1. Please keep your responses germane to the original post. If you are unable to do that, at least make them entertaining, eh?

2. Keep it civil. It doesn't have to be PG, but I'd prefer it be civil.

3. Please, respond in the language used by the original post  — which is likely to be English. I may attempt to puzzle my way through Romance or Nordic languages, but Russian, Kanji, Arabic and Greek are beyond me.

4. If you don't have a Live Journal account, please sign your post with your name.  If you're new to my LJ, I'd like to know where and how you found me. I'm curious (ok, I'm nosy) that way.

5. NO SPAM. Res ipsa loquitur.

6. From time to time, there may be posts made with adult content. I'll try to flag them,  but I may forget.

7. If you make a response citing someone else, a book, LJ, blog or other publication, please give credit. It's not only courteous and civilised, it allows other readers to explore things. Posting links is courteous also.
  
8. House Rules are subject to change and/or revision.

(Anonymous) on November 20th, 2009 04:57 pm (UTC)
Your b.s.

IP Address:(67.183.123.215)
You post house rules asking for civility, and saying you're in a thoughtful mood. Then I read a comment left by you at a Seattle paper in which you call someone you've never met a career thief. Usual conservative bullshit.

Well, 67.183.123.215, somewhere in the Seattle area on Comcast:

Yes, I did call Mr. Anderson a thief. I also stated obliquely that Mr. Anderson (and by inference, his employer) is not a professional, at least in regards to newspaper etiquette.

That would be because Mr. Anderson and the Seattle paper which employs him STOLE A PHOTOGRAPH from Mr. Oleg Volk. Had you read and understood the thread of commentary, you'd realize that.

No, I haven't met Mr. Anderson. Wouldn't know him if I met him. Don't care to meet him.

Moreover, you didn't bother signing your comment (which I have deleted from the thread in which you posted), didn't bother to e-mail me (I'm not difficult to find, my e-mail address is listed on my User Info page) and apparently failed to comprehend and/or read much of what I've listed as house rules, I feel free to state that you, sir or madam,

ARE A COWARDLY GIT.

Note the above is civil. Not necessarily polite. But civil.

I posted this on Nov. 14th, 2005. Since that time, my cousin Tim has passed, my son has returned to Virginia from his service in the Marine Corps and my youngest daughter is now serving in the Marines. Friends have been deployed to the sandbox, fortunately, they've returned unharmed. One picked up a nasty set of chest complications whilst in "a secure, undisclosed location." I've been fortunate, others, much less so.

This evening I read a comment that I disagree with: "fissures running deep into the crumbling edifice upon which the US military stands."

Our service personnel still fight in far-off places, keeping our shores safe. I don't believe the "edifice upon which the U.S. military" stands is crumbling, elstwise, those men and women wouldn't be doing what they are doing so well, at for some, a terrible price.

Monday, I went up to the borders of Occupied Virginia again, traveling mostly on secondary roads, passing through towns instead of bypassing them on expressways. Flags still fly. People wave at passing strangers' cars. The edifice seems to be in pretty good shape.

Semper Fi.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

14 November, 2005

THIS WEEKEND I went on a trip to Occupied Virginia to visit my cousin and my son's godparents. Some of the thoughts I had on the way back to Roanoke.

Got back around 20:30 Sunday. Russ gave me a photo of David all spiffed up in his dress uniform. Seeing that, I guess it finally sunk in. Somehow, Russ telling me that he'd been to PI for David's graduation didn't have the impact on me that a photo of David in Marine dress did.

I drove back to Roanoke on US 29 and US 460 -- the 29th Infantry Division Memorial Highway and the 116th Infantry Division Memorial Highway, respectively. 29 and 460 are local roads, old roads. They wander down and across Virginia, passing through small farming towns, going through battlefields from the War. Brandy Station is on US 29, it crosses the Rappahannock River not far from Brandy Station. Haymarket and Gainesville. Culpeper, where one of the men who died in Iraq lived. John S. Mosby operated in the area. George C. Marshall went to college at VMI in Lexington, not far from Route 29. Stonewall Jackson taught at VMI and conducted operations in the area. J.E.B. Stuart dashed about here.

As I usually do, I went through Madison on the 'business' road instead of taking the bypass. US 29 is the main street in Madison, it was lined from town limit to town limit with flags on both sides of the road for Veteran's Day. Patriotism is alive and well in small town America. As I drove down 29, I remembered fishing trips David and I took, stopping at Lake Brittle outside Warrenton -- which is near Vint Hill Farm Station.

As the day deepened into dusk and finally dark, I was remembering the times David and I went on road trips -- fishing trips, the Lee family reunion in 1995, rambles around Virginia. I was -- and still am -- wondering if we'll ever do that again.

