Memo to ESPN

People who do not care about tennis are not watching the French Open. Curious non-tennis fans who want to see Roger Federer will more likely tune in at a later date in the tournament. In the meantime, for those of us who do love tennis, there are some very interesting matches going on all over the stadium, but we can't watch them because we are stuck watching Roger play 6-1 sets against someone who is lucky to just be standing there.

I like Fed as much as the next person; I am a fan. But please, show us some tennis!

Petrova crashes out of French Open with injury

Hot, hot clay competitor Nadia Petrova had to withdraw from the Italian Open because of a pectoral strain. That was a wise thing to do. She got some rest, then headed over to Roland Garros to practice for the French Open. While she was practicing, she developed a groin strain. Today, that strain constricted her movement, and she lost in the first round to Akiko Morigami, who saw Petrova wasn't moving well and ramped up her own game to a very high level, hitting winning groundstrokes and drop shots. She won, 6-2, 6-2.

This is an extremely disappointing event for tennis fans. Petrova won three clay tournaments this year, in Amelia Island, Charleston, and Berlin, and was a top contender to win the French Open. Now that she is out, some of the drama of this year's French Open is gone. Some fans, however, are saying that Petrova brought this problem on herself because she plays in too many tournaments. They could be right. Both she and Patty Schnyder play in more tournaments than most other players. Schnyder seems to have been blessed with a body that rarely sustains injury, but Petrova may have finally pushed it too far.

Speaking of Patty Schnyder, one of my top favorites, she has a fan in Mats Wilander. He also likes David Nalbandian, another of my favorites.

And over at ESPN, Whit Sheppard says some hostile things about Martina Hingis. Hingis did some stupid, inappropriate things when she was younger. Many of us have forgiven a more mature Hingis those transgressions. Sheppard, however, is in a snit because she isn't kissing the sports media's ass. Give me a break.

And this is as good a time as any to say: Allez Amelie! Go Martina! Go Patty! Go Roger! Go David!

Bush knew nothing of Haditha deaths until Time asked questions

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says that George W. Bush heard reports that U.S. Marines had killed two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians "When a Time reporter first made the call." In March, Time reported the investigation of a dozen marines for possible war crimes in a November incident in which unarmed citizens, including women and children, were shot. The killings occurred after a bomb hit a military convoy and killed a Marine.

(Continue reading at MoJo Blog)

A bit of good news for the animals

Welch's has stopped all animal experiments. The University of Wisconsin, the University of Illinois, and Tufts University were all the scene of painful testing on a variety of animals. I should add that it took a threat of consumer boycott before Welch's did the right thing.

Still not doing the right thing are Ocean Spray, POM, and Tahitian Noni.

Sunny Delight, Old Orchard SunSweet, Tampico, Cascadian Farms, Newman's Own, Bolthouse Farms, Jamba Juice, and Campbell's V8 Juices do not test on animals.

Memorial Day--just another Bush obscenity

On Memorial Day, 2003, I wrote:

Looting, vandalism, impure water, disease, political upheaval, the stripping away of women's rights--they are all right there, for everyone to see. When you blow a country up, it's a good idea to have a plan for preventing out-and-out anarchistic chaos.

That was three years ago, and not only is the situation in Iraq still chaotic, it is also chaotic in southern Afghanistan.

The Bush administration's treatment of veterans and active soldiers, however, is the most sickening aspect of today's Memorial Day observance:

2002--The White House announced its intention to cut imminent danger pay from $225 to $150 a month, and family separation allowance money from $250 to $100 a month.

2003--The Department of Veterans Affairs cut off access to its health care system to some veterans after the Whit House turned down the department's request for a bigger budget.

2003--Bush administration cut in military housing and medical facility funding for active duty military.

2003--Soldiers were told they may have to buy their own body protection and armored plates.

2004--Congress voted to pay $12,000 as a one-time payment to the families of soldiers killed in action, ignoring Bush's request that the families be paid $6,000.

