September 21, 2009 archive

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

A Transition through Poetry XIX


Art Link


Breaking Out

FREEDOM!

Free from the prison of my mind

Free from the fear that bound me

Free from denial and guilt and pain

Free of the sorrows of the past

Free to experience passion and joy

Free to grow, free to feel, free to love

Free to laugh, free to cry, free to sing

Free to live rather than merely exist

Free to walk my own path

Free to follow my dreams

Free to embrace the splendor and the beauty

Free to explore; free to be me

–Robyn Elaine Serven

—September, 1993

Late Night Karaoke

Open Thread

Is Obama inflating his mandate numbers?

During Sunday’s interview with George Stephanopoulos, President Obama, while promoting his proposal for an individual mandate that would require every US citizen and legal alien to have health insurance, claimed that the average family is paying “$900, on average — our families — in higher premiums because of uncompensated care”.  

Health Care researchers, however, believe the President is vastly overstating the impact that the uninsured have on the cost of health insurance premiums.

Pique the Geek 20090920. Water: You Should Have Never Seen It

Water is a material unlike any other.  I will go on record to say that, whilst a few other substances may have a one or two unusual properties, no other known substance has as many, or as to as great an extent in toto, than does water.  If anyone can think of any other substance that has as many aberrant properties, please let me know.

Because of the unique set of properties, water is usually declared to be essential for life.  I do not know if I would go quite that far, because that sounds more like dogma than science to me.  However, I would agree that any nonaqueous form of life would be extraordinarily bizarre to us, and might not even be recognized as a lifeform.

Water is such a basic part of daily life that the ancients thought that it was a fundamental element.  Whilst they were incorrect, it is so different than anything else that it deserves a place of its own in our understanding of things.

Keep F#!king That Chicken . . . . FAIL

No words, no diary, just watch, and enjoy the FAIL, FOX style

C’mon, Anastas! What game you playing?

Considered Forthwith: Joint Committe on Taxation (HCR info)

Welcome to the 22nd installment of “Considered Forthwith.”

This weekly series looks at the various committees in the House and the Senate. Committees are the workshops of our democracy. This is where bills are considered, revised, and occasionally advance for consideration by the House and Senate. Most committees also have the authority to exercise oversight of related executive branch agencies.

And we’re back. This week, I will be looking at the Joint Committee on Taxation. With the upcoming Finance Committee mark up of the Baucus bill, this little known committee will be in the spotlight. This is the committee responsible for studying the impact of tax policy and has calculated the revenue projections for the Finance Committee bill (opens a .pdf file).

BrokenRoots: Helping the Homeless: “There’s no turning back!”

(crossposted at DailyKos)Can a single individual make a dent in the homelessness crisis in America?  

Meet Jory John, former programs director at 826 Valencia and creator of The Peanut Butter Plan, and Mark Horvarth, a formerly homeless Hollywood video producer, who is heading back home from a 2 1/2 month long road trip blogging (he’s Hardly Normal), photographing, filming, and interacting with community service organizations, volunteers and the nation’s homeless for InvisiblePeople.tv.

As new P&J volunteer centers spring up across the US and The Peanut Butter Facebook group swells past 2000, John discusses his quest to expand and improve his fledgling organization, to maximize impact. And Horvarth, on the final leg of his road trip across America, is undoubtedly changed forever by the ‘shock and awe’ of documenting our nation’s ‘invisible people.”

The most significant thing uniting these two men? The realization that “there’s no turning back.”

stellaroo’s diary:

On Pulling A Prank, Or, Climate Change Conference Changed By…You

It’s time, once again, to bring you the news that is not yet news.

For those not yet aware, there will be a climate change conference in New York City next week, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.

The 100 world leaders who will be participating in the conference will be arriving on Monday, and if you’re in New York City the same day, you have a chance to participate in a not-to-be-forgotten “welcome event” and pranking opportunity.

Follow along and I’ll tell you how to get involved-and if you do, they’ll even send you home with a lovely parting gift.

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