if youre gonna hate. just be open and hate like the muppet hecklers cos thats all politicians are….muppet hecklers

calvin and hobbes illustrated it best.

not just on the normal things but this story came to my attention this AM. a united states soldier whose deployment was extended thanks to stop loss befriended a dog named rachet. i believe wholeheartedly in therapy dogs and i cant think of anything more than a dog that id want to come home to after getting shot at all day. rachet was recently confiscated and will most likely be killed by commanding officers due to it technically against regulations to befriend animals in the field. baghdad pups does all they can to bring these dogs home. no buddy left behind. with mental health so in the fore front of military related news i can not for a second believe anything more that they say about soldiers needs. this just ruined my day.

**update** the story was picked up by cnn.com hopefully it will get more attention and a good end.

the hidden cost of wars is a great animation done in a way to get information, graphics and text across to the viewer in a palatable way. i like the animation style as it makes both an aural and visual to grapple with such a hard subject matter. understanding numbers on the fly and connecting them together is not my thing at all.

im glad someone is doing serious due diligence. lessig

drilling isnt the answer. how much of the already appropriated land are they drilling on currently offshore?
according to the washington times hurricane ike destroyed at least 10 oil production platforms. hurricanes katrina and rita caused 124 oil spills resulting in more that 743,000 gallons spilling into the gulf. report here on that number. the Houston Chronicle reported in 2005: The quantity and cumulative magnitude of the 595 spills, which were spread across four states and struck offshore and inland, rank these two hurricanes among the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. so yea. drilling isnt the answer, anywhere, offshore, ANWAR, whatever.

* Palin Supported Penalties for Using Skateboards on Public or Private Property in Wasilla.
“Beginning Oct. 15 — after the expected opening of the $233,000 Wasilla Skate Park — skaters will be breaking the law if they use their skateboards, in-line skates, bicycles, scooters (or any other recreational, non-motorized wheeled device) on public or private property where signs are posted forbidding their use.”

via politico