave, but that would be a small price to pay compared to years of death and distruction. Such violence is usually short lived as real power struggles play out and order is finally restored. Why won't the Republicans realize that the longer they hang on to the ideologys of the Bush administration that they risk seriously damaging their next chance to be re-elected. Don't they realize that most of the people in America are against this war that is saping our futures with massive outlays not to mention the lives lost on both sides. Wake up gentlemen and do the right thing. Do the wishes of the American people who elected you.

Beaver Shots ala Friday the Thirteenth

I'd like to post more of these, but it doesn't look like there are many good beaver shots like these out there.

Save the embryos but...

Screw the children
And the troops and retirees and the middle class and on and on and on. Unless of course your rich and don't need any help then you'll get it.

Update: Only wish I could photoshop the picture of Shrub with "I'll get you my prettys".

Not much time to post this week

Busy schedule this week. Not much time for the net. I did see where David Korn is looking for other John's on the D.C. madame's list. One appears to be from a senate phone number but can't track down the culprit. Ahh, republican hypocrites, ain't it grand. To all those amature P.I.'s out there pop over to David's site and give him a hand would you?

Paybacks

I'm assuming the links to this will not work. Funny how that seems to only happen when anything negative is printed about this administration so I'll do an end run around the censors with a Google search link.
Seems king George and Co. are going to get hit with a Contempt of Congress charge if the rats don't start talking.

(Update: hot dog my trick worked take that :P )

Live Earth

After all the sound equipment has been packed up and the empty water bottles put in the recycle bin, I really wonder if Live Earth will have any lasting impact on the people and countries it briefly touched. There was no great outpouring of "let's get busy and do something about the problem". Our wondrous leaders here don't even believe there is a problem. Of course their interests are in conflict with the facts. I've actually heard people from the religeous right say that it's man's duty to use up all of the natural resources until the planet comes to an end. That's much like the live fast and die young attitude of adolescents. Back up there boys and read the part of scripture that says that man should be good stewards of the land.
This live earth got me to thinking about what I've done in the last twenty plus years to help the planet. Most of my motivation came during the Reagan depression of the early 80's. Jobs were nowhere to be found so in order to survive we cut back on everything and I mean cut the budget to the bone. We eliminated two thirds of our lighting, put a two hour limit on hot water and basically lived and heated only one room of the place. When things picked up we changed the lighting, bought a more efficient water heater and added insulation. The energy bill however only stayed the same as it kept rising over the years. The Enron debacle didn't help things either. There isn't much more I can do to help the planet short of putting up large solar panels and running everything from those, something I can't do here due to costs and restrictions.
I'm also a bit disappointed in what's become of the recycling programs here. It used to be that they would take any plastic with a number 1 or 2 on the bottom. No longer and they don't take shredded paper after everyone tells you to shred your mail for identity purposes. That's about a third of my paper recycle. But the thing that irritates me the most is that if the recyclers get too much material then the excess goes into a land fill anyway.
So what can we do? We'll have to wait until the Democrats take full control before anything real gets done. And to think Nixon was the one who started the EPA.

More Beaver

Because I can.

photo via Dennis Curtin

Boobies

Because I thought I could use some more site traffic. Now that I have your attention please feel free to read the other fine articles in this blog :)
Thanks Py

Another repub jumps ship

Say it
Bush and you were dead wrong about Iraq.

The article (sorry link is not working) via NY Times

Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, broke with the White House just as Congressional Democrats prepared to renew their challenge to the war.

“We cannot continue asking our troops to sacrifice indefinitely while the Iraqi government is not making measurable progress,” said Mr. Domenici, a six-term senator who has been a steadfast supporter of the president.

Thus Mr. Domenici joined a growing number of Republican voices in opposition to the war just as Senate Democratic leaders are readying plans to put the political and policy focus back on Iraq next week.

The Democrats intend to use a Pentagon policy measure to force votes on proposals limiting spending on the conflict and setting a timetable for withdrawing most troops by next year — an idea Mr. Bush has already vetoed.

Mr. Domenici made it clear Thursday that he did not support such measures either, saying, “I’m not calling for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq or a reduction in funding for our troops, but I am calling for a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations and on the path to continuing home.”

Still, within hours after Mr. Domenici spoke to reporters in a conference call, Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader, called on him to join Democrats and like-minded Republicans to bring the war to a close.

“Beginning with the defense authorization bill next week, Republicans will have the opportunity to not just say the right things on Iraq, but vote the right way, too,” Mr. Reid said, “so that we can bring the responsible end to this war that the American people demand and deserve.”

Mr. Domenici is up for re-election next year, and his views on the war are likely to figure prominently in the campaign. His turnabout followed similar calls for a new Iraq policy last week by Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the senior Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, and by Senator George V. Voinovich of Ohio, another member of that panel. Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, a respected Republican voice on military issues who is also facing re-election, has also been pressing the administration to shift course.

How convienent. The closer we get to the elections the more we see the rats leave the ship (S.S. Bushco)

via conservatard.wordpress.com

Independence Day

Some two hundred thirty years ago our founding fathers came together and with great thought and much dissagreement forged a constitution the blue print of a nation that became a beacon of freedom, hope and opportunity for generations to come. We are now stuck with an oligarcy and a "president" who regards the constitution, something he swore to uphold as a damn piece of paper. We have called on our representatives to do the correct thing and bring this administration to justice yet our pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears. If they do nothing then they are complicit in their disregard of those that elected them and should be removed from office post haste.
As for celebrating the nations' birth I think I'll pass at least until our freedoms have been restored and the Republic for which it once stood is returned to its' former greatness. The Fourth of July will for me just be another day off with a lot of noise at bed time.

Subpoenas

It appears the the White House is ignoring or refusing to cooperate with congress. Most people think that this issue is about politics. That the fired prosecutors were removed for political reasons. That may be the case, but that's not the real issue here because a president can terminate a federal prosecutor without cause. It's been done by most presidents usually at the start of their term. The real issue here is that this administration Lied about it
And as we all know lying to congress is a felony for which Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, and the rest of this misadministration could be impeached and go to jail. Let's see what the Supreme Court does with this one.