just an awesome commercial. the camera angles are right on with some of the historic Jordan moments.

ESPN.com - GEN - Autistic teen’s hoop heroics hook Hollywood

per request. I’ll link the video via youtube later on.

okay, here’s some video magic to really bring the story home.

Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post breaks it down:

Last week’s guilty plea by Cunningham’s co-conspirator, defense contractor Mitchell Wade, illuminates the way easy access to earmarks can corrupt even without bribes — or, to be a bit more blunt, with the legal bribes known as campaign contributions. The plea agreement describes how Wade wanted his company, MZM Inc., to open a facility in the district of Virginia Republican Virgil Goode (Representative A, in the language of the plea). MZM employees contributed $46,000 to Goode’s campaign from 2003 to 2005, making the company his single largest source of campaign cash. Unbeknownst to Goode, but also unsurprisingly, Wade illegally reimbursed his employees and their spouses for their contributions.

And then — surprise — Wade asked for federal funding for the facility he wanted to build in the district. As described in the matter-of-fact language of the plea agreement, “In June 2005, Representative A’s staff confirmed to Wade that an appropriations bill would include $9 million for the facility and a related program. Wade thanked Representative A and his staff for their assistance.” You bet he thanked them: a $9 million contract for a mere $46,000 in contributions — in comparison with Cunningham’s prices, a real bargain.

[snip]

Prosecutors said Harris, like Goode, wasn’t aware that the $32,000 she received from MZM employees and spouses was secretly underwritten by Wade — though he turned up with the checks in hand to deliver them to her personally. Did she and Goode think that all these MZM employees from outside their districts had spontaneously come to the realization that they were the best two members of Congress? When someone who has never given campaign donations suddenly decides — along with a spouse — to write out checks for the maximum donation, something fishy is up. When you need the cash, though, there’s not much incentive to sniff too hard to discern precisely how odoriferous it is.

It’s not about being bribed (yet). It’s about looking the other way and handing out YOUR MONEY to corporations who have no problem with flat-out bribery.

It’s not about bringing jobs to Martinsville, either. Goode allowed himself to be used by MZM who saw him as an easy target for getting a hell of a lot for their money. And Goode saw no problem using his position on the House Appropriations Committee repaying them for their generosity.

Of course, Goode got that spot because he flipped on the democrats, voted to impeach Clinton, and added to DeLay’s numbers.

It has nothing to do with the Fifth District or our interests.

Former VMDO employee Olle Lundberg and the Icelandic Auto Ferry he has converted into his home recently appeared on HGTV's reZONED. Check out future appearences at HGTV.com....

Still some sketchy guy in the TV room :)

Stopped by the new house today..we have kitchen cabinets…well, sort of. You can see from the pictures I took today that some of the cabinets are in…Also our deck is done, and we have some marble around the fireplace. Light on the pictures today because not to much new to show.

Welcome to A Taste of Charlottesville.

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Als Soerens erklaerter Lieblingsgroupie hab ich mir’s natuerlich nicht nehmen lassen, dieses Wochenende nach Blacksburg zur Virginia Tech zu reisen, um ihn kraeftig anzufeuern. Da gab’s naemlich die Track&Field Meisterschaften (also Leichtathletik auf gut deutsch). Soeren ist zugegebenermassen schon mal a bissle besser gelaufen, aber mit Antibiotika im blut war wohl auch nicht viel mehr zu erwarten.
Zumindest hab ich hier noch ein Bild von der ersten Haelfte des Rennens, wo er gerade kraftvoll und athletisch an Jan vorbeizieht….. tun wir einfach so als waer er da bis zum Ende geblieben ;-)

Okay, so now two people have asked me to review this guy so I guess I’m going to have to do it before My Thoughts So Sublime can move forward.

The main thing preventing this is that I didn’t want to have to purchase the album in order to review it. Instead I will write the review based on a video from iFilm.

If you haven’t seen the video yet, you should really watch. Especially if you’ve been feeling down about yourself and want to be serenaded by a dreamy British guy:

James Blunt– “Beautiful”

The tag-line for the above is just too wonderfully absurd. It serves as an excellent starting point:
“U.K. singer-songwriter Blunt emotes up a storm on this pretty ballad about seeing a beautiful woman. He knows you can fall in love, jump into love or leap over the edge.”

First off, how exactly does one transcend singing and songwriting to acquire that much sought-after hyphen? It seems to me that the requirements for being a singer-songwriter are three: writing songs, singing them, and being a pansy. Have you ever heard anyone referred to as a singer-s0ngwriter who wasn’t a pansy? I’m serious, I mean you would never call Dylan that, I don’t think you would even call Leonard Cohen that… Neil Diamond, sure… James Taylor, obviously. And now, James Blunt.

“…emotes up a storm..”: I never want to see anyone emote up a storm. Anyone possessing real emotions would instantly hunt down whoever wrote that line and punch them in the face. Can you imagine anyone applying that tag-line to someone who wasn’t dreamy teenage girl lunchmeat? “Otis Redding emotes up a storm…” No. Just no.

My favorite part of the above blurb is that the subject of this “emotional storm” is exhausted
within about four words, one of which is an article: “seeing a beautiful girl.” That’s really it actually. Nothing else happens!

The emotional low point occurs early on: “She was with another man.” You need to watch the video for full effect here as Blunt very dejectedly looks down and glances off to the side. I can’t watch it without laughing. I can just imagine the director coaching him through this, “Okay, up to now everything’s been great: your life is brilliant, your love is pure, you see this girl and… she’s with another man! We need to see your dejection there, James. We need to see the deep despair in your soul.”

Another word or two about the video. So you’ve seen this beautiful woman on the subway. Naturally, there is only one possible reaction: you must go to the beach in the rain and remove all of your clothing. My favorite part of the video is when he removes his shoes and the contents of his pockets and places it in a neat little row on the ground, with each article spaced three centimeters apart and arranged in descending order by size. It is completely baffling… it looks like a scene from the television show “Monk.”

The song itself… isn’t that bad. The lyrics are vacuous and awful (The line “When she thought up that I should be with you” squeezed into about 2 bars at the end reflects that this song obviously did not go through any kind of revision process) …but the melody is pretty and memorable.

Although the second verse when he starts unexpectedly singing ridiculously high notes is inexplicable. It is as though someone is randomly shocking his testicles with bolts of electricity. I have never understood this desire too sing unnaturally high for no good reason. It’s one of the things that ruins The Band for me… I just want to grab Robbie Robertson and/or Rich Danko and shake them and yell “WHY ARE YOU SINGING SO HIGH!!!”

Okay, I think that’s enough. Best of luck to you, Blunt.

