Ladies and gentlemen, the days of unlimited broadband may be numbered in the United States, and we're not talking wireless this time -- AT&T says it will implement a 150GB monthly cap on landline DSL customers and a 250GB cap on subscribers to U-Verse high speed internet starting on May…
...maybe they’d take away his parking space, too. What is it with Republican Governors these days. Especially, Republican Governors with national aspirations. It's almost as if they can't walk and chew gum at the same time. Even members of their own party have noticed. And it seems as if they…
It seems the story of the Peanut Corporation of America just keeps getting better and better as it shows just how poor America's food safety system really is... Even amid a national salmonella outbreak linked to peanuts, state health officials allowed a Texas peanut plant last month to continue shipping…
Image via Wikipedia It seems this story was inevitable... ROSENBERG, TX — A trip out for a free breakfast at Denny's took a big bite out of the wallets of several people in Rosenberg on Tuesday. Some of those who went to the local Denny's Corp. restaurant for a free…
In case a snake ever comes in the office If you want to know the truth, I never sit down at this desk to write a sentence without a bottle of whiskey within my reach. It's always just behind the computer, between a Roget's Thesaurus and an American Heritage Dictionary.…
Wandering down my Google Reader list today led me to Seth Godin's Blog and his muse on Newspapers...Go check it out... I worry about the quality of a democracy when the the state government or the local government can do what it wants without intelligent coverage. I worry about the…
After wondering for days where the cool mornings the weather prognosticators kept telling me about were hiding, they arrived this morning. As a native to this climate in SE Texas, I am always amazed to hear these same prognosticators (most of whom arrived from climes much closer to the poles)…
After the storm, once you realize you've lived through another, your awareness of your surroundings is contracted. You begin by wandering around just your own little space surrounding your home...Checking for damage, fixing the immediate needs if possible. Then you begin to expand your awareness to your neighbors. First you…
With Hurricane Ike set to travel nearly the length of Cuba today before heading into the Gulf of Mexico, residents from Texas to Florida face another week of worrying about whether their communities will fall in the storm's path. Some public officials said Sunday they are concerned that the frequency…
Image via Wikipedia I don't know why these guys worry...My wife has already sent Gustav packing... Don't freak out about the newest models, but... The latest computer models have been released and they reflect a distinct shift westward, toward Texas, for Hurricane Gustav's path. This almost certainly presages a similar…
I took a day off from work today...It seemed like a good investment in mental health. My wife had already scheduled the day off planning for the scheduled arrival of our latest grandson. In case you are wondering, he's decided the schedule wasn't approved by his royal personage so he's…
Texas' overall uninsured rate of 25.2 percent, and its 20.2 uninsured rate for children, continued to be the highest in the country. Nationally, the number of people without health insurance last year declined from 47 million in 2006, the Census Bureau said. Median household income — meaning half of households…
Image via Wikipedia The weather here has been very dry...at least until the past week or so. We have been having a spring-like amount of rain. After complaining for so long about the lack, it seems almost sacrilegious to say anything about the water we needed so bad. After months…
This one's for you... While reporters at The Post and The New York Times have been vetting McCain, many others give him a free pass. Their default cliché is to present him as the Old Faithful everyone already knows. They routinely salute his “independence,” his “maverick image” and his “renegade…
I ran across this looking for a musician referenced on Americana Roots Radio yesterday. I tried it in the sidebar but it didn't work too well...So I'll post it here. There are some really good artists in the play list, so have a listen... Texas Back Porch Station 5428 at…
The Pleasurable Choice Is the Ethical Choice I like to say that I'm not an an optimist, but I am a person of hope. That is to say, I cultivate the virtue of hope in myself. Hope takes account of the enormity and darkness of challenges and problems, and yet…
This project began as so many good things do, over a cup of coffee. So begins the preface to Rebooting America, Ideas for Redesigning American Democracy for the Internet Age. Dana Boyd blogged about the availability of the download this morning and I pulled the pdf down before leaving the…
First things first --- Happy Birthday Sherry. I know you never read these muses...but hell, I'll still say it here. The best present I ever got... Now to the subject of this muse...Heat. It's hot here, it's hot across the south, it's hot on the Blue Ridges of North Carolina…
TED | Talks | Ron Eglash: African fractals, in buildings and braids (video) "I am a mathematician, and I would like to stand on your roof." That is how Ron Eglash greeted many African families he met while researching the fractal patterns he’d noticed in villages across the continent.
I have never felt that the Corporate pushers of GMOs were looking out for anything other than their own profits. That has led me to look on their actions in an unfavorable light. While this has always been a personal "feeling", I find my concerns expressed very well by this…
TED | Talks | Malcolm Gladwell: What we can learn from spaghetti sauce (video) Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce -- and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.
