Nonesuch #62

Bloggers Fight Government Regulation

Nonesuch #61 - Keep on Rockin in Canada

Neil Young will mark his return on stage by performing at Canada's Live 8 concert Saturday, three months after he was treated for a brain aneurysm.

Live 8

Nonesuch #60 - Irony of the Day

According to at least 5 of the Hostages that were taken by students in Iran in 1979, the newly elected leader of Iran was one of their captors. This number has grown since I first read this story this morning. As Springer was just saying, how in the world did our goverment miss this one? And I believe these former Hostages, in that type of situation, you do not forget faces or voices.

The 5

Nonesuch #59

Update from yesterday's post.

1. I did make 50th last night in World of Warcraft. It was most anti-climatic. But, it is done. Only 10 more levels to go till endgame.


2. Some bands to add to the Greatest American Rock and Roll band list:


Bob Dylan
The Replacements
Wilco
Prince
Jane's Addiction
The Doors

Just realized that 3 out of the 6 I just listed are from Minnesota.

Nonesuch #58 - Things I am thinking about today

1. Just who is the best American Rock and Roll Band?
The Greatest
Many bands come to my mind:


R.E.M.
Grateful Dead
Pavement
Sonic Youth
Yo La Tengo
Frank Zappa

And I could go on....Not even sure if such a question can be answered. What about Elvis? Where does he belong? He crossed all sections of music areas: rock and roll, gospel, country.

2.Why oh why would "W" quote Osama Bin Ladin in his televised speech last night?

Hear the words of Osama Bin Laden: "This Third World War is raging" in Iraq. "The whole world is watching this war." He says it will end in "victory and glory, or misery and humiliation."

And why am I doing the same? I have no idea on either account.


3. Will I make 50th level this evening on World of Warcraft? Details at 11.

4. "Value of Property"

Nonesuch#57 - Muppets on Parade

Miss Piggy goes for new image with new hair color.

Miss Piggy

Statler and Waldorf - From the Balcony
In a bold move, movies.com has hired The Muppets' Statler and Waldorf to review trailers for their website. Click below for their review of 'War of the Worlds' and their Balconism on 'Bewitched'

"From the Balcony"

Nonesuch #56 - PBS cuts plan rescinded

PBS cuts plan rescinded
The House on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected $100 million in proposed cuts for public television and radio stations. The cut would have been nearly a quarter of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's budget.
PBS - USA Today

Pat Mitchell PBS CEO

This not a total victory. $80 million will not be provided for upgrades to digital signal and other upgrades. Also, the Ready to Learn program, a preschool partnership with the Department of Education, remains unfunded. As the move to digital signal is goverment mandated this will put the public stations even further behind in the crossover which could be used against the CPB in the future to deny futher funding.

In related news, the CPB named Patricia Harrison, a former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee, as its new president and CEO.

The appointment comes as political controversy churns around CPB chairman Kenneth Tomlinson, who has said he considers PBS programs too liberal. A CPB inspector-general is investigating Tomlinson for hiring a researcher to monitor Now, which was hosted by Bill Moyers, for political bias. Democrats called for President Bush to fire Tomlinson; a White House spokesman said the president stands by him. - From USATODAY.com

Nonesuch #55

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Advocates of rewriting the USA Patriot Act are claiming momentum after the House, despite a White House veto threat, voted to restrict investigators from using the anti-terrorism law to peek at library records and bookstore sales slips.

For more info see: patriot act


This is a victory for our freedom to read what we want and not have the fear of a potential "Big Brother" coming behind us to check on our reading lists. Even when "W" vetoes this, which he says he will, just knowing that there are Democrats and Republicans who wants to see these parts of the Patriot act "sunset" shows a little bit of light coming out of the darkness.

Nonesuch #54 Can you tell me how to get...

Information taken from moveon.org:

A House panel has voted to eliminate all public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.

The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year—$100 million—and end funding altogether within two years. The loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur," and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.

Tomorrow, the House Appropriations Committee will decide whether to approve these severe cuts to NPR and PBS.

For more information on this and to sign a petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS:
http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/?t=1





From an email from UNC-TV, North Carolina's public television station:

Recently, a key subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to reduce federal funding for public broadcasting by 45 percent. If the full Congress approves this action it will reduce UNC-TV's general operating budget by a minimum of $750,000 next year, and will also eliminate $60,000 that funds UNC-TV's Ready to Learn program activities. This will result in a significant reduction in UNC-TV's programs and services for the people of North Carolina, including key services for teachers and children.