I also visited my cousin Tim and his wife Babs. Tim is in the end stages of cancer, the result of being exposed to Agent Orange in Korea. He's visibly fading, having lost weight since our last visit in August. Babs doesn't think Tim will last to Thanksgiving, and I'd be surprised if she's wrong. He's pain free, hasn't used the morphine he was given for pain control. Miles (Tim's older brother) has been drumming for him, he's recorded it on a CD. Tim says it helps, that it's why he hasn't had to use the morphine. So the old soldier is quietly fading away. As I drove down 29 I also remembered hunting with Tim and Miles. Quiet, enjoyable hours outdoors. The fox that accosted us one snowy evening, visibly pissed off that his favourite brush patch we were near didn't contain rabbits. The squirrel that Tim and I managed to miss with two rounds of 12-gauge and a round of .303. Bugger was smoking the leaves as he headed out down the trail. Tim's reply when I invited him to come back down for grouse season -- "But Lee, them damn things can FLY!"

I've said my goodbyes, the next time I see Tim it's likely that Taps will be playing.

Tim said something I thought I'd quote here, as it's appropriate for Veteran's Day.

"Even though it means my early death, I'm glad I signed up. It was my duty, I'm proud I did it."

So ladies and gentlemen, let's raise a glass for those that serve and those that have served. It is an honour to know you.

Absent companions.

Michelle Singletary writes for the Washington Post on finances. The following are excerpts from her column today:

It's official -- we have a new tax break for people who don't need it, using money our government doesn't have.

In an effort to stimulate the economy, the people who wouldn't know a balanced budget if you smacked them on the head with it have not only extended the excessive first-time homeowner's credit of $8,000, but also expanded it to include a credit for current, longtime homeowners.

...Here's where things get wild. Congress stretched the definition of what it means to be a first-time home buyer to include a second group of people. I guess the members live in a fantasy world like little Max does in "Where the Wild Things Are," where first doesn't mean first.

...At least Congress could have been honest and not treated us like we're fools. If it wanted to give money to people who already owned homes, then just say so. Don't insult us.

That's from the Washington Post, people. Not a publication widely-known for a conservative viewpoint.

Today's Schlock comic brought back a memory from the bad/good old days.

A patient was being transferred from one unit to another, the attending had ordered a chest X-ray on admission to the unit.

Nurses being generally kind and decent people, the patient's nurse had stopped by Radiology (actually, she'd gone out of her way) to get an erect study, knowing that gave better information than a portable study done on the floor.

Mid-way through the exam, the patient turned ashen and began to fall. We grabbed the patient and lowered him into a chair, then the nurse turned to me and said (half-yelled, really) "I need atropine. STAT."

I knew we didn't have atropine in the department. The ER is next door to us. So I headed over there on a dead-run, coming through the outer doors of the ER to find Sam, the head nurse, standing in the drug room door. Sam took one look and yelled at me, "What do you need?"  to which I responded "ATROPINE."

Sam yanked open a drawer and threw me two prepacked syringes as I went past the nursing station. Bhog only knows how I caught them, or why they didn't separate in mid-flight. I headed out the back door and back to Room 4 in Radiology, where the patient was.

About five seconds after I hit the door of Room 4, it burst open again, with Sam, the ER attending doc, a code cart and three other nurses. The ICU nurse looked quite surprised, and Sam told her "Leon doesn't run into the ER yelling for atropine. We figured he had problems and we'd better follow him."

Needless to say, the transfer was cancelled and the patient went back to ICU.

Two sites that I've found that may be of interest to some of you:

The Roanoke Cop

Pepper Spray Me: Tales of a Big City Cop

Blogs of two police officers, one local (here in the megalopolis of Roanoke, VA), one from a large city elsewhere.

Ecclesiastical kindergarten games

Opinion by the Right Reverend John S. Spong, retired Episcopal Bishop of Newark

In the recent communication between the Pope, Benedict XVI, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, which will allow Anglicans to become Roman Catholics with an "Anglican Twist," we have a sad picture of how out-of-date and irrelevant institutional Christianity has become. Here we have two unimpressive Christian leaders, rooted deeply in yesterday, jockeying publicly to see who can be the most prejudiced about the role of women and the place of homosexual people in the life of the Christian Church. It would be amusing if it were not so ludicrous.

This debate is by now rather tired and most of the world cares very little what either of these two leaders thinks. The Pope constantly parades before the world an uninformed homophobia and his attempt to suggest that women are "separate but equal" is almost pathetic. On his last trip to Africa where violence, bloodshed and massive hunger exist, his moral outrage was directed only toward the use of condoms to stop the spread of the HIV virus. Who can still take those attitudes seriously? The Archbishop of Canterbury, on the other hand, long ago sacrificed a commitment to truth on the altar of church unity, made peace with those infected with the prejudices of sexism and homophobia and acted as if unity could actually be achieved by rejecting women or gay people.

