Both of Us .org
News and views from two charming fellows in Northeast Minneapolis.
Now with Cancer!
Now with Cancer!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Spring Gardening
By JSP
The weather has been amazing and has inspired me to put forth some effort in getting our gardens cleaned up. Hopefully our plants will be producing flowers, fruit and vegetables in the coming months.Last weekend I spent a significant amount of energy cleaning out the fall mulch debris in our established gardens. This weekend I spent some time making a new garden bed.
The new garden is a small plot. I planted some strawberries and rhubarb obtained from JayBee's sister Patty. I also transplanted some wild violets in this garden that were growing in the backyard. You see some photographs of the results so far.There is a bigger spot of land which we hope will turn into a raised garden for all sorts of tasty vegetables. We are still at an early stage with this. Skimming off the top soil and mostly rocks as this space was used as a parking spot by the previous owners. We hope to get the gardens in tip top shape soon.
The Canadian Berry Tree in our backyard is beginning to bloom and smells very aromatic. The apple tree and lilac bushes are also blooming. The scents of springtime are tantalizing.
The flat of tomatoes, peppers and basil are growing nicely. They should be ready to put out in the new garden about one month from now.
Labels: garden
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Wednesday, April 25, 2007
10 Easy Steps Towards Fascism
By JSP
All is moderately well in Minneapolis lately. We are hosting our good friend from Holland for a few weeks, enjoying the perks of having guests (i.e. going out to eat more, having more social entertainment, exploring our fair city etc.) The weather has been shaping up nicely too, and I took advantage of that to do some much needed yard work last weekend.
Beyond these somewhat day to day casual events, I am writing to point curious eyes and minds to an excellent article written in the English press, the Guardian. Naomi Wolf's writing is entitled Fascist America, in 10 Easy Steps. She lays out a convincing case for the slow degradation of American democracy into a fascist state. It may not happen over night, but many of the warning signs are very present.
Among one of my pet peeves with America in general is the overall complacency of our public. Often far too concerned with the popular TV show, or celebrity scandal, collectively we as a society ignore day to day governance which threatens to take away rights and freedoms we as Americans take for granted. With this in mind, it might not be far fetched to think of American Democracy in decline. The article in the Guardian take us through step by step how democracies decline into fascist states. Please take the time to read this interesting article.
Beyond these somewhat day to day casual events, I am writing to point curious eyes and minds to an excellent article written in the English press, the Guardian. Naomi Wolf's writing is entitled Fascist America, in 10 Easy Steps. She lays out a convincing case for the slow degradation of American democracy into a fascist state. It may not happen over night, but many of the warning signs are very present.
Among one of my pet peeves with America in general is the overall complacency of our public. Often far too concerned with the popular TV show, or celebrity scandal, collectively we as a society ignore day to day governance which threatens to take away rights and freedoms we as Americans take for granted. With this in mind, it might not be far fetched to think of American Democracy in decline. The article in the Guardian take us through step by step how democracies decline into fascist states. Please take the time to read this interesting article.
Labels: politics
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Sunday, April 15, 2007
Our Never Ending National Shame
By JSP
If you read some of the political posts written on our blog, you undoubtedly know that I am not fond of the current President and his administration. In my last post I described another example of deceit and corruption the Bush clan. I do not want America run in this way; I do not want further examples of Bush incompetence or wrong doing plastered over the front pages of newspapers across the world.
Sadly another example has come out late this week. The current scandal involves one of the shining stars of the neo-conservative movement, Paul Wolfowitz. As you may or may not be aware, Mr. Wolfowitz, as deputy to Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentegon (deputy Secretary of Defense), was one of the leading architects of the Iraq war.
In 2005, President Bush nominated Wolfowitz to head the World Bank (an organization which loans money to developing nations). I am not certain if this was an assignment to get Wolfowitz away from a failing war in Iraq, or if it was designed to push the neo-conservative influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. The nomination smacks of Bush cronyism.
Sadly another example has come out late this week. The current scandal involves one of the shining stars of the neo-conservative movement, Paul Wolfowitz. As you may or may not be aware, Mr. Wolfowitz, as deputy to Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentegon (deputy Secretary of Defense), was one of the leading architects of the Iraq war.
In 2005, President Bush nominated Wolfowitz to head the World Bank (an organization which loans money to developing nations). I am not certain if this was an assignment to get Wolfowitz away from a failing war in Iraq, or if it was designed to push the neo-conservative influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. The nomination smacks of Bush cronyism.
The current problem Mr. Wolfowitz is involved with, is a result of the promotion and salary increase that he gave to Ms. Shaha Riza. Ms. Riza turns out to be his girlfriend. This has turned into a fiasco at the World Bank, as members of the organization hissed and cat-called Mr. Wolfowitz at a recent gathering. The news is also another major embarrassment to the Bush Administration witnessed around the Globe. A typical example of the reaction of world press is given by Rupert Cornwall of the Independent.
Does America not realize that we are getting clubbed over the head with all these incidents? Stories involving corruption, incompetence, cronyism, and lies by the Bush Presidency have almost made me numb. Maybe this is exactly their plan. Behave so badly for a long enough time, and with little to no consequence, and eventually everyone in the USA will give up listening or caring about how terrible they are. The plan may be working as it seems there is little hope of impeachment.
Consider the issue of personal accountability, a long time mantra of the Republican party. If everyone was personally accountable for their actions, we could do without "evil" things such as welfare, social security and other so called liberal pillars. However, the very people charged with running this nation have been accountable for none of their failures so far. The list of deeds unpunished or even acknowledged is terribly long (9-11, Katrina, Iraq, Valerie Plame, Florida/Ohio election, conditions at Walter Reed Hospital, Attorney General scandal - to name a few). Those Americans who voted for and support President Bush and his administration have not identified the disconnect between his words and his actions. Where can we find a huge bottle of smelling salts to wake American deep sleepers to this national nightmare?
