U2 goes green for Iran in Barcelona

Video: Sarah Palin announces her resignation as Governor of Alaska

Sarah Palin resigns

My first reaction is woa! But that is the kind of gal I am. A little naive` and perpetually surprised.

My second reaction was to head over to The Mudflats where the celebration is already taking place.

PALIN RESIGNS!

3 07 2009

The news hit, and the servers at themudflats.net crashed immediately with all the traffic.

[snip]

There’s a story here somewhere. I’ll be writing more on this as details become available.

So, feel free to celebrate here, and I’ll be up on the regular site as soon as possible

Will this news, knock the death of Michael Jackson off the 24/7 news cycle? I'm going with, not completely, but will likely be a wee distraction for a day or two.

Video: Cartoonists.... how do they do what they do?

They have conventions, and then a fellow cartoonist video tapes them, and then they spill their guts. This comes by way of Daryl Cagle's Cartoon Web Log.

Herrrrreeeeeeeeee's Daryl!

Hello everyone. I’m in Seattle right now attending the annual American Association of Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) convention. We have a lot of work to accomplish, including lots of seminars aimed at helping cartoonists navigate the industry’s rough waters (I’ll be on the panel of a seminar focused on cartoonists’ role in online journalism). But for me, the best part of these conventions is sitting around a bar and catching up with old cartoonist friends.

Filibuster-proof majority my bum cheeks

This comes from NanceGregg's journal. Nance has a whole lot to say about this. Can't say I don't agree with her.

“We cannot support any health-care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan,” the letter read.

The 19 representatives are:

Dan Boran (D-Okla.), Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), Colin Peterson (D-Minn..), Tim Holden (D-Pa.), Travis Childers (D-Miss.), Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn.), Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), Mike Mclntyre (D-N.C.), Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), James Oberstar (D-Minn.), Bobby Bright (D-Ala.), Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Charlie Melancon (D-La.), John Murtha (D-Pa.), Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), and Kathleen Dahlkemper (D-Pa.).

If you liked W, this guy has got to make you really miss him

President Barack Obama pronunciates stuff correctly. I respect him for that. Personally, I don't miss the humor inspired by the former President's mangling of the English language. I'm not a stickler by a long shot, but for eight long years, I was like, come on now!

Change

I don't think I was paying attention in 1988. I was a single mom with a small child, distracted by other things.

I'm experiencing a bit of a morbid curiosity now I suppose. Although I was never a big fan of Michael Jackson, I certainly admired his work and his talent. I do admit that the accusations and trial, and more importantly the incident with 'Blanket' did affect my point-of-view with respect to the man.

Now I am finding myself looking at the music, the videos much more closely. I'm fairly certain that I am not the only one.

I am also looking at the man with skepticism but openness. Having been a bit of a 'freak' myself throughout my life, although nothing on par with the perception of Michael Jackson in the hearts and minds of many, he is not really so odd as I had once believed.

I have not heard this performance commented upon in the main stream media. I think it's wonderful. What a talent. He was an artist, a magnificent artist.

I also think that Sony is missing out by not allowing blogs and other sites, even for a limited and temporary span of time, to embed Michael's videos. That's business I suppose.

At any rate, watching this performance, and really listening to the words of this song, I recognize something new and wonderful about Michael Jackson and I'm glad to have discovered it.

There's more problems with coal than simply making it 'clean'

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a good, yet heartbreaking editorial in The Washington Post on the continuing irresponsible exploitation of a national treasure. I hope that President Obama is reading the papers thoroughly this morning.

Here's a snip:

The coal industry's promise to restore the desolate wastelands is a cruel joke, and the industry's fallback position, that the flattened landscapes will provide space for economic development, is the weak punchline. America adores its Adirondacks and reveres the Rockies, while the Appalachian Mountains -- with their impoverished and alienated population -- are dismantled by coal moguls who dominate state politics and have little to prevent them from blasting the physical landscape to smithereens.