A good overview of the Keith Olbermann rise in the New Yorker. It was nearly midnight before Keith Olbermann left the NBC News election studio on May 13th, having spent five hours on the air, co-anchoring coverage of the West Virginia Democratic primary. Olbermann had a short ride home from…
I saw the notice in my email first thing and as I worked my way down the list I was trying to formulate a post. Then I read John Scalzi's...If you are or were a Carlin fan go read John's short tribute. Whatever » RIP, George Carlin He was my…
I wandered into this last evening... TED | Talks | Mark Bittman: What's wrong with what we eat (video) In this fiery and funny talk, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman weighs in on what's wrong with the way we eat now (too much meat, too few plants; too…
Here is a "new" artist to watch. Not many singers can use their voice as another instrument. Expect to see more of her in the coming years... 2020 Update you can follow Priscilla Ahn here... https://www.instagram.com/p/CIoGP2FjfEm/
And the conservative will discount the numbers because of the source...But come on, can't we expect a little bit of research from the speech writers? Fact check John McCain: Another of my disagreements with Senator Obama concerns the estate tax, which he proposes to increase to a top rate of…
As always, Bill Moyers gives a hell of a talk... YouTube - Bill Moyers addresses NCMR 2008 Legendary journalist Bill Moyers address the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis, June 7, 2008. Presented by FreePress.net. For more speakers, press coverage, and info, visit: http://www.freepress.net/conference Now...Go Tell It... And Tell…
The descendants of my dad's family gets together each year for a family reunion...Today was the day for this years get together. It was a bit of a drive on a beautiful summer day. I enjoyed the trip and the reunion. Here are some photo's from the day... For photo's…
Like many of his fans I discovered Utah Phillips late in his life. My daughter, a fan of Ani DiFranco, introduced me to him a few years back... U. Utah Phillips, 73; Folk Singer Championed the Working Class - washingtonpost.com U. Utah Phillips, 73, a Grammy-nominated folk singer, rabble-rouser and…
You really have to appreciate Google putting these talks out on the web via YouTube...Here is Michael Pollan...
Susan Albert linked to the National Arbor Day site and their animation showing the changes in hardiness zones. Lifescapes Yep, it's true--101.8 on our digital thermometer yesterday, and that's in the shade. Austin hit 101, too, a record temp for the day and an indication of what's in store in…
Bill Moyers Journal . Transcripts | PBS
May 2, 2008
BILL MOYERS:Welcome to the Journal.
I once asked a reporter back from Vietnam, "Who's telling the truth over there?" Everyone he said. Everyone sees what's happening through the lens of their own experience." That's how people see Jeremiah Wright. In my conversation with him on this broadcast a week ago and in his dramatic public appearances since, he revealed himself to be far more complex than the sound bites that propelled him onto the public stage. Over 2000 of you have written me about him, and your opinions vary widely. Some sting: "Jeremiah Wright is nothing more than a race-hustling, American hating radical," one viewer wrote. A "nut case," said another. Others were far more were sympathetic to him.
Watching the Democratic Debate the other night left me with the strong suspicion that it isn't just Washington and politicians living in a bubble...It appears the mainstream media is living right in there with them. I mean, it can't be just me, can it? Who the hell really thinks that…
Eugene Robinson - The Surge Turns Into the Stall - washingtonpost.com Of course, Bush long ago lost any credibility with Congress and the American people on Iraq. It's understandable that he hides behind Petraeus's breastplate of medals and Crocker's thatch of gray hair, sending these loyal and able public servants…
Now this is just wrong... Katrina aid recipients may have to pay back millions | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle NEW ORLEANS — Imagine that your home was reduced to mold-covered wood framing by Hurricane Katrina. Desperate for money to rebuild, you engage in a frustrating bureaucratic process, and after months…
The political novelty of actual campaign money being spent by national candidates in Texas is a subject of conversation around the water cooler at work. Between the two of the, Clinton and Obama have spent more money in Texas than all of the Democratic National campaigns of the last half…
I haven't been in tune with Garrison for a while but today's poem seems to have something to say about where I am...right now. We'll never get there, Time is always ahead of us, running down the beach, urging us on faster, faster, but sometimes we take off our watches,…
I had my first inspection of the ole vocal chords this afternoon. The Doc was happy with the appearance of my vocal chords so I guess I am too. It looks like it's time to pop the cork on that wine bottle I've been saving...Cameron Hughes Lot 21, 2004 Zinfandel.…
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We wandered over to my mother's house about noon on Thursday carrying our contribution to the feast. Both of my brothers were already there. Of my sisters one had arrived and one was running late...So far everything was normal for the day.…
This week's challenge: 'Travel'. Eight States, ten Days, 1750 miles, five hotel rooms, from heat to freezing to fall comfortable to snow to fall comfortable. That's Travel...And here's my Vacation Slideshow for proof... . Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to…