2005--Bush proposed a budget that doubled the co-payment for most veterans' prescription drugs. The proposal also created an annual fee of $250 for some veterans to access government health care.

2005--Because of budget cuts, it was announced that services would be limited in veterans' hospitals and clinics.


All of these facts are disturbing and expose the deep hypocrisy of the Bush administration. Yet none of these is as horrible as the simple fact that Bush has sent thousands of American soldiers to Iraq to be injured or killed when there was absolutely no reason for him to do so.

Fort Lauderdale mayor criticizes lazy people

"I'm supposed to subsidize some schlock sitting on the sofa and drinking a beer, who won't work more than 40 hours a week?"

Fort Lauderdale mayor Jim Naugle

Oh, the problems we face because of all the lazy people who won't work more than forty hours a week. And their excuses! Raise their children, spend some time with their spouses and friends, protect their physical and mental health. Can you believe it?

Naugle is opposed to a proposed affordable housing law, which he says is a communist project. But no matter where you stand on the concept of affordable housing laws, attacking people who have opted to have a life rather than work a sixty-hour work week is perverse. A major problem in this country is the employer who belittles employees who do not work more than forty hours a week. The employees who work ten- and twelve-hour days keep healthcare providers busy. They tend to have insomnia, headaches, high cholesterol, hypertension, anxiety disorders, depression, and problems with substance abuse.

Kansas couple gives fundamentalist meaning to multi-tasking

They beat their kids with a Bible.

Why Hastert may be up to his neck in it

Think Progress breaks it down for you.

A post-Katrina poem

I love this poem.

French Open begins Sunday

Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine upset top qualifying seed Romina Oprandi and will compete in the French Open

The French Open is beginning a day early this year, I suppose as a hedge against rain days. First up is Maria Sharapova, who re-injured her ankle and asked the tournament officials to re-schedule her match so she could give her foot a rest. The tournament officials refused, and she may withdraw. If she does, Mashona Washington will get an easy walkover to the second round.

Kim Clijsters, a contender for the title, is also injured, though she says the injury is slight. Mary Pierce, last year's finalist, has already withdrawn because of injury, as has Lindsay Davenport.

Romina Oprandi, the talented Italian up-and-comer who stole the show at the Italian Open and made it all the way to the quarterfinals where she was lost a very close match, was seeded number one among those trying to qualify for the French Open, but she was upset in her final qualifying round by Ukraine's Julia Vakulenko. I think Oprandi may still get in, however, as a lucky loser. Vakulenko's career was stalled by problems with depression, but she appears to be back in form.

A must-read in Harper's

When Lewis H. Lapham resigned as editor of Harper's and said he would be writing the "Notebook" column just six times a year, I was disappointed. However, the June issue has a "Notebook" written by Harper's literary editor, Ben Metcalf, and it is so wonderful, I have already read it twice. "On Simple Human Decency" is funny, outrageous, relevant, and terribly clever. Don't miss it.

French Open Memories--20 Years of Finals

This wonderful feature on the 2006 French Open website actually gives you 21 years of finals. Unlike other Grand Slam videos, these are not quick moments, but in-depth looks at the last games of French Open finals.

Court of Appeals upholds unconstitutionality of Patriot Act's National Security Letter provision

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday on two challenges to the National Security Letter provision of the USA Patriot Act filed by the American Civil Liberties Uniion. Two different lower courts found the provision to be unconstitutional, and the ACLU argued that recent amendments to the law have made it even less democratic.

(Continue reading at MoJo Blog)

Pataki's office gives money to foie gras producers

The foie gras news may be good from Chicago, but in New York, the governor's attitude is more French. Governor George Pataki's Economic Development Agency has awarded a $420,000 grant to Hudson Valley Foie Gras so that it can expand its business.