Found this, looks to be from 2004ish but I couldn’t pin down a date:

On March 21, 2003, MZM received a $1.2 million contract from the Defense Department to send 21 interpreters to Iraq. MZM would not disclose any specific information about the contract. But, according to a copy of the eight-page contract, which the Center for Public Integrity received under the Freedom of Information Act, MZM will provide linguists to serve as interpreters for U.S. government representatives, ministries and other government offices, and during interrogations and investigations. The company will “provide collections of foreign language voice signals” and transcribe recorded voice communications. The contract also calls for MZM to “produce written and/or taped materials to support civil affairs and/or psychological operations (PSYOPS).” There are two amendments to the contract, but the Defense Department redacted descriptions of the modifications, and also blacked out the final, post-modification estimated price and the ceiling price for MZM’s services.

[snip]

[Update]The value of MZM’s contract to provide interpreters for work in Iraq was increased to $3,640,896, reflecting updated figures released by the CPA.

Why did the Pentagon turn to MZM so quickly after the start of the War (indeed, the day after the war began?) It’s not as if MZM was a leader in the field, or used frequently as a contractor by the Pentagon before this:

Government procurement records show that MZM, which Wade started in 1993, did not report any revenue from prime contract awards until 2003. Most of its revenue has come from the agreement the Pentagon just cut off. But over the past three years it was also awarded several contracts, worth more than $600,000, by the Executive Office of the President. They include a $140,000 deal for office furniture in 2002 and several for unspecified “intelligence services.”

A White House spokeswoman declined to comment.

One of the company’s contracts was to provide linguists to the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, the first U.S.-run administrator put in place after the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The contract, which expired last year, was initially expected to be worth about $1.2 million but grew to $5 million overall, an Army spokesman said.

Hmm, $3.6 million — $5 million? Tomato, tomahto.

That’s chump change — MZM raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in defense contract work. Here’s where it gets really interesting, and where we can begin to see just how much influence MZM may have had not only on the Honorable Congressman Virgil Goode from Virginia (whose relationship with MZM we’ll delve into more deeply later,) but on the uppermost echelons of the Bush administration and its marketing of the need for War in Iraq.

Enter NGIC, the National Ground Intelligence Center — Charlottesville’s very own Pentagon intelligence agency whose mission is to gather “integrated intelligence on foreign ground forces and support combat technologies to ensure that U.S. forces and other decisionmakers will always have a decisive edge on any battlefield.”

Kind of like the information that led us up to the invasion of Iraq. Kind of like the bad intelligence lies that were peddled in BushCo’s marketing of their war. Kind of like the bit about aluminum tubes being used for that mushroom cloud Condi warned would be coming if we didn’t act:

Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte will review changes made at the Army’s National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) to address criticism by a presidential commission in March that found there was “gross failure” in the center’s analysis of Iraqi arms in 2002, said Gen. Michael V. Hayden, Negroponte’s deputy.

Two NGIC analysts, who since 2002 have received annual performance awards, judged in September 2002 that the aluminum tubes that Iraq was purchasing were “highly unlikely” to be used for rocket motor cases because of their “material and tolerances,” according to the report of the president’s commission on intelligence. The NGIC finding, which the commission termed “completely wrong,” bolstered a CIA contention that the tubes were meant for nuclear centrifuges and were evidence that Saddam Hussein was reconstituting a nuclear weapons program.

You’ll recall that BushCo. inserted this bit into the 2003 State of the Union address. From Mother Jones:

“Our intelligence sources tell us,” President Bush told to the nation on January 28, “that he [Saddam] has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production.” The claim, paired with the alleged uranium buy, painted a damning picture of Baghdad’s atomic ambitions.

The truth is far less frightening. Saddam did indeed attempt to purchase some highly-refined aluminum tubes. But they were not, as alleged by the Bush administration, to be used in a uranium-enriching centrifuge; rather they were intended to be used in the production of conventional rockets — at least according to the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency, the closest thing to an impartial authority in this case.

What’s more, this was well known at the time Bush delivered his address. Indeed, two weeks before the State of the Union, the IAEA said that the tubes “were not directly suitable” for uranium enrichment. Months earlier, the Department of Energy had reached the same conclusion — as had intelligence experts at the State Department.

Read the whole article — just extraordinary. How does it all tie together? How connected were MZM and NGIS? Walter Pincus at the Washingon Post has this:

Two months after MZM Inc. was given its first order in October 2002 to perform services for the Army’s National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC), the company hired the son of the center’s senior civilian official, Executive Director William S. Rich Jr., according to present and former intelligence center employees.
MZM’s initial task was to perform a seven-week, $194,000 analysis of “FIRES,” a computer program concept to collect blueprints of facilities worldwide to create an intelligence database, according to material provided by the Pentagon.

[snip]

Over the past three years, Rich was joined at MZM by at least 15 former intelligence center colleagues — analysts and administrative personnel hired, in some cases, to work on the same projects they dealt with as government employees, according to present and former NGIC staffers. “After contract awards, many people were hired away from NGIC at a higher salary, only to return to work on the same programs,” according to one contract employee working at the NGIC who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to keep his job.

The Ethics in Government Act’s standards differ for executives, managers and workers who leave government employment and take up the same work as a private contractor. But agency leaders once engaged in awarding contracts are barred from then seeking contracts from the same agency.

Right. Now, employment ethical shadiness aside, here’s my question: how instrumental was MZM in gathering the faulty data (whether or not it was intentional seems far beyond my amateur journalistic skills) upon which those aluminum tube claims were based? Check this out from Laura Rozen at warandpiece.com:

According to the timeline established in the Pincus article, in September 2002, the NGIC determined that the aluminum tubes Iraq was purchasing were “‘highly unlikely’ to be used for rocket motor cases,” e.g. they were likely to be for a nuclear weapons program — which was “completely wrong” the Silberman-Robb report found. Then in October 2002, MZM got its first orders from the NGIC, to “perform a seven-week, $194,000 analysis of ‘FIRES’, a computer program concept to collect blueprints of facilities worldwide to create an intelligence database,” Pincus reported. Then in December 2002, according to the Pincus report, MZM hired the NGIC executive director’s son, William Scott Rich III. Shortly thereafter, “MZM received multimillion-dollar orders to continue work on FIRES and other programs,” Pincus reports.

So is this all about conflict of interest, corruption, bribery, contracting improprieties? Or is there something else going on here? It’s not clear. But guess what. The CIA hired a contractor in September 2002 (the month before the NGIC gave MZM its first orders) who also claimed the tubes were for a nuclear centrifuge, eRiposte pointed out to me in the email. Who was that contractor? The Senate Select Intelligence report has redacted it. Here’s what eRiposte writes:

…I wanted to bring this to your attention because one of the issues I was planning to discuss in my ongoing series on WMDgate related to the deliberate fabrications and/or misrepresentations by CIA/NGIC on the aluminum tubes issue using a mysterious contractor to “bolster” their claims. The Senate (SSCI) report points out that in September 2002 CIA hired a [REDACTED] contractor who conveniently “confirmed” the fraudulent tubes-as-centrifuges story for the CIA (and NGIC).

