VA's current crises:

- not enough state revenues to maintain an adequate road system statewide

- air pollution in Shenandoah Valley destroying both views and habitats

- a north-heavy tax base with a relatively underdeveloped south

- air quality in northern Virginia rated as some of the worst in the country

So what is the state assembly focusing on?

- passing laws making wearing low-rider pants a misdemeanor

- making adoption by same-sex couples illegal

Scientists in the U.S. Fish and wildlife service finds that at least 20% of respondents to a survey on behavior received pressured or instructions by higher-ups in the service to not answer the survey conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Seems that the fight for freedom and democracy that Bushotep II doesn't apply in the US, at least not when it comes to access to the President's public events as a servant of the people.

Here's a quote from Salon from 2/7/2005:

"When Bush traveled to Fargo, N.D., for a forum there Thursday, more than 40 area residents found themselves on a list that prohibited them from getting tickets. Suspected terrorists? In the eyes of local Republicans maybe -- the residents on the list all seem to be known, one way or another, for their liberal political views."

This time, not quite a payola--but another one of those "oops, we didn't know, how could we" messages coming from Bushohthep II's spinners.

Thanks, Senator Dodd. When Condi basically started venting about how horrible Venezuela's Chavez is and equating him to Fidel Castro and how little he's done to help the situation by what he says and how he's not cooperating, he replied "Yes, but Lula in Brazil has said very similar things--in fact following similar lines--and you've found a way to work with Brazil."

So, if I expressed objections to seeing heterosexist portrayals of family life that exclude gay and lesbian families in kids' shows, and said that I don't want my nephews and nieces exposed to them, would you pull distribution of such shows much as you did with the Postcards from Buster show that talks about a legitimately coupled lesbian family in Vermont?

Ok, so it took Bush a few days to go further than his initial US$15 million to relief work in the Indian Ocean. That's a fumble that almost didn't get caught.

But the big fumble is that the budget for his second inauguration is $40 million. This, at a time when they say there's not enough money to pay for schools or health care or AIDS treatment programs.

This looks like either cheap cookware or one of those old-style Monopoly playing pieces that you shouldn't use because you might get lead poisoning.

The Intelligent Design whackjobs will have a field day with this new image of the belt around Iapetus, one of Saturn's moons...

So, after the highly depressing results of the US presidential election of 2004, I decided that I needed to spend some time outside of the United States, preferrably in a place that had medical care for all, a solid educational system, where "welfare" isn't a dirty word and where "intellectual" is not an insult. Amsterdam came to mind. Certainly, the fact that it was the center of a vast trading empire for centuries, that it has some of the most progressive laws in the books anywhere, and that being a leftist isn't considered treasonous was appealing.

After my return to the Untied--I mean United--States, I proceeded to muster up what remaining patience I may have had for the Transportation Sekurity Agency and called their 800 number to speak to the office of the Ombudsman.