All factory farm practices are cruel and barbaric, and the making of foie gras is especially sickening. Ducks are confined to dirty cages and constantly force-fed gruel until their livers are enlarged by up to ten times their original size. A metal pipe is forced down the ducks' throats, often resulting in bruising, lacerations, pneumonia, and and impacted esophagi. The ducks become so obese they can hardly move, which results in their developing infectious sores. About the time death is near, the ducks are slaughtered.

A Zogby poll revealed that 78% of New Yorkers want foie gras production banned.

Iraqi national tennis coach and team members murdered for wearing shorts

The coach of the Iraqi national tennis team and two of his players were murdered Thursday because they were wearing western-style tennis shorts. Hussein Ahmed Rashid and his team members were shot in the head. Fundamentalists have been distributing leaflets in the area, warning people not to wear shorts.

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza, a WTA rising star, had a fatwa issued against her in September of last year because of her tennis skirts and T-shirts.

Friday cat blogging--TGIF edition

Halliburton to score again

The millions and millions poured into George W. Bush's presidential campaigns were investments made on a sure thing. And as if the riches of the war in Iraq are not enough, now we learn that one of the companies expected to clean up (pun intended) from increased U.S. border control is Halliburton. Another, not surprisingly, is Bechtel. Billions of dollars worth of infrastructure, constuction, and contract management goodies are expected to go to the two giant companies.

Halliburton, you will recall, lost $9 billion in Iraq, but no one seemed to mind. In fact, the Department of Defense stopped monitoring spending in Iraq in 2004.

Vegan women not prone to having twins

Women who consume animal products, especially dairy, are five times more likely than vegan women to give birth to twins.

Baghdad described as lacking fundamental services and utilities

Three years after the United States invaded Iraq, Baghdad is still lacking basic services for its citizens. Water treatment plants that were to have been repaired after the war meet 60% of the city's needs, and the sewerage pipes are clogged with garbage. During the past six months, more than 300 garbage collectors have been killed, and people are tossing their garbage into the streets.

(Continue reading at MoJo Blog)

September 11 takes on new meaning

It seems fitting that September 11, the terrible day in our history that has been hijacked by fake patriots, will be the day that Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling are sentenced for their multiple crimes against Americans. Lay and Skilling perfectly represent the values of this White House--deceptive and greedy to the core.

Now is also a good time to remember that Gray Davis was right.

And it is a good time to remember the kept-under-wraps story that Arnold Schwarzenegger met with Lay and his associates in a hotel room in California.

Boy in dress banned from his prom

This is Kevin Logan. Kevin, 18, is a student at West Side High School in Gary, Indiana, and all year long, he has worn makeup, women's accessories, and women's jeans to school. So imagine his surprise when he arrived at his prom and was told he could not stay because of the gown he was wearing. Logan received a refund for his prom ticket, but is considering contacting the ACLU about his being barred from his own prom.

A Gary school system official says that Logan was not allowed to attend his prom because of a rule prohibiting males from wearing dresses.

ACLU adviser at school removed from her teaching post

Officials at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee have refused to give chemistry teacher Dr. Patricia Kilzer a reason for not renewing her contract, but you don't have to be a genius to figure it out for yourself. Kilzer was the faculty advisor for Munford High's new ACLU chapter, and the school was recently in the news when the ACLU informed the administration that it could not go forward with the prayers it had planned for the graduation ceremonies. Instead, the students "spontaneously" recited the Lord's Prayer when instructed to take a moment for reflection.

Just around the corner--the French Open!

Defending French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne practices

The French Open, my favorite Grand Slam, begins May 28, and I can't wait. The women's field is wide open this year, with bookmakers giving the first nod to defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, followed by Kim Clijsters, Nadia Petrova, and Amelie Mauresmo.