Here’s the Senate Report on this mysterious contractor:

———
( ) Contributing to the CIA’s analysis for the extensive September intelligence assessment was an analysis performed by an individual from DELETED who were working under contract with the CIA at the time to provide broad-based technical advice DELETED. The CIA WINPAC analyst, DELETED, requested in September 2002 that they perform an analysis of the tubes. SENTENCE DELETED

( )The contractors told Committee staff that the CIA provided them with a stack of intelligence data and analysis on the Iraqi aluminum tube procurements on September 16, 2002. All of the information was provided by the CIA and the contractors told Committee staff that they did not discuss the data with any agencies other than the CIA. They were provided with NGIC’s analysis of the tubes, but said they were not briefed by nor did they ask to speak to NGIC or DOE analysts. One contractor said, “This was internal to the agency.” One of the contractors said before joining DELETED he had been given a tutorial on 81-mm rockets by a DOE analyst, but said that the conversation was “pretty meaningless to me because the rest of the issue had not bubbled up at that point.” A DOE analyst told Committee staff that he also discussed the issue with the contractor in May of 2001. The contractor produced a paper on September 17, 2002, one day after receiving the information, that said the team concluded, “that the tubes are consistent with design requirements of gas centrifuge rotors, but due to the high-strength material and excessively tight tolerances, the tubes seem inconsistent with design requirements of rocket motor casings.” The report referenced NGIC’s analysis that the material and quantity of the tubes were inconsistent with rocket motor applications. The report said that while the dimensions “possibly” were suitable for rockets, the tolerances were too stringent and the pressure test requirements were too high.
…

It’s obviously unproven. But the implications are truly frightening. Could a contractor accused of bribing US government officials have contributed to the corruption of the intelligence by which the US went to war? I don’t know who the contractor was, but it would seem this is a subject worthy of investigative scrutiny. What the Wilkes-Wade-Cunningham larger story reveals is the vulnerability of the US government appropriations and contracting process — even its most sensitive elements - to unscrupulous people, whose chief interests are not necessarily motivated by concern for the well being of the United States, but, in this case, apparently, self-enrichment. It’s really the story of a security breach, and how easily penetrated were two of the most national security-sensitive Congressional committees by those who targeted them and others for just that purpose.

Hmm.

Cunningham sat on the House Intelligence Committee, and also on the House Appropriations Committee. Goode also sits on the House Appropriations Committee, and we can all agree that Committee wields considerable clout (did this have anything to do with the Pentagon’s $5 million contract with MZM for that interpreter work in Iraq back in 2003?) The Roanoke Times offers some perspective:

In the case of Randy “Duke” Cunningham, Wade used cash, a yacht, expensive antiques, cars and other perks to get the California representative to steer defense contracts his way. Cunningham resigned last year after pleading guilty to accepting bribes.

No one has suggested that Goode took such lavish gifts from Wade.

“Virgil is not ostentatious,” said Jim Severt, a political consultant and his former chief of staff. “He doesn’t need a mansion or a Cadillac, because his life is politics.”

But that doesn’t make him immune from temptation, Severt added: “I would think that giving him $90,000 in campaign contributions has as much influence on him as giving him a Rolls Royce or a yacht, because politics is all he has.”

According to irregulartimes.com:

MZM gave PAC contributions to Goode on the following dates:

9/9/2002 $1,000
3/20/2003 $5,000
3/25/2003 $3,000
3/27/2003 $1,000

$8,000 in PAC contributions by MZM itself, all within a week of that contract being awarded.

Now, it gets better. Waldo does the dirty work, and hunts down this bit from opensecrets.org. Between March 26 and April 7, 2003, Goode had received $29,851 from employees of MZM, including Mitchell Wade and his wife. To put it into perspective, MZM was Goode’s top contributor for the last election cycle (2003-2004), contributing $39,551. The next highest contributor gave $12,750.

$29,851 (over 75% of the total money contributed by MZM employees, the biggest group of contributors directly to Goode in 2003-2004 election cycle), and $8,000 from MZM via PAC contributions were given within three weeks following MZM being given a $3.6 million contract for work done in Iraq. Over $37,000 donated by a single corporation, or agents thereof whose contributions were coerced under threat of termination, within three weeks of this contract. It’s also notable that excepting two donations, these were the only contributions to Goode or his PAC made by MZM or its employees from 2003-2004. Curiously, the two outliers occurred on March 31, 2004 — $500 each from two separate individuals employed by MZM, both listed as “Senior Executive Vice President.” (As an aside, a similar explosion in contributions by MZM employees occurred in early March 2005, that time totalling over $46,000.)

Shorter last paragraph: Why did MZM donate so much freaking money to Goode or his PAC within three weeks of what appears to be the awarding of its first major Pentagon contract ever? As if such a huge burst of contributions wasn’t enough, it occurred right at the time MZM began a long and remarkably lucrative relationship with the Pentagon? Why were these contributions coerced by Wade? Is it just a timely coincidence or is there more to it?

Here’s more from irregulartimes.com that more brightly illuminates the relationship that was developing between Goode and MZM in 2003:

On 11/3/2003, the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission announced that, thanks to the intervention of one Rep. Virgil Goode, it was happy to provide $250,000 to be provided to a certain company called MZM as an incentive for MZM to locate a facility in Martinsville, Virginia. In addition, $250,000 in incentives would be provided from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund.

That’s $500,000 total. But wait, there’s more money for MZM involved. According to a 11/3/03 press release from the Governor’s office, MZM also received incentives via a $127,000 grant from the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber’s Partnership for Economic Growth. This press release also notes that “U.S. Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. was instrumental in securing this project for Virginia.”

That’s $627,000 received by MZM –that we know of– in this sweetheart deal.

The Martinsville Bulletin of October 31, 2003 reported, “Goode said Wednesday that he was involved in bringing MZM to Martinsville. ‘I am pleased that I was able to alert a first-class company to the strong work force and other attractive business features in the Martinsville-Henry County area and to get the company to take a serious look at locating an operation here,’ the congressman said in a statement issued Thursday. Efforts to lure MZM to Martinsville have taken place quickly. After Goode provided the initial lead, Harned said, the Martinsville Economic Development Department ‘worked very aggressively with this (project) for a month.’”

Fifteen days later, on 11/18/2003, MZM sent another PAC contribution to Virgil Goode, for $1,000.

And what was the nature of that $600,000 “Executive Order of the President” that occurred apparently before 2003? Did it have anything to do with the work on intelligence regarding aluminum tubes that would later prove so instrumental in BushCo’s marketing of the invasion of Iraq?

