Brownwood Cyber-Landmark Falls Off the Edge?

For quite a few years now I've spent time and effort daily on the CityofBrownwood website. It provided a lot of us an outlet for expressing strong attitudes on politics, war, religion, local resturants, you name it--we commented on it. My comment count alone bordered on insanity.

It looks like the site has bit the dust. We all knew that one day we would hop on the net, steer our way to the site and google would report it gone. That time came today. It's kind of like we all died without being able to say good-bye.

Hez, MiguelSilver, Conscience, Old Army, Redeemed, Sweety Tweety, Thunderstruck, Plain Old Me, Terragar, Juss Me, Pax--all of you: Thanks for the memories. I'll miss you.

Love, Yellowdog

At least it was with a woman...

I hate to jump to conclusions, but it really looks like the John Edwards story of an affair and resulting love-child is true. It explains why he dropped out of the race and didn't back another candidate. I'm so disappointed. It is especially sad because Edwards' wife Elizabeth has cancer and they have small children. No one who suffers from cancer should have to deal with such a betrayal. Democrats are not perfect. We acknowledge our human-ness. The difference between us and Republicans is that we don't pretend to be.

This story is going to be BIG news for a long time. I hope it won't taint Barack Obama's chances. He has worked too hard for too long and America needs him.

As Close As We'll Ever Get to Impeaching GWB

C-SPAN radio and C-SPAN television at 9:00 am House Judiciary Committee

LIVE House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations

Who: Panel One The Honorable Dennis Kucinich, Representative from Ohio The Honorable Maurice Hinchey, Representative from New York The Honorable Walter Jones, Representative from North Carolina The Honorable Brad Miller, Representative from North Carolina Panel Two Bruce Fein, Associate Deputy Attorney General, 1981-82, Chairman, American Freedom Agenda The Honorable Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson, Founder and President, High Roads for Human Rights The Honorable Elizabeth Holtzman, Former Representative from New York The Honorable Bob Barr, Former Representative from Georgia, 2008 Libertarian Nominee for President Vincent Bugliosi, Author and former Los Angeles County Prosecutor Elliott Adams, President of the Board, Veterans for Peace Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr., Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law Stephen Presser, Raoul Berger Professor of Legal History, Northwestern University School of Law Jeremy A. Rabkin, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law

This oil is drilling me

Obama needs to study at the feet of Al Gore when he establishes a national energy policy. (I'm assuming Barack will soon be president.) We are witnessing the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. Its death throes will either be a tremendous opportunity or a calamitous disaster.

As usual, Republicans are clamoring for more drilling offshore and in ANWR, our last pristine wilderness. There are good economic and environmental reasons for the offshore drilling ban. And polluting our wilderness areas seems unAmerican.

And for what purpose? To cling to a great source of pollution and primary manmade cause of global warming? Times are about to change. We are on the verge of a tremendous revolution in clean, renewable energy sources. It's coming. There's no stopping it.

Drilling offshore and in wilderness areas will not make an ounce of difference to the price of gasoline. The Democratic President and Congress need to lead the way into the exciting new future of wind. solar, and geothermal energy production. More drilling for ever more expensive oil is not the answer.

But the very first thing Obama should do is push for higher fuel economy standards. According to research done by the Union of Concerned Scientists, increasing our federal standards to over 40 mpg by 2015 and 55 mpg by 2025 would save 3 times more oil by 2025 than could be recovered by drilling in ANWR.

Please God, we need an intelligent president.

YIKES!!!

I took a few days off from the surreal world of television, radio, newspaper, even my mail. Spent time with friends and family on a little vacation. It was great and much needed. Shortly after arriving back home, I made the mistake of turning on the television to catch up on the "news." My GOD!!!!! What a bunch of blabbing, empty-headed nonsense. You'd think that the only thing happening in this entire world is the upcoming presidential election in the USA. And even worse, they don't even report on the issues vital to our survival as a nation--the money-pit in Iraq, the precarious condition of our banking system, the thousands upon thousands of people who will be kicked out of their homes because of their inability to pay their mortgages, our broken health care system, sky-high gas prices, etc.....

I need a vacation.

Sometimes It Seems Like We Have All Gone MAD!

Today the US terrorism watch list tops 1 million names. The euro is worth a $1.60 against the dollar. More banks look like they are in BIG trouble. Bush has the audacity to blame the Democrats for the price of gasoline. While most Americans don't seem to even understand reality, the New Yorker magazine cover presents Michelle and Barack Obama in a Alfred E Newman style spoof as Muslim terrorists living in the White House.

Who Does He Think He's Kidding?

John McCain was heard recently complaining about the July 4th recess. He said congress hasn't done enough and that they should have remained in Washington to get more things accomplished. Here's the rub, John McCain has missed more votes than any other Senator--356 to be exact!

A Big Week

This from Propublica:

Tuesday, July 8
The Government Accountability Office releases a report on road construction in Afghanistan. President George W. Bush enacted the Afghanistan Road Initiative in 2002.

Wednesday, July 9
9:30 a.m. -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing on oversight at the Department of Justice. Mukasey will most likely be questioned about the recent inspector general's report that revealed politically biased hiring practices at the department.
10 a.m. -- Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hosts its second hearing on the FEMA trailers used for Katrina evacuees that had toxic levels of formaldehyde. The committee has called trailer manufacturers to testify. In the first hearing a year ago, several evacuees described (video) illnesses they developed after living in FEMA trailers.
2 p.m. -- Charles M. Smith, who last month said he was forced from his Army post overseeing contracting in Iraq in 2004 after he threatened to withhold $1 billion in questionable payments to contractor KBR, will speak to the Democratic Policy Committee. After Smith was replaced, the Army continued to pay KBR without penalty.

Thursday, July 10
10 a.m. -- The House Judiciary Committee holds its hearing on politicization at the Department of Justice. Not appearing: former White House adviser Karl Rove, who has refused to testify despite a subpoena from the committee. The committee had planned to question him about his involvement in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the prosecution of former Alabama Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman.
2 p.m. -- The future of the controversial Air Force aerial tanker contract is front and center at the House Armed Services Committee. The Air Force initially awarded the $35 billion contract to Northrop Grumman over Boeing, but a GAO report released in June concluded major errors had been made in the decision. Several lawmakers have called for the contract to be reopened.