Henin-Hardenne does stand a good chance of defending her title. She is one of the best clay players the WTA has seen since the mighty Chris Evert went on a 125-match clay court tear many years ago. But Henin-Hardenne has vulnerabilities. Her serve has been pretty shaky since her comeback from illness. And at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Patty Schnyder brilliantly broke Henin-Hardenne's game down (for the first time), by not avoiding the deadly Henin-Hardenne backhand. Instead, Schnyder served extremely well (she is one of the best servers on the tour) and took control of the rallies, hitting relentlessly to Henin-Hardenne's backhand and patiently forcing the error.

Clijsters could certainly win the French Open; she is a fine clay court player. But Clijsters can be streaky, so who knows? Mauresmo has plenty of beautiful clay court game, but she has always been way too intimidated by French expectations to do that well at Roland Garros. However, since she won the 2005 WTA Tour Championships and then went on to win the 2006 Australian Open, Mauresmo has picked up some badly needed confidence and should be a serious contender at the French Open.

Petrova is red-hot and it is easy to imagine her winning at Roland Garros. Long considered to be the most talented of the Russians, she was such a head case she couldn't even win a tournament for years. All that has changed, and how. Petrova has been burning up the clay courts, winning back-to-back at Amelia Island and Charleston, and also winning the German Open.

The bookmakers place Martina Hingis at number five. Though she doesn't say so, everyone knows how badly Hingis wants to win the French Open and get her career slam. It is the Grand Slam she was always the most likely to win, and the one she never did win. She just won the Italian Open, which is a really nice way to slide into Roland Garros. Her chances are good; her game is still one of the best.

Others to be considered are Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Patty Schnyder, and Mary Pierce, last year's finalist. Kuznetsova is pretty good on clay, but I don't see her going all the way. Dementieva is great on all surfaces but has such problems with her serve, it's a wonder she gets as far as she does. Bad serve or not (Hingis's serve isn't too hot, either), I still see Dementieva winning a Slam at some point--she has been a finalist twice--and this year's French Open isn't out of the question.

Schnyder's game is made for clay. It's beautiful and often brilliant, but Schnyder struggles terribly with confidence. When she's on a roll, she can beat anyone on the tour on any surface except, perhaps, grass. But when her belief in herself gets shaky, she can't deliver. She has been in so many Tier I finals and semi-finals, but she has trouble completing the big task. I'd love to see Patty win the French Open, but given her mental fragility, it just isn't likely to happen.

Mary Pierce has been out for weeks with an injury, so even if she makes it to Paris, she won't be in any shape to be a serious competitor. Maria Sharapova has yet to master the clay surface, and anyway, she isn't sure she will be at the French Open, also because of an injury. Lindsay Davenport, who has never even hoped to win the French Open, has already withdrawn because of her back. That leaves Venus Williams, who is always dangerous, but I don't see her getting into the finals.

A conversation that made no sense

I went to see my dentist recently, and I had a tech who was different from the one I usually have. We talked about this and that, and the subject of vegertarianism came up. She said she had a vegan friend and he makes the healthiest food of anyone she knew. We talked for a while about different diets and about organic food. Later, the subject of Boulder, Colorado came up. She said she had been there once, and she felt a lot of people were offended by her because she was wearing a leather jacket.

"You know the kind of people I'm talking about," she said. "Those animal rights people who are such extremists."

I told her I was against the wearing of leather, and if that made me "one of those people," so be it. That really threw her, and she started backing out of the statement, saying "well, I was very young at the time."

I asked her why it would be not extremist to spare animals and/or prevent cruelty to animals by not eating them, but extremist to spare animals and/or prevent cruelty to animals by not wearing their skins. Her reasoning made no sense at all, and sure enough--she had no answer for me.

Zogby poll shows interest in new Septmber 11 investigation

A recent Zogby poll found that over 70 million Americans distrust the official explanation of the September 11 attacks. 42% believe there has been some kind of coverup; 45% believe that Congress on an international tribunal should investigate the attacks again.

(Continue reading at MoJo Blog)

I am sick to death of Al Gore and John Kerry

They had their chances to do something besides just stand there, and they just stood there. It is a little late for them to become rhetorical heroes.