No…just no way, right? Just what kind of story are we sitting on here in VA-05?

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OMG this is…well, not shocking at all:

Washington defense contractor Mitchell J. Wade admitted yesterday in federal court that he attempted to illegally influence Defense Department contracting officials and tried to curry favor with two House members, in addition to lavishing more than $1 million in cash, cars, a boat, antiques and other bribes on convicted Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.).
The new admissions, including details that identify Reps. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.) and Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) as recipients of illegal campaign contributions, are contained in Wade’s agreement to plead guilty to four criminal charges stemming from his role in the Cunningham probe. The congressman resigned after pleading guilty in November to taking $2.4 million in bribes from Wade and others in return for steering federal funds and contracts their way.
[snip]
Wade also pleaded guilty to election law fraud for making nearly $80,000 in illegal campaign contributions to “Representatives A and B,” who are identifiable as Goode and Harris. He did so, the filings said, in hopes that they, like Cunningham, would “earmark” federal money for MZM. Wade gave the funds for the donations to 19 of his employees and their spouses, who then wrote $2,000 checks to the members, according to the documents.
Goode and Harris have been identified before as recipients of large donations from Wade and other MZM employees, and prosecutors said yesterday that there was no sign either knew the contributions were illegal. Prosecutors said the investigation is continuing but wouldn’t say whether Goode and Harris or the MZM employees who made the illegal donations for Wade are subjects of the investigation.
The congressman identifiable as Goode received $46,000 in such disguised contributions in 2003 and 2005, the court papers said. That was part of about $90,000 Wade and his workers contributed to Goode. Wade then asked the member to request appropriations for an MZM facility in his district, the Wade papers said, and a Goode staff member confirmed to Wade that the bill would include $9 million in funding.
Goode’s office said it would issue a statement, but The Post had not received one by late yesterday.

Waldo provides some much needed context for just how much money Goode received from MZM:

Things aren’t looking much better for Rep. Virgil Goode, our local man in the scandal. It’s been alleged by top executives at MZM that employees were forced — under penalty of being fired — to donate to Goode, with Goode’s knowledge of this coercion [1, 2], with the resulting torrent of money (over $100,000 to Goode) being enough to cause MZM president Mitchell Wade to brag that he “owns” Virgil Goode . Now, that’s a pretty serious allegation, but it should be pretty easy to disprove, if it’s false.
For example, if the contributions from MZM employees were spread out over the course of months or years, that would certainly point away from an order coming down for everybody to simultaneously contribute. Or if MZM employees had a history of supporting Rep. Goode, that would also indicate that their interests just happened to align. Or MZM employees had given money to a good number of candidates, it would indicate a general political atmosphere out of which support for a candidate friendly to MZM would be likely. All of these factors would point to candidates giving of their own free will, and the charges that Goode knowingly accepted forced contributions could be ignored.
[snip]
To recap: 35 MZM employees had never given any money to a federal candidate before. 37 MZM employees simultaneously contributed to Rep. Virgil Goode on two occasions, in March of 2003 and March of 2005. None of these MZM employees have given any money to any other candidate in the past two years, other than a few who gave money to MZM’s other darling, Katherine Harris. 10 of them also gave to MZM’s PAC.

And more here:

My Lord! MZM has been very generous to Rep. Goode. Why, even Rep. Cunningham only received $13,000 from MZM, a fraction of what Rep. Goode received. Why, MZM only gave out $143k in all of 2004, meaning that Rep. Goode received a stunning 33.8% of all of the donations given by the company’s employees in all of 2003-04! Clearly, Rep. Goode is MZM’s top man in Congress.
Did I mention that Virgil Goode is on the House Appropriations Committee?

What difference does that make, you ask? Only this, from USAToday:

A USA TODAY analysis of MZM-related campaign contributions shows how the company’s growth and its political activities became intertwined at key moments. In more than 30 instances, donations from MZM’s political action committee or company employees went to two members of the House Appropriations Committee — Cunningham and Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va. — in the days surrounding key votes or contract awards that helped MZM grow.
For example, MZM’s political action committee gave Cunningham $5,000 in 2003 the day before his appointment to a congressional panel negotiating the final version of the defense budget. Ten days later, the day after the House passed the final Pentagon spending bill, Wade gave Cunningham $2,000.
Both lawmakers sit on the subcommittee overseeing the Pentagon’s spending and have acknowledged putting language in bills that created or expanded contracts that went to MZM.
Larry Noble, an independent ethics expert with the Center for Responsive Politics, says the timing of the contributions creates the appearance that the company’s political giving helped it get taxpayer-funded business from the Pentagon.
It is not illegal for defense industry political action committees or defense industry workers to make campaign donations, unless they are given with the intent of influencing Pentagon contract awards.
Political donations from military contractors are quite common, but timing those donations around contract decisions is not, said Noble, a former chief counsel for the Federal Election Commission.

So far Goode hasn’t had very much to say about the whole affair at all. All I can find in my digging seems to be the standard pearl-clutching republicans love to breathlessly offer when they, you know, get caught being bribed:

“I was shocked and amazed to learn the details of the plea agreement concerning former MZM CEO Mitch Wade,” Goode said in a statement. “I had no knowledge that any of the contributions by MZM persons to our campaign were illegal.”

Oh heavens, color me exasperated. I just had no idea!

MZM (i.e. Wade), you’ll remember, provided the Dukestir with his lavish house-yacht everyone knew about.

So naturally, Goode would never have questioned all that money coming his way.

This is going to be so good.

Market Contract 

 

 

 

 

 

2006 Charlottesville City Market

Application for Permit to Sell

 

 

I hereby apply for a permit to sell at the Charlottesville City Market

 

Producer’s Name_______________________________________________________________

 

And/or Family Member(s) of Producer______________________________________________________________________

 

Non-Family Members Who Will Represent Your Business at the Market__________­______

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Farm/Business Name___________________________________________________________

Address______________________________________________________________________

City/County______________/___________

State ______Zip_______________

 

Do you own or lease? _________________   

If you lease please list land owner_________________________________________________ 

Dates of your Lease___________________________________

 

Work phone ____________________________

Home Phone ___________________________

Cell Phone_____________________________

Email Address­_______________________________________________________________

 

Year you began selling ______________________

 

Detailed Driving Directions to Farm or Business from Charlottesville:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total acres in production_______________________________________________________

 

Total leased acres _____________________________________________________________

 

Total greenhouse space in production_____________________________________________

 

Total sq. foot greenhouse space__________________________________________________

 

What will you be selling at the market if other than produce? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

When during the period April 1-October 28, 2006 are you likely to begin selling? ________________________________

 

When will you likely end selling? ___________________________________

 

Do you intend to participate in the Holiday Market (November 3 – December 23) Friday’s & Saturday’s?  ______Yes _____No

 

I currently sell at these locations (Circle and provide details)

 

Other Public Markets___________________________________________________________

 

Retail Outlets, including Galleries ________________________________________________

 

Internet_______________________________________________________________________

 

Fairs, Festivals __________________________________________________________

 

On Farm/At Home _______________________________________________________

 

Other __________________________________________________________________

 

I agree to sell only products that I, and/or my immediate family or employees have produced on my property and/or property I lease.  I will not re-sell any products purchased from a wholesale warehouse, retailer.  I realize that failure to comply may result in my suspension or expulsion from the Charlottesville City Market.