Driving South on the Parkway through Humpback Rocks brought a surprise this afternoon... It must have come down pretty good overnight since it had been melting for a while by the time we got there. But everyone traveling up the Parkway was having a lot of fun playing in the…
Sunrise this morning was spent at Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The weather was clear and cold. I didn't know how cold until I got back in the car to drive back down...The temperature was 19°. Here's what I saw as the sun came over the horizon... And…
We've been running around trying to get ready to hit the road tomorrow, so posting here is down to a minimum. With any luck I'll be posting some autumn colors in the next week... In the meantime, you all have a great weekend and we'll catch ya down the road...In…
Over the course of the last month or so I keep stumbling over videos from TED. This morning I came across a link which I watched . Then I went exploring...Here is one of the Talks I found interesting...Why don't you spend some time this weekend being inspired... Go explore…
“What politics has become, requires a level of tolerance for triviality and artifice and nonsense that I have found in short supply.” - Al Gore ++++++++++ The MSM has been abuzz ever since the announcement with the question of Al Gore running for President. I have just one question...Why? Why…
HDR Slideshow
Garrison provides a quotation upon Cervantes birthday that is as insightful today as it must have been during his life... The Writer's Almanac from American Public Media Miguel de Cervantes said, "Too much sanity may be madness and the maddest of all, to see life as it is and not…
There is a new deal floating through Washington DC. It's called Republican Speak. Whenever a Republican does something, blocks some law, breaks some law or rule the idea is to get the MSM (mainstream media) to blame it on the Democrats. Damned if it ain't working. Yet, to hear the…
This morning was another of those mornings when the weather outside is livable. Too bad it will not last... Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 102. East wind between 5 and 10 mph. +++++++++++ Andy Griffin is on roll with another essay…
You know as I was putting together my lunch to take into work today I was thinking just how oppressively hot it was outside yesterday afternoon. I remember marveling at one point because the temperature in Floyd, Va was only two degrees lower than the temperature in Houston, Tx. Then…
For many years back in the late 1980's and into the early 1990' I spent way more time than I should have exploring fractal images. On Friday GreenmanTim over at Walking the Berkshires posted an image from The Fractal Bargain Bin that brought all of those hours tumbling back on…
After this afternoons session, my sacrifices on the alter of the atomic spheres comes to an end...The number for the day is 35...of 35. An ending and a beginning, even though I am yet to be thru this journey I am embarked upon. In the news today on the weather…
The days number is 33...after today just two to go. This weekend brought the end of an era to our house. I finally broke down and bought our first replacement television with digital tuning. Had I known how clear of the air broadcasts could be with just a set of…
"The days still come in order. Gray light collects in the bedroom long before dawn. Then comes a bleached noon and nearly always the threat of a late-afternoon thunderstorm. The darkness is notated by fireflies, who have been unusually numerous — or is it unusually bright? — this year. The…
Todays number is 31...Look Ma, no voice...He said with a raspy whisper. If this doesn't look like the eye of an angry God, I'll eat my fire and brimstone upbringing. I have visions of a bird of prey here... The Helix Nebula Dust makes this cosmic eye look red.…
Technically, it's the last day of week six since the 4th fell in there and these treatments run their course in 35 days and not 7 weeks. But, since we started on a Wednesday, and we'll end on a Wednesday, this Wednesday will be the start of the week for…
This image caught my eye yesterday so I dropped it here. What it reminded me of was a Mandelbrot Fractal like the ones I used to spend hours generating and exploring back a decade ago or more. The mathematics and graphics were so intensive on those old 286 and 386…
The number for today is 27...Almost there. There is a magical time of night that seems to call me on a regular basis...It's 3:33am. I can not recall how many time I have rolled over in bed at night and opened my eyes and seen the three threes glowing there…
I see my Congressman is still stirring the pot... When U.S. Rep. Ron Paul recently gave the keynote address at a ceremony presenting overdue medals to 24 veterans, he talked about patriotism, the country's debt owed to veterans, the need for a strong military and strong personal freedom. What he…
Today will be radiation treatment #23. That means just 13 more to go... The weather station on the wall has the outside temperature at 73°. That would be very comfortable for this time of year except that the humidity reading is 99%. After the morning rains yesterday we had a…
From My PhotoBlog at Gary-Boyd.com I just learned an interesting fact. If you ever had a Blogger Blog that you posted photo's to, you seem to also have a Picas Web Album for that blog. You can go to your Web Album and create a slideshow like the one above…
Leave it to the Senator to put his finger on the "New" policy for Iraq. One innovation of the new strategy is closing markets to vehicles, thereby precluding car bombs that kill so many and garner so much media attention. Petraeus understandably wanted us to see this development. How far…