Everyone can breathe easy now

George W. Bush says we are doing a pretty good job of "stopping the suiciders."

What it means to be a "Christian" nation

As of right now, 51% of people taking an MSNBC poll say they would support separating a U.S.-born child from her illigal immigrant parents.

Who voted against the PETS Act?

When the House of Representatives passed the PETS Act, there were 349 in favor of it and 60 members who did not vote. Here are the 24 Congresswomen and -men who voted against the bill--I think we should all know who they are:

Berry
Blackburn
Buyer
Feeney
Flake
Garrett (NJ)
Gohmert
King (IA)
McHenry
Miller (FL)
MI (MI)
Neugebauer
Norwood
Paul
Pitts
Poe
Putnam
Shadegg
Sodrel
Trancredo
Terry
Tiahrt
Wamp
Westmoreland

PETS Act passes House

The Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives today. The PETS Act would require that pets and service animals be considered in any emergency preparedness plans. It passed 349-24 and is now headed to the U.S. Senate.

About 600,000 animals either died or were left without shelter after Hurricane Katrina.

What is outrageous is that only now is the government considering the rescue of animals.

Prisoners, absolved of charges, still at Guantanamo

Since the opening of the Grantanamo prison, 38 of the 759 prisoners have been deemed "no longer enemy combatants." Right now there are four men at Guantanamo who have been cleared of all charges, but who have no idea when they will be released.

(Continue reading at MoJo Blog)

Another mission accomplished

The U.S.-led coalition had what is being described as a "successful operation" in southern Afghanistan last night, killing anywhere from 20 to 80 (not too clear, is it?) members of the Taliban. Oh, and in bombing the village, the coalition killed 16 civilians and wounded 15 more, some of them children.

Just when you think flying has reached an all-time low...

Today I had lunch with a friend who had just returned from Washington, DC. She had the misfortune of being on the same plane as Chris Matthews, and said that he was busy telling everyone who would listen that the nation does not want New Orleans to be re-built.

He gave it a rest now and then, however, and did a very careful visual inspection of every woman who passed by.

Katrina timeline

I meant to post this several days ago: The New Orleans Times-Picayune has an excellent hurricane timeline on its website.

Katrina death toll in Louisiana continues to rise

The human death toll of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana is now 1,577, but that does not include those people who died in other states because of heart attacks and other stress-related problems.

She's back!...Hingis wins the Italian Open!

Today in Rome, unseeded Martina Hingis defeated 16th seed Dinara Safina, 6-2, 7-5 to win the 2006 Italian Open. Since she made her comeback from 3 1/2 years of retirement, this is the first tournament Hingis has won, and it is a Tier 1 tournament, making her win even more special.

Safina provided a lot of the drama leading up to today's final. During the week, she swatted the world's top players--Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova--like flies, and put herself into the unlikely spot of being a Tier 1 finalist. Considering what she went through to get to the final, I feel bad for her; a Tier 1 win would be a major step in Safina's career. But I've been waiting for Hingis to win a big one, and I join thousands of fans in being very excited that she was the winner today.

So great is the excitement that Hingis's victory has crashed the official Sony Ericsson WTA Tour site. And that is how it should be.

Hingis served for the match at 5-4, but could not close. Those who saw the match said she was visibly nervous trying to close, and indeed, she did not do so until her fourth match point.

In her Rome semifinal, Hingis defeated Venus Williams, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3. This was a re-match of the Hingis's last Italian Open win, in 1998. She said her terrible start did not keep her from thinking she could win the match. "At least I was still fresh," she said, "that's the upside of losing a set 6-0." She went on to say that she felt like she was putting pressure on Williams, and that "she wasn't killing me."

That is a champion's mentality. Now, if Hingis can find a way to get a champion's serve...