 

Signature____________________________________________Date___________            

                                 Applicant/Producer

 

 

Date received by Market Manger __________________

 

 

PLEASE RETURN SIGNED CONTRACT 

BY MARCH 15, 2006:

 

ATTN: STEPHANIE ANDEREGG-MALOY

CHARLOTTESVILLE PARKS & RECREATION

P.O. BOX 911

CHARLOTTESVILLE VA 22902

 

 

 

I HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE CITY MARKET

AND THE GUIDELINES SET FORTH IN THE RESERVED SPACE AGREEMENT.

 

INTIALS:  ______________________________   Date:  ____________

           

 

 

 

CERTIFICATION

 

I hereby certify that the above named person(s) is, to the best of my knowledge, growing/producing the crops/goods described above in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Charlottesville City Market. 

 

Signature__________________________________________ Date_______________________

 

 

 Producer’s County Extension Agent

 

Agent Name____________________________ Address_______________________________

 

City________________________State______Zip_________County______________

 

Phone_______________________________________

 

FAX_________________________________________

 

E-mail Address_______________________________

Spaces will not be given without the above certification.

Reserved Space Agreement:

 

 

Reserved Space Agreement for the 2006 City Market

 

 

The Charlottesville City Market season begins

Saturday, April 1 until October 28

From 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. 

 

 

1)      Reserved spaces are a commitment to the Charlottesville City Market and will be given with the following goal in mind:

 

Space will be assigned with the overall goal for the use of the spaces on the market is to try to achieve 60% for Farmers and Food Vendors and 40% for Artisans.

 

A)    Farmers

B)            Food Vendors

C)  Artisans

 

Definitions:

 

Artisan: Anyone who offers arts, crafts, or jewelry for sale Market or who performs an artistic service on the Market.

 

Farmers: Anyone who offers produce, including but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, and cut greenery, live plants, herbs, flowers, meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products, for sale on the Market.

 

Food Vendor:  Any vendor selling packaged, prepared, baked or canned goods.

 

2)      A one time yearly registration fee of $20.00 will be collected the first day of the market for all reserved vendors.

 

3)      Vendor must pay 6% (space rental fee) + applicable taxes (2.5% food or 5% non-food) at the end of each market day. 

 

4)      The vendor makes a commitment to be present every market day once assigned a reserved space.

 

5)      The vendor agrees to be in his/her space and ready to sell by 6:45am. (Arrival after 6:45am may result in reassignment or loss of selling privileges for the day.)

 

6)      If unable to attend, the vendor must notify the market manager the week before or by calling (970-3371) before the intended absence.  Two unexcused absences will result in loss of your reserved space for that season.

 

7)      Vendors with reserved spaces are expected to stay until 12:00 noon.  If you must leave earlier please notify market manager before unloading merchandise.  No traffic will be permitted during market hours. 

 

8)      All complaints or comments must be presented to market manager in written form.

 

9)      The vendor agrees to follow the guidelines and responsibilities as stated in the rules and regulations attached. 

 

10)  Vendors must have pink registration form visible at all times.

 

11)  Reserved spaces are assigned (1) one space family/farm.  Please respect neighbor’s space, therefore stay within the lines.  10 x 10 canopies are not allowed at the City Market unless you have a 10 x 14 space.  10 x 14 spaces will be limited and given according to previous year sales minimum of 10,000.00 in sales to qualify.   

 

12)  The City of Charlottesville will provide and empty public litter containers within the market perimeter.  These are not provided for vendor debris.  Vendors are responsible for the collection and proper disposal of all debris, and trash generated from their space.

 

13)  Loss of reserved space assignment will be based upon failure to maintain regular attendance (i.e.: more than once monthly) or two unexcused absences.  Spaces will be reassigned as necessary.

 

 

Please keep for your records

 

 

  

 Non Reserved Vendors:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Non-Reserved Vendors

 

            We have 8 NR spaces this year.  The market will run the same as last year.  All NR vendors are welcome to call me the week before the market to put their name on the list for a vacant reserved space.  I will not take any calls before the market ends.  Please do not call until after the market is over to put yourself on the list for the next week. 

 

All NR spaces are first come first serve.  NR vendors are expected to line up on First Street around 5:00am.  No one is to enter parking lot until all cars have been removed by the police.  If you do enter please understand that you may be ticketed by the police. 

 

Keep in mind in previous years NR vendors took it upon themselves to share spaces.  This is always an option for those days when we have an overflow of vendors.   We do not want to turn anyone away.  The more vendors we can generate in NR section the better; it creates more interest for everyone. 

 

The Following are some general rules that apply to all vendors:

 

A $5.00 per day plus 6% of your sales will be collected at the end of each market day.

 

The vendor agrees to be in his/her space and ready to sell by 6:45am. (Arrival after 6:45am may result loss of selling privileges for the day.)

 

Vendors are expected to stay until 12:00 noon.  If you must leave earlier please notify market manager before unloading merchandise.  No traffic will be permitted during market hours. 

 

The vendor agrees to follow the guidelines and responsibilities as stated in the rules and regulations attached. 

 

Vendors must have pink registration form visible at all times.

 

Please respect neighbor’s space, therefore stay within the lines.  10 x 10 canopies not allowed at the City Market unless you have a space and a half.

 

I look forward to seeing you all at the Market.  It’s going to be a great year!

 

Sincerely,

Stephanie Anderegg-Maloy

Charlottesville Parks & Recreation…The Benefits Are Endless

City Market Manager

434-970-3371

Maloy@charlottesville.org

 

Wow I’ve only been blogging for a month now and I’ve already managed to rile up my DINO coward of a state senator. Sweet.