This was in the newsfeed from the Houston Chronicle today. In the new spirit of media disclosure, I should tell you that I own several Dixie Chicks CDs. But I'm not writing this as an adoring bluegrass fan. I'm writing this as a shame and empathy researcher. That was how Brene'…
Tony Snow had this to say about his boss and his environmental policies... Mr. Bush had in fact been “keenly committed both to environmentalism and conservationism from the start.” Must be something in the Kool-Aide up there in the White House. As the NY Times points out in an editorial...…
Molly Ivins, the liberal newspaper columnist who delighted in skewering politicians and interpreting, and mocking, her Texas culture, died today at her home in Austin. She was 62. Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman, via Associated Press Molly Ivins in 2006. Her death, after a long fight with breast cancer, was confirmed by…
I don't know about you but to me it looks to me like Bush and Cheney have seen to many police shows on TV. I mean come on guys, good cop bad cop is so lame... We often wonder whether there is a limit to the Bush administration’s obsession with…
You have to wonder what they are putting in the Kool-Aid at the Cheney manse. Vice President Cheney said yesterday that the administration has achieved "enormous successes" in Iraq but complained that critics and the media "are so eager to write off this effort or declare it a failure" that…
After listening to some of the hearing on the radio, I am forced to agree with the Post. What does it say about America, that the ruling party for the last decade have placed the biggest obstructionists in positions of power and then blamed the opposition for being obstructionists. THE LAST hearing…
It was pretty obvious even right after the elections that the president wasn't changing his approach. If anything he seemed to be rubbing the fact that he wasn't in the democrats face. President Bush's political fortunes have changed for the worse, but he himself is announcing that he hasn't changed…
"When Democratic committee chairmen issue subpoenas and conduct oversight hearings, will news accounts portray them as harassing the White House? Or will journalists recognize that aggressive congressional inquiries were a normal practice until the GOP Congress, which loved to investigate the Clinton White House, essentially stopped scrutinizing the Bush administration?…
"Journalists by nature shy from pinning the "liar" label on any political leader, but President Bush's acknowledgments that he had not been forthcoming about his plans to dump Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld have kicked up a fuss at the White House and sparked a debate about the limits of…
This story caught my interest today because the company I work for changed our insurance to United last year. Now I wonder who it is that is being insured.How William McGuire earned that fat paycheck | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Moral hazard theory, which has governed health insurance since the…
If there is any question about what happened yeaterday, think about this...Half full: Perceptions of the economy, like its rewards, vary wildly and help to explain the election results. | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Houston is an informative example. In a city that is home to some of the world's…
The record of this administration should be the textbook example in why corporations are not “persons”. And now, before they can’t get away with it anymore, it’s time for the payback. As if most of the laws and tax cuts haven’t done enough…Groups draft plan to protect corporate America:By STEPHEN…
John Scalzi started a hell of a conversation. Join in...I'm proud to be an American, but I'm tired of being ashamed of my government. I'm tired of having to count the seconds until this bilious waste of a president is shoved out the door in January of 2009. I'm tired…
Ok I was wrong...Bloggermann: This hole in the ground - Bloggermann - MSNBC.com: "History teaches us that nearly unanimous support of a government cannot be taken away from that government by its critics. It can only be squandered by those who use it not to heal a nation's wounds, but…
As a followup to the previous post and a commentary on the many conservative pundants who don't understand the sour attitude of the American Public on the state of the economy I would like to point to this Washington Post Editorial:Mr. Bush and Labor DayWorkers aren't benefiting from growth.Monday, September…
The Carpetbagger Report » Blog Archive » President Cheney: "President CheneyWe've all heard the jokes, some of them funny, about Dick Cheney being the real president, but over the weekend, Robert Kuttner made a compelling case that the jokes actually understate the case  Cheney really is the one 'running…
The Writer's Almanac from American Public Media: "It's the birthday of political humorist Molly Ivins, born in Monterey, California (1944)."Have a great birthday Molly...And many more. Your humor is appreciated and I marvel at your optimism.
OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan: "I note here what is to me a mystery. It is that people with lower IQs somehow tend, in our age, to have a greater apprehension of the meaning of things and the reality of life, than do our high-IQ professionals, who often seem, in areas…
You know my wife hates to be around when I listen to our President. She just can't stand me screaming liar at the TV screen over and over and over and over....you get the idea. But I have to admit Jim Hightower has a real way with words...Jim Hightower THE…
I continue to hear and read stories about how the business analysts cannot explain the general feeling of unease that the public keeps feeling over the “Robust American Economy”. The keep quoting all of the indicators that they say should make us feel great about where the economy is going,…