Nothing, not even the post-Katrina election, can overcome ignorance

Last night I listened to an analyst explain how Ray Nagin was able to get enough of the white vote to win the New Orleans mayoral election. The majority of white people ages 30 to 55 voted for Mitch Landrieu. However, a substantial number of white voters over 55 voted for Nagin because when they hear the name "Landrieu," they think "liberal," "like Ted Kennedy.

If these people had ever bothered to pay even the slightest bit of attention to Sen. Mary Landrieu's voting record, they would see one of the most conservative Congresspeople on the Democratic side. If it weren't so pitiful, I'd fall down laughing.

It gets even worse when you factor in the under-30 white voters. They had a tendency to vote for Nagin because "they like his swagger" and "think he's hip."

I am all for people voting for a candidate based on his qualifications and not his skin color. But to vote for him because you are totally ignorant of his opponent's sister's voting record or because you like the way he walks--well, what can I say?

Nagin ushers in second term

Mayor Ray Nagin won re-election in New Orleans tonight, and at the beginning of this acceptance speech, he said "I'm not going to get in any trouble tonight," a reference to his propensity to say things that upset people. He then proceeded to thank George W. Bush for "keeping his promises." Then he mispronounced the name of the governor of Louisiana. And he ended by comparing his opponent's supporters to people who frequent prostitutes: "You went over to the red light district, but I forgive you."

When a reporter asked him if he was worried about the onset of hurricane season, he said he was not because he felt New Orleans was going to be spared.

Welcome to the second term.

Talk about "everyone's a critic"

I am embarrassed to say that I am not nearly as well read as I wish I were, which is to say, I am not very well-read. I was when I was a child and an adolescent. Then, I read voraciously, with few distractions. Unfortunately, I have forgotten most of what I read then, except for some impressions. I suppose that is true of everyone.

Because I am shamefully under-read (I won't embarrass myself by giving details), I could not begin to say what the world's greatest novels are, but I can say with certainty that Virginia Woolf's novels are among the greatest--if not the greatest--novels I have ever read. This afternoon, while searching for something on the Web, I stumbled onto something so shocking, I thought I'd share it. Some reviewers, two perhaps, who call themselves the Brothers Judd, read books and grade them A through F. The reader of To the Lighthouse gave it an F.

Okay, I read a bunch of criticism to figure out why this book is on the list, never mind why it's so high on the list. As one would expect, the critics are awash in psychoblither. But there's one thing I didn't see, and it's the obvious one, Virginia Woolf was consumed by penis envy. What the hell else could the title of the freakin' book mean?

It goes downhill from there.

I think I'm going to put up a website to review international aeronautics projects, of which I am totally and pathetically ignorant.

Watch this space

A wren has built her nest inside this fern container that hangs on the wall in our back porch garden. We are going to just let the fern die so that we won't disturb anything by watering.

Florida sued over voter registration law

A law passed in Florida last year that fines nonpartisan voter registration activities under certain circumstances, is being challenged in U.S. District Court by the League of Women Voters and several other nonpartisan organizations. The law has forced the League and similar groups to discontinue all voter registration drives, while permitting partisan groups to hold such drives.

(Continue reading at MoJo Blog)

The wretched Giuliani becomes even slimier

From Pandagon comes the not-surprising news that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who lost every one of the twenty-something civil liberties cases filed against him during his term in office, is raising money for fellow slimeball Ralph Reed. Not only is Reed a dangerous right-wing nutcase, but he is also part of the great Abramoff web of greed and scandal.

THIS is the problem with America

Nowhere have I seen such a crystalline example of what is wrong with this country as I saw yesterday in a post at delagar. Delagar, a university professor, describes her experience teaching Shaw's Major Barbara, and it is heartbreaking and maddening to read. Most of the students did not even bother to read the play. Many of them told her they were not interested in Shaw because he was a communist. Shaw was not a communist; he was a socialist, a distinction that is apparently lost on these university students. And even if he were a communist (though I imagine being a socialist is considered just as evil in this crowd), what could that possibly have to do with reading an assigned play?