From RaisingKaine Q&A with Criegh Deeds (”D”):

[My question:]Sen. Deeds, why did you speak out against republican attempts to smear the gay community with a bill that contained broad language banning any type of contractual agreement intended to resemble a marriage, then vote for that very bill after it was cleaned up (to prevent over-generalization that would nullify other types of contractual agreements) which contained exactly that language?
In other words, why did you pander to the gay community by highlighting the bigotry of the Republican Party, then vote with them for the referendum?
[Deeds' response:]
In 2004, the battle was waged over two issues. First, the General Assembly considered a resolution calling on the U.S. Congress to pass a federal amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining a marriage as between a man and a woman. Because marriage is uniquely a matter of state law, I opposed that resolution. The second issue related to HB 751, which was broadly drafted and, in my view, could have some unintended consequences. I did, in fact, speak out against that bill. I thought it was mean-spirited and unnecessary. The bill passed, and the law has not been set aside by the courts.
The last couple of years have seen an effort to amend Virginia’s Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. I voted for that amendment this year, as I did last year. Narrowly read, the amendment would put in Virginia’s Constitution that which is already the law. Because I was concerned about the wording of the amendment, I voted this year and last year to strip out the last two sentences of the amendment. I was not successful in those efforts. In addition, I have consistently voted to broaden the ballot question so that people know exactly what they are voting on when the amendment comes up for a vote this fall.
Ultimately, this is a question that will have to be decided by the voters. Statements made at one time or another and votes cast must be viewed in the context in which the statements are made and the votes are cast. My views have been consistent on gay marriage.

Shorter Deeds: Heh, see it’s not that I voted against gay marriage. I just voted against it.

First, I’ll address the 2004 resolution calling for a US Constitutional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. I agree with him, and I never even brought this issue up — there is no place in the US Constitution because marriage is wholly overseen by the states. Allowing the federal government to insert itself into this debate is unconstitutional (why we would need an Amendment in the first place.) Even Republicans agree. Take this rare moment of clarity from BushCo Cultist Orrin Hatch of Utah (of all places) in the Boston Globe:

“It’s a very troubling matter to me. I don’t believe in discrimination in any form, and I certainly don’t believe in discrimination against gays,” said Senator Orrin Hatch, [former] chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Utah Republican said he would prefer to leave the issue to the states — even if that meant leaving states the option of allowing gay marriages — as long as opposing states were not required to acknowledge those unions. But Hatch said he was not certain that idea would pass constitutional muster.

Right on — a Constitutional amendment would have to include a provision allowing dissenting states to opt out because THE ISSUE COMES DOWN TO DISCRIMINATION. Marriage is a states’ rights issue, great — settled.

Now, on to HB751 passed in 2004. Here’s the exact language:

A civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited. Any such civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable.

Well, while it’s true that Deeds may have spoken out against this “mean-spirited” bill, it’s also true THAT HE VOTED FOR IT. On March 10, 2004 the following votes were cast:

YEAS–Bell, Blevins, Bolling, Chichester, Colgan, Cuccinelli, Deeds, Devolites, Hanger, Hawkins, Houck, Mims, Newman, Norment, Obenshain, O’Brien, Potts, Puckett, Quayle, Rerras, Reynolds, Ruff, Stolle, Stosch, Wagner, Wampler, Watkins, Williams–28.
NAYS–Edwards, Howell, Lambert, Locke, Lucas, Marsh, Puller, Saslaw, Ticer, Whipple–10.
RULE 36–0.
NOT VOTING–Martin, Miller–2.

Right. So now on to the more recent “effort to amend Virginia’s Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.” Here is the text of the proposed amendment contained within the referendum bill (HB101) as presented to the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, upon which Deeds sits:

That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.
This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage.

Now, Deeds deserves some credit here. He fought, albeit unsuccessfully, on the committee to have this text altered to remove the last two sentences because they were unnecessary (though it seems that the entire thing is unnecessary given the already codified § 20-45.3.) But let’s just admire his willingness to stand up to those meanie republicans.
Here’s the language of the bill that would be codified into Virginia’s Constitution if approved in a referendum this November:

That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.
This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage.

Right so it’s the exact same thing the House presented to Deeds’ Senate committee. His efforts to re-word the amendment didn’t work. But his objection to the wording has absolutely nothing to do with the issue of marriage equality — he objected to it because it was sloppily crafted and would, like in other states, potentitally nullify existing contractual agreements between individuals not interested in obtaining a marriage but acquiring certain rights granted by a marriage. Nothing to do with equal protection or the bigotry this amendment represents.

So then of course the Senate had to vote on this resolution to allow a referendum. Let’s see how that played out:

YEAS–Bell, Blevins, Chichester, Colgan, Cuccinelli, Deeds, Devolites Davis, Edwards, Hanger, Hawkins, Herring, Houck, Howell, Lambert, Locke, Lucas, Marsh, Martin, McDougle, Miller, Newman, Norment, Obenshain, O’Brien, Potts, Puckett, Puller, Quayle, Rerras, Reynolds, Ruff, Saslaw, Stolle, Stosch, Ticer, Wagner, Wampler, Watkins, Whipple, Williams–40.
NAYS–0.
RULE 36–0.
NOT VOTING–0.

How nice. Let’s let the people decide. Here’s what you’ll be voting on this November:

“Question: Shall Article I (the Bill of Rights) of the Constitution of Virginia be amended to state, in part, that ‘only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions’ and to add provisions relating to the legal status of other relationships?”
“That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.
This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships or unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities or effects of marriage.”?

The bits with the strikethrough are what Deeds talked about in his response to my query — that language is too broad and I applaud his efforts to change the language of the Question to more clearly inform the voter of the amendment’s intention.

But HE AGAIN VOTED FOR IT. Now, I understand that if this is to be a states’ rights issue, the only way to address it in this way is to put it to a referendum. That’s how states work, and that’s why it was so important to keep it off the US Constitution — because the people would have no say. If he really wanted to be the “consistent [voter] on gay marriage” he wouldn’t be trying to mislead us by pulling stunts like this and then appearing at gay rallies like Equality VA’s held in Richmond on Valentine’s Day. Deeds was there. From the Daily Progress, a day after the rally:

Deeds said gay Virginians have many reasons to lobby and are being treated as political footballs.
“I thought folks had gotten everything they could out of the choice question, so they started whacking on sexual orientation, sexual preference,” Deeds said of the conservative forces pushing anti-gay legislative agendas, including bills aimed at banning gay-straight alliance groups in high schools.
“We ought to be about a nurturing environment for all our kids in public schools,” Deeds said. “Gay people aren’t in four or five closets around Virginia. They are everywhere. They ought to visit their legislators.”

And you ought to stand up for a group you claim to defend. You ought to do whatever it takes to stop “mean-spirited and unnecessary” amendments to slime their way onto Virginia’s Constitution. You ought to support equal protection and defend all your electorate by actions, not just these tired empty cliches.

Sen. Deeds you are no defender of equal protection. Along with the rest of the democrats in the Senate you are instrumental in allowing discrimination and bigotry to become law in Virginia once again.

This, from CNN:

The only Iraqi battalion capable of fighting without U.S. support has been downgraded to a level requiring them to fight with American troops backing them up, the Pentagon said Friday.
The battalion, made up of 700 to 800 Iraqi Army soldiers, has repeatedly been offered by the U.S. as an example of the growing independence of the Iraqi military.