Does America not realize that we are getting clubbed over the head with all these incidents? Stories involving corruption, incompetence, cronyism, and lies by the Bush Presidency have almost made me numb. Maybe this is exactly their plan. Behave so badly for a long enough time, and with little to no consequence, and eventually everyone in the USA will give up listening or caring about how terrible they are. The plan may be working as it seems there is little hope of impeachment.
Consider the issue of personal accountability, a long time mantra of the Republican party. If everyone was personally accountable for their actions, we could do without "evil" things such as welfare, social security and other so called liberal pillars. However, the very people charged with running this nation have been accountable for none of their failures so far. The list of deeds unpunished or even acknowledged is terribly long (9-11, Katrina, Iraq, Valerie Plame, Florida/Ohio election, conditions at Walter Reed Hospital, Attorney General scandal - to name a few). Those Americans who voted for and support President Bush and his administration have not identified the disconnect between his words and his actions. Where can we find a huge bottle of smelling salts to wake American deep sleepers to this national nightmare?
Labels: Bush, failure, Paul Wolfowitz, politics, Republicans, scandal
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Thursday, April 12, 2007
How Does Anyone Believe the President?
By JSP
I am amazed with the total contempt that the Bush Administration has towards everything that is not Republican. The long list of failures, corruption and bad governing goes on and on, and there are still upwards of 40% of our country who view our president in a positive light.
I have just finished reading about how upwards of 5 million e-mail of dozens of Bush Administration members have seemingly vanished into the ether. Normally all official Whitehouse business communications, be they transcripts, letters or e-mails, must be preserved for accountability. Instead of using only official Whitehouse e-mail accounts, many members of the Bush team have been using off site e-mail. Their claim is they do not want to waste taxpayer resources to do non-Whitehouse business (i.e. Republican party fund raising). However there is evidence these off site e-mail accounts were indeed also being used for official Whitehouse business and thus doing an end-around the accountability protocols. Now it turns out that millions of these e-mails no longer exist.
Of course we are suppose to believe this massive data purge is nothing to concern our pretty minds about (maybe it was all SPAM). The honorable Bush crew would never use these off-site e-mail systems to do unscrupulous business.
I simply have no more trust left. There are a Thousand Reasons why this Administration is a failure. These people have lied and lied and lied over the last 6 years. It blows my mind that anyone could look at this news and think there is not something they are hiding. Five million e-mail messages vanish; it is amazing.
I have just finished reading about how upwards of 5 million e-mail of dozens of Bush Administration members have seemingly vanished into the ether. Normally all official Whitehouse business communications, be they transcripts, letters or e-mails, must be preserved for accountability. Instead of using only official Whitehouse e-mail accounts, many members of the Bush team have been using off site e-mail. Their claim is they do not want to waste taxpayer resources to do non-Whitehouse business (i.e. Republican party fund raising). However there is evidence these off site e-mail accounts were indeed also being used for official Whitehouse business and thus doing an end-around the accountability protocols. Now it turns out that millions of these e-mails no longer exist.
Of course we are suppose to believe this massive data purge is nothing to concern our pretty minds about (maybe it was all SPAM). The honorable Bush crew would never use these off-site e-mail systems to do unscrupulous business.
I simply have no more trust left. There are a Thousand Reasons why this Administration is a failure. These people have lied and lied and lied over the last 6 years. It blows my mind that anyone could look at this news and think there is not something they are hiding. Five million e-mail messages vanish; it is amazing.
Labels: Bush, corruption, email, failure, politics
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Saturday, April 07, 2007
More Like Winter
By JSP
I blog too often about the weather, but I should not complain as it is brightly sunny out now, if only 25 degrees. 25 degrees is a more typical temperature for February. Two weeks ago we reached a record high of 81 degrees in Minneapolis. Tulips, trees and other greenery were bursting out of their winter shell. Now the same plants shiver, regretting they popped out of the ground so early. Such is Minnesota weather.
Today I made my first trip to Patel Grocery, an Indian (Asian) grocery on Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis. The store is expansive and well-stocked with everything Indian. I purchased some spices, bottled chutney, naan bread, mango juice and incense. The store has a whole isle of incense. I was a bit overwhelmed with choices; I chose Jasmine.
A new fitness center will be opening soon on Central Avenue in our neighborhood; I walked by the window this morning. I have been itching to get back into the gym since moving back to Minneapolis. One aspect of life in Philadelphia I miss was my ability to workout at the gym located only a block away from my lab. This new gym is about two blocks from our house. I can imagine getting up early, working out and returning home to clean up for work. It is a small gym, but loaded with equipment I would frequently use. April 15 is the tentative open date and that bodes well for me shedding some of my winter weight.
Today I made my first trip to Patel Grocery, an Indian (Asian) grocery on Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis. The store is expansive and well-stocked with everything Indian. I purchased some spices, bottled chutney, naan bread, mango juice and incense. The store has a whole isle of incense. I was a bit overwhelmed with choices; I chose Jasmine.
A new fitness center will be opening soon on Central Avenue in our neighborhood; I walked by the window this morning. I have been itching to get back into the gym since moving back to Minneapolis. One aspect of life in Philadelphia I miss was my ability to workout at the gym located only a block away from my lab. This new gym is about two blocks from our house. I can imagine getting up early, working out and returning home to clean up for work. It is a small gym, but loaded with equipment I would frequently use. April 15 is the tentative open date and that bodes well for me shedding some of my winter weight.
Labels: garden, Northeast Minneapolis
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