Delagar gave the students back the essays she had assigned and told them to do revisions. She may as well have told them to take off their clothes and set fire to them, from the reaction she got. Most of them refused to revise their papers, and the few who did the revisions continued to attack the playwrite based on what they (incorrectly) perceived were his politics.

At this point, as you can see in the original post, the professor explained to the students that Shaw favored things like a minimum wage and social security, and they attacked that, too, because it sounded like--you guessed it--communism.

I cut my teeth on Shaw when I was a girl, delighting in his famous plays, like Major Barbara and Pygmalian, but also thoroughly enjoying his lesser known one-acts plays. Shaw, in addition to being a great wit and an astute observer of the socio-political scene, was also a vegetarian and a feminist. I imagine those things are communist, too, to the students in that classroom, though I doubt if any of them could present even a reasonable definition of communism.

Consider that these students do not know the difference between communism and socialism. Consider that they obviously have no idea what communism is. Consider that most of them did not read the assigned play, and that most of them refused to revise their essays, even though revision was an assignment. What in hell are they doing in a university? Talk about a waste of taxpayers' money, not to mention a waste of space and oxygen. How did they even get into a university?

These students represent the deep flaw in America. Not only do they refuse to do assigned work, but they have a revulsion to learning. A revulsion to learning is what is evil, not communism. Taking a twisted pride in one's ignorance is evil, not socialism. There is no doubt in my mind that the parents of these students have taught them to rail against the welfare system as a handout to people who are too lazy to work. If these students had a clue what the word "irony" means, they would be able to appreciate the irony that it is they who are lazy and refusing to work, and those of us who pay taxes are giving them a handout so they can resist any force that might remove their ignorance.

It's a very good idea to have a GPS

When traveling in Baltimore.

Friday cat blogging--I'll follow the sun, part 2

Lone Baghdad mortuary unable to handle all of the civilian corpses

Baghdad has only one mortuary, and the staff there was able to release bodies in about five hours, prior to the war. Now, there is not only a dramatic increase in the number of dead bodies being brought to the morgue, the nature of their wounds is such that exams can take many hours or even days to complete. Dr. Fa'aq Ameen, director of the health ministry's Forensic Medicine Institute, also cites lack of storage space and a shortage of doctors as problems at the Baghdad mortuary.

(Continue reading at MoJo Blog)

Memo to Ed Schultz

Susan Sarandon is not just a "Hollywood actress." She is a known and respected liberal activist, and if she wants to endorse a candidate, she has every right to. The fact that Fox News will have a field day with the story is irrelevant; none of its listeners is going to vote for either Clinton or Tasini for senator. Grow a spine.

Every day, I find it harder to listen to so-called progressive radio.

A new lawsuit is filed over the closing of Newcomb College

You will recall that the lawsuit filed in federal court over the impending closing of Newcomb College was dismissed by the judge for two reasons: that the people bringing the suit had no standing to bring it, and that Josephine Newcomb's wishes were subject to many interpretations (meaning that an actual women's college does not have to exist).

Now a suit has been filed in state court in Louisiana, and at least one of the federal judge's objections has been taken care of: The suit was filed by Josephine Newcomb's heirs. Both plaintiffs are descendents of Newcomb's sister.

Many of us are hoping that this suit will have a different outcome. Newcomb is scheduled to be shut down forever at the end of June.

Pit bull owners try to use chickens for bait

Phyllis, Eileen, Diane, and Agnes are four lucky chickens that were rescued in New York City by a Farm Sanctuary staff member. The chickens were in a box tied up with string, and were about to be released as "bait" to train pit bulls to fight. When the Farm Sanctuary employee confronted the men with the dogs, they became verbally abusive and tried to break her phone when she attempted to call the police. In the end, they left, and the woman was able to gather the chickens. Phyllis, Eileen, Diane, and Agnes are now at Farm Sanctuary's New York shelter, where they are eating, drinking, receiving treatment for parasites, and thriving.