The competence of the Iraqi military has been cited as a key factor in when U.S. troops will be able to return home.

What Bush also said last month:

A year ago, Bush said, “only a handful” of Iraqis were trained and equipped to fight the insurgent forces. “Today, 125 combat battalions are fighting the enemy, and 50 of those are in the lead,” he said. “That’s progress.”

Those of us who actually give a damn knew that he was lying — he left out the bit about how many were independent. Just really disgusting, and now it’s even worse than we thought. Not something I wanted to wake up to this morning, especially feeling newly ill (the life of a teacher of kids with disabilities during the winter is one of near constant illness, grrr.)

WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING. And all you republicans out there who happily eat this shit up without any modicum of critical analysis — this is all your fault. So I hope you’re comfortable with the knowledge that your vote for these lying murderers has directly lead to the installation of incompetent cronies charged with the rebuilding of a country flattened by our own WMD (depleted uranium, white phosphorus, shall I continue?)

Republicans just can’t be trusted to do the job. They’re too worried about engendering mass chaos, then lying to the voters so that they can continue their murderous ways. It’s what makes the baby Jesus happy.

thanks to SusanG at Kos for CNN links

Inspection of all farms?

Is it a good idea? Will it work? All because there have been so many complaints that produce was showing up at the market that was not grown by the vendor, market managers tried to find an enforcement solution. This has had some hot reaction - tell your views from your side of the issue.

Welcome!

Many have had much ro say about the new rules and forms sent in the mail to all the vendors this week - so we have opened this forum for your comments and discussions. Have at it! Register and start adding your comments.

Interestingly enough I am not sure what to think. So I will let you make up your own minds.

Nonetheless, interesting indeed.

UK rapped on data retention law

As advisors to a variety of Fiduciaries, we often find ourselves having to mix history with economics, anthropology and contemporary politics in explaining our recommendations. For example, let’s think about international equities as a separate asset class. Rigorous economic analysis leads us to the conclusion that including such a class offers the opportunity to increase returns while, at the same time, allowing us to spread and thus reduce the overall risk. This is good for the portfolio, but is this strictly an economic decision?

Picking the right international investment involves more than just economics. Historically, we look at the market as a variety of needs and wants, buyers and sellers, who used to come from mostly one region…the Anglo-Saxon markets of Northern Europe and America. Those “other countries” supplied the raw materials and labor. That was 30 years ago. Now we see the needs and wants being increasingly shaped by Pakistanis who live new Dehli, Chinese who live in South Africa, and Iranians who work/live in the UK. If there is one mistake that we in the Anglo-Saxon market, that we have made over and over again, it is to underestimate the influence of culture and tradition in shaping the world’s economic welfare. The Romans did not understand this in the 1st Century (BCE) and British were blind to this in the 18th Century (AD). We see this in our business leaders and politicians who fervently believe that “our way is the right way” without regard to what values that other cultures may in common with us. Let’s hope that we can continue to find ways to share our common values and ideas so that, as Fiduciaries, we can be ready to spot investment opportunities in an increasingly more complex global economy.

In the first seconds of January 1, 1946, a baby girl was born. And with that bundle of pink promise came the thunder of a generation that is now changing how America thinks about aging and what it means to be a “senior citizen.” The January 2006 issue of Smithsonian Magazine includes an article about that little girl, and you’ll read that her life parallels trends we’re seeing in the Charlottesville area:

• People nearing 60 are retiring and making significant life changes
• They are opting out of stress and into following their interests
• They are downsizing their homes, selling large houses and buying for convenience and comfort
• They are buying second homes and investment properties to give themselves flexibility about where they spend the seasons
• They are taking care of their health so that they can live active lives and enjoy their grandchildren
• They feel a need to give back to the community and the world at large.

In our grandparents’ generation, you bought a house and kept if for the rest of your life. The Boomers have thrown that expectation out and happily move on to a new home that fits their changing lifestyle. Living near a golf course might be more important than being near a good school, and access to excellent health care and long-term care take on new importance.

We’re very lucky to live in Albemarle County where seniors have wonderful choices for housing, recreation, transportation, and health care. Check out the links on my Senior Transition page; Boomers will find that Charlottesville truly is a great place to retire!

What a moron. Or more accurately: What a pussy.

But you say ‘what range this man has’ ( I use man loosely here): Pretending to be a cat drinking milk out of the hands of an actress, dancing in a red leotard with a transvestite, shaking hands with murdering thugs and, oh yes….a member of British Parliament and the champion of the UK “anti-war” crowd.

“We need to use new and innovative methods to put across our arguments,” he said. “I believe Celebrity Big Brother will be hugely successful for our ideals.”

Right then, hands up all those who are now familiar with Respect’s policy on local government finance. How about housing and the homeless? And surely Galloway managed to get in a word about the party’s pioneering ideas on sport and recreation?

Alas no, but it seems very likely that in years to come old folk will still be sitting around the fireside and reminiscing about the time the honourable member for Bethnal Green and Bow pretended to be a little pussycat licking pretend cream from an actress’s cupped hands. And let’s not forget the time he pranced about in a red leotard; not to mention his row with Michael Barrymore or the day he dressed up as Dracula.

The poor British. He’s like their very own version of Jesse Jackson, though I don’t think even Jesse would stoop so low as to appear on Big Brother.

Props to Egypt for (temporarily) not allowing that idiot into the country. He was going there to take part in a mock trial against all the good guys involved in the Iraq war. What impressive versatility - from vulgar reality show to pro-terrorist propaganda participant. What a jewel this man is. Seems as if his east London constituents may have finally had enough of him, too.

http://www.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~morph/Transformer/index.html

Hat euch schon jemals interessiert, wie ihr in 40 Jahren aussehen werdet? Oder wie Botticelli euch gemalt haette? Oder wie ihr in nem Manga-Carton aussehen wuerdet? Oder wie als Affenmensch?

Ich tu euch jetzt mal nicht meine Bilder an, aber es ist auf alle Faelle den Spass wert!!

Frei nach Finding Nemo…..

Glaubt’s oder glaubt’s net, heute morgen, 6:35 Uhr, nachdem sich die Bine durch Matsch und Schnee zum AFC gekaempft hat, huepft sie schon ins Wasser und startet voll durch und schwimmt unglaubliche 1500m Kraul OHNE UNTERBRECHUNG!!!! Leute, der Triathlon kann kommen!!!