In this embarrassing conflict the Pope seeks to gain an advantage by making Roman Catholic Christianity more welcoming to those Anglican clergy and members who cannot adjust to new truth and new consciousness, while the Archbishop grieves over the results of his own inept leadership. He worries about losing a thousand Anglican clerics to Rome, but he does not seem to be concerned that the Anglican Church in his country has lost the allegiance of fifty million people because of silly and dated activities like these.

Both of these church leaders seem to me to be lost in the fog of antiquity. For that reason it matters little to me or to most of the world that they continue to play their ecclesiastical kindergarten games. I am quite simply not interested in this debate. It does not speak to my world, and I am amazed that these two men, who are otherwise learned and educated, are nonetheless so unaware of this reality that they continue to pursue their agenda so passionately.

© 2009 The Washington Post

Ms. Jen O'Malley Dillon
Democratic National Committee
Washington, D.C.


Ms. Dillon:

Several things.

First: you are an utter stranger, affiliated with politicians, apparently voluntarily and for gain. There is no way I would give you the privilege of using my given name. Cease to do so forthwith.

Second: I don't know from where you obtained my e-mail. Stop using it forthwith.

Third: Failure to comply with the second item will result in a formal complaint being made. One that will result in your office having new wallpaper, featuring the word "Subpoena."

In veritas,

Leon W. Jester, Jr., RT-R, AAS
Roanoke, Virginia

Post Scriptum: You may inform my Governor that he needs to get himself back to Richmond and take care of the job he was elected to do, however poorly. He is not paid by me and the other taxpayers in the Commonwealth to play ducks and drakes at our expense in Washington.  -- lwj


Jen O'Malley Dillon, Democrats.org wrote:

	Leon -- "A gross distortion." "Pants on fire!" "False." That's what the independent PolitiFact ...

Ladies and gentlemen, the USS New York:

New York is the fifth ship of the LPD 17-class and the fifth ship in the Navy to be named after the Empire State. Arrival in New York is scheduled for November. Early events will be focused on ship's crew, their families, first responders and 9/11 families. Public viewing is scheduled in the days prior to and days following the commissioning, slated for Nov. 7.   www.navy.mil/search/display.asp


( Two more photos behind cut )

ussny.org/

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST 16 Sept. 2009:

Obama's Many Policy 'Czars' Draw Ire From Conservatives

On paper, they are special advisers, chairmen of White House boards, special envoys and Cabinet agency deputies, asked by the president to guide high-priority initiatives. But critics call them "czars" whose powers are not subject to congressional oversight, and their increasing numbers have become a flash point for conservative anger at President Obama.

Lists drawn up by conservative groups detail as many as 40 czars linked to Obama, although some of the positions existed before he took office, and some did win Senate approval. There's "faith-based czar" Joshua DuBois, who heads the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a post President George W. Bush created in 2001; "Afghanistan czar" Richard C. Holbrooke, appointed by Obama as special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan; "intelligence czar" Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, an office created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; "Mideast peace czar" George J. Mitchell; and "border czar" Alan Bersin, an assistant secretary of homeland security charged with improving security along the southern border. ...

Although the controversy is mostly fanned by Republicans, members of Congress from both parties have questioned czar appointments. After Jones's departure, Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.) called for Obama's czars to testify before Congress about their "authority and responsibilities." Jones's "ability to slip into a position of power without due congressional diligence only further underscores the necessity for a confirmation process," McHenry said.

Balance of article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/15/AR2009091501424.html
 

What Congress seems to have lost track of is that they, and they alone, have the power of the purse.

Whilst short of impeachment by the House and trial in the Senate, Congress may not remove an Executive Branch official, Congress can and may refuse funding for that official's position, or entire department. One doubts Mr. Obama, or any other president, would pay them out of his pocket.

I'm getting tired of Congress duly assembled whinging about usurpation of it's prerogatives by the Executive. It's time for them to stop whinging and do something.

ONCE AGAIN WE ARE seeing the blame game played in Washington. This time it is a representative from South Carolina, one Joe Wilson.

Wilson (his conduct does not merit his being addressed with an honorific) shouted "You lie" at Mr. Obama during the President's recent speech before the combined houses.

First of all, Wilson displayed excrecable (if any)  manners. The fact that he's from South Carolina would indicate he  grew up knowing better. One hopes.

Wilson has apologised to Mr. Obama, who has accepted his apology. Wilson now states that the affair is over.

Well, not exactly. Wilson's outburst, viz. calling the President a liar, violates rules of the House of Representatives.

The House is now considering how to punish Wilson and Wilson is crying "foul".

The foul is Wilson's. He needs to take what he's got coming like a man and quit whinging.

That's the Curmudgeon's 2¢.

ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE GALLERY  — enjoy – lwj



(click on the image to view full-sized)

THE RADIOLOGY