Some in Congress say there is no longer a need to support public broadcasting. Others believe it is one of the worthiest places to invest federal funds. We hope you will express your opinion to your Representative and Senators on this issue, one way or the other.

For more information on how to contact them just click this link for more information:


APTS Action

Nonesuch #53

There was a story on ABC's This Week With George Stephanopolis, Rep Walter Jones, Congressman of the 3rd district in NC announced that he would move forth legislation to create a withdrawel plan from Iraq including a set date for all the troops to be withdraw.
Jones is the man who coined the phrase 'Freedom Fries' and asked for all mentions of french fries be changed in and around Capitol Hill.
It goes to show that given the facts, figures, the evidence of no plan concerning the War in Iraq and the continued deaths of our troops, even the staunchest supporters of both the War and "W" can change their minds.

Nonesuch #52

Great news. My fiance's car was found not long after she reported it missing. It was about two blocks from her apartment at a pool hall. The ignition column was destroyed but everything that was in her care was still there and no other problems were found with the car. She will have to get the column fixed but other than that, everything is in order and she has her car back and she is ok and that is the most important part. Her co-workers took her to lunch and her boss took her to dinner. At least, as she said, she celebrated her birthday somewhat. We are goin to meet next weekend at her parent's for our celebration. The police say that it was probably a drug dea, the folks needed a car so they took hers. The police also said that theives do not usually take the same care twice so she more than likely will not have this happen again.

Nonesuch #51

My fiance's car was stolen sometime last night. She went out to go to work this morning and it was gone. She called the police and made a report and they are looking for her car. The thing is, her car is a 1986 or 88 Toyota with no paint job and could barely make it anywhere very far at all. She joked that she hopes it is on the side of the Interstate broken down or out of gas. There were so many better cars at her apartments that could have been taken, why hers? Mind you this took place almost a month to the day I had my wallet stolen. Let's hope it shows up in the ditch just as my wallet was found. She looking into get a rental car through her insurance.
And today is her birthday...

Nonesuch #50

Poll: U.S. Not Safer Because Of Iraq War

A Washington Post-ABC news poll said more than half of Americans think the fight has not made the United States any safer.

Fifty-two percent said the war has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States, while 47 percent disagree.

At a time when Washington is shifting attention to Social Security and other home front issues, the survey finds that Iraq still ranks second only to the economy in the minds of Americans, many of whom are losing patience.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans said there are too many casualties, and nearly six in 10 say the war is not worth fighting. The pollsters report that matches or exceeds the highest levels of pessimism recorded so far.

More than four in 10 said the war reminds them of Vietnam.


Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Nonesuch #49 Smoke'm if you got'em

"The Supreme Court has outlawed the use of marijuana for medical
reasons, saying the federal ban on the substance trumps state laws."

Will this start a new round of State's Rights arguments? I do not see California and the other 10 states that have passed medical marijuana use laws being too happy with this "decision".

What is more important is folks that only marijuana can alleviate their pain due to MS or cancer or AIDS or chronic pain syndrom(s), what are they going to do? Will our prisons start to overflow with these patients as they will once again be breaking the law just so they can have a few minutes of painless existance?

Nonesuch #48 - Oh I wish I was an Oscar Meyer weiner

One man's attempt to eat 60 hot dogs in 5 days is a success!
Personally, I think this would not be a big deal. 12 hot dogs a day for 5 days, that is 4 hot dogs at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think I could do it and I may just try it sometime in the future. Its not that I want to surpass what this guy has done, just that I think I can do it. I wonder if afterwards I would be tired of hot dogs?
Below is a link to his blog giving an account of the harrowing 5 days.
He ended up eating 64 hot dogs.

Hot Dog Blog

Nonesuch #47

I just lost an entire new posting. I hate when I do things like that. At first I think I will try to re-type what I was working on but it just doesn't feel right, hard to explain. I guess I will attempt it anyway.

Another D&D weekend. We had a good time as we always do but it is not the same as it used to be. We used to play almost all of the weekend from Friday evening to sometime Sunday afternoon but now that is no longer how it is. We start Saturday morning as folk's schedules do not allow us to begin Friday. We play all day stopping only for a big meal. Sometimes we order in, sometimes we go out. When the session is over, some go home at 2am or so. Some leave the next morning, it has turned into more of a 24hr gaming session that we have over 3 days. It goes by so fast and soon we are all back to our regular day in-day out lives. At least I have World of Warcraft to keep me from going too crazy. We do live in a time of escapism. Come to think of it, hasn't there always been something people have used to alter the way they think about things, see things, to get away from the mundane everyday existance.