Gut, aehm…… jetzt muss ich nur noch a bissle schneller schwimmen (37min ist wohl noch verbesserungsfaehig…), dann noch anschliessende 40km radeln ueberleben, und dann noch bei 10km joggen voll durchstarten (wo ich doch momentan unglaubliche 6km laufen kann, wohlgemerkt OHNE vorher zu schwimmen und OHNE vorher zu radeln), dann kann’s losgehen :-)

Just a quick update that the house inspection went well! So we are good to go on the sale of house! Closing March 17…Also, I got to see my actual first real snowfall- A little over an inch this morning and last night. I saw some snow last week, but it was already on the ground when I got back from FL. Here’s a peek out my window…starting to melt already though…

If you’re reading this, you probably know that I’m as big a fan of a nice cold beer than the next guy, but this is a little over the edge. The Dog Star Brewing Company has launched their “Happy Tail Ale” for dogs. Now, its non-alcoholic, but beef flavored…ugh. A six pack is $9.99, but shipping and handling brings it to $25!! Well, Harvey won’t be partaking for now…

The house is coming along quite nicely :) Stopped by today to check on some things and took a couple of update pictues…The one to the right here is some sketchy guy (that looks a lot like Michael) “working” on the bonus room :) We now have tile in the bathrooms and flooring in the kitchen. Click here to see some more pictures from today, and if you missed the ones from last week, you can see them here. Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

Essential 93%

“I think you should review Rain Dogs next. It is currently in my CD player. Or at least your favorite Waits album.”
-Rudy Chattanoga

I don’t remember Rudy having a last name (Reese’s last name was Withers, I think Paul had our dog tags printed at the Air and Space museum in DC), but at any rate Paul’s wish is my command. Actually, a Tom Waits review is timely as I’ve been revisiting a lot of his stuff while putting together a compilation for someone. I’d be hard pressed to choose a favorite Waits album, but Rain Dogs is probably objectively his best.

Along with Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello, Tom Waits forms the third person of my divine trinity of rock snobbery– Waits obviously being the Holy Ghost. What I love most about music is it’s capacity for alchemy. Waits is the great alchemist of the aesthetic, with the ability to transform the seedy and sordid into the sublime. Every moment of Tom Waits stinks of liquor, cigarettes, and 3 a.m. and constantly reminds us of the inextricable beauty and sadness that comprise this thing called life. At his best, no one can touch him. At other times, no one should.

You often have to chew Tom Waits music before you can swallow it, and it doesn’t always go down easy and it doesn’t always taste good, but in the end it’s chock full of something. Waits’ atmospheres are easily the most vivid and tangible. There is a kind of solidity to his songs– you can almost smell them and taste them.

Rain Dogs is probably his most consistent and representative album. Lamentably, we also don’t get much of Waits the seedy nightclub lounge jazz singer– my favorite of his many personas. It also doesn’t have any of his miraculously untouchables (”Christmas Card” and “Take It With Me” come to mind, although “Time” comes close) Probably we get the most of Waits the crazed carnival ring master conducting what Paul calls some “weird circus shit.” This is certainly the persona of the opening “Singapore” who sticks around for the first few tracks and pops up again here and there as Waits switches personas on the face-paced nitemare cruise that is Rain Dogs.

Perhaps surprisingly, Rain Dogs gives us his best pure Rock and Roll– “Blind Love”, “Hang Down Your Head”, “Downtown Train.” “Downtown Train” would have been a HUGE hit for Springsteen… all three of those songs in fact. I wonder if he plays any of them. I know he plays “Jersey Girl”…. I digress… I should wrap this up.

I just learned this a couple days ago, but “Rain Dogs” apparently are “…the ones you see wanderin’ around after a rain. Ones that can’t find their way back home. See the rain washes off the scent off all the mail boxes and the lamposts, fire hydrants. Raindogs. For I am a raindog too…” If we see Waits on this album as a crazed ring master, then the stars of his circus are the human rain dogs– listless figures wandering the city late trying to catch of whiff of anything that will lead them back home.

Well it’s Ninth and Hennepin
All the doughnuts have names that sound like prostitutes
And the moon’s teeth marks are on the sky
Like a tarp thrown all over this
And the broken umbrellas like dead birds
And the steam comes out of the grill
Like the whole goddamn town’s ready to blow…
And the bricks are all scarred with jailhouse tattoos
And everyone is behaving like dogs
And the horses are coming down Violin Road
And Dutch is dead on his feet
And all the rooms they smell like diesel
And you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept here
And I’m lost in the window, and I hide in the stairway
And I hang in the curtain, and I sleep in your hat…
And no one brings anything small into a bar around here
They all started out with bad directions
And the girl behind the counter has a tattooed tear
“One for every year he’s away”, she said
Such a crumbling beauty, ah
There’s nothing wrong with her that a hundred dollars won’t fix
She has that razor sadness that only gets worse
With the clang and the thunder of the Southern Pacific going by
And the clock ticks out like a dripping faucet
’til you’re full of rag water and bitters and blue ruin
And you spill out over the side to anyone who will listen…
And I’ve seen it all, I’ve seen it all
Through the yellow windows of the evening train…

Highlights: “Clap Hands”, “Jockey Full of Bourbon”, “Hang Down Your Head”, “Time”, “Rain Dogs”, “Walking Spanish”, “Anywhere I Hang My Head”… basically most songs in fact. It’s a very consistent album.

iTunes Preview– “Rain Dogs”

At some point I need to review something that doesn’t score in the 80s… my brother tried to get me to write a review of the guy who is constantly singing that “You’re Beautiful” song… but it didn’t sound like nearly as much fun.

Eine Steam Roll ist Folgendes: Man nehme eine schlafende Person, ziehe sich budelnackig aus, und rolle einmal ueber die schlafende Person, und bevor diese checkt, wie ihr geschieht, ist man schon wieder ueber alle Berge. Diese Mal……
Das Opfer: Rick Evans
Der Taeter: Soeren Lindner (wer auch sonst?)
Tatort: Marc’s und Rick’s Apartment
Ende vom Lied: Drei Maenner (besondere inkl. Ryan Hauer) haelt das Bett nicht aus. Rick schlaeft seit gestern Nacht auf dem Boden
Persoenliches Resultat: LOTS OF FUN!!!!!

Es ist ganz einfach, aus einem Minivan eine fahrende Disko zu machen: Schmeiss einen Sitz raus, hol Ryan Hauer rein und dreh die Musik voll auf! Die Fahrt in Marc Minivan gestern Nacht war jedenfalls zum schiessen komisch!

Die Bine ist eine unerreichte Meisterkoechin!! Wir haben uns gestern echt mal wieder selbst uebertroffen und in einer abendfuellenden Kochaktion, unser ERSTES Gulasch, unsere ERSTEN Semmelknoedel und unser ERSTES Blaukraut gekocht, und damit ein paar meiner Amis verwoehnt (”Sabine, I love you”). Ihr koennt euch gar nicht vorstellen, wie guuuuuut das war!!!!