Where your eggs come from

Wegmans Egg Farm in Rochester, New York claims that "We are proud of our egg farm." That statement is both sickening and astounding, considering that Wegmans, like all factor farm egg producers in this country, uses battery cages for its hens. The conditions in which the hens live (I use the term very loosely) are obscene and horrific.

Adam Durand, the Compassionate Consumers advocate who blew the whistle on Wegmans, is now on his way to serve a six-month jail sentence for trespassing. The sentence came as a request from Wegmans; the county prosecutor asked for community service. The judge called Durand "arrogant" and "self-righteous" during the sentencing, as if extreme animal cruelty could be seen from another point of view.

You can help in two ways. You can write to the District Attorney and the presiding County Court Judge (the addresses are here.) And you can stop eating factory farm eggs. Factory farm eggs, like factory farm meat, are put on your plate by people who are not at all concerned with how much the animals suffer--and they suffer a whole lot, every moment of their lives.

But do not be misled by so-called "free range" chicken eggs you see in the grocery store. Many of them provide battery cages that are only slightly larger than the ones at Wegmans, and the U.S. government allows them to lie and say they have free range chickens. If you do not have a place where you can buy yard eggs, then call or email the farm that produces the "free range" chicken eggs and ask if the hens are caged. If the answer is "yes," then you will have to go to Plan B, which is to buy an egg substitute.

Mary Cheney outdoes herself

A visit to Pam's House Blend always revs up my blood pressure. I feel compelled to share this gem Pam dug up on why Mary Cheney did not comment on same sex marriage during the 2004 presidential campaign:

I never really was trying to be this mysterious figure. During both campaigns, I was rather busy trying to get my job done. There was a flood of phone calls that Heather and I got from reporters. My reaction was, I have other things to worry about.

Honey, buy yourself an organizer.

Formerly silent Judith Miller now telling interesting tale

In an interview with AlterNet, former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who spent 85 days in jail for refusing to divulge her source in the Plame case, tells an interesting--and ignored--story about September 11, 2001.

Miller, who worked for years on terrorism-related stories, was working on a special project in 2000 and 2001--describing and analyzing al Qaida. When the USS Cole was attacked, Miller believed that al Qaida was responsible. There was some concern that there might be an attack on the U.S. on July 4, 2001, and Miller describes two government agencies at odds about the potential attacker: The intelligence experts did not think that al Qaida posed much of a threat, but the counter-terrorism experts believed otherwise. Miller says that the White House tended to label the counter-terrrorism crowd as "extremist."

That July 4th weekend, Miller says she spoke with a source who told her about an intercept that had been picked up. The people having the conversation--two members of al Qaida--were disappointed because the U.S. had not chosen to retaliate more seriously against the attack on the USS Cole. One then said "Don't worry; we're planning something so big now that the U.S. will have to respond."

Those who remember hearing about this incident a few years ago recall that Miller's story never ran in the Times. She presented the idea to her editor, they both agreed that more details were needed, and Miller was never able to get those details. She was not only very busy with other projects, but she ran into a wall every time she tried to pin down details.

The AlterNet interview focuses on what would have happened if the Times had run the story without the details that were missing. But a more important consideration is the lingering question of why the government did not or could not pursue the details of the conversation between the al Qaida members. The conflict and confusion among various government agencies--laid out clearly in Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies--made it impossible for the nation to be prepared for a major terrorist attack. I haven't noticed any decrease in that conflict and confusion.

New Orleans bumper sticker literature

For some time, a popular New Orleans bumper sticker has said New Orleans, Proud To Call Home. Eventually, someone riffed on that and distributed what became my very favorite bumper sticker: New Orleans, Proud To Crawl Home. Now someone has riffed on that and produced New Orleans, Proud To Swim Home.

But I wasn't ready for what I saw yesterday: a beautiful gray south-to-northshore commuter bus with a bumper sticker that said New Orleans, What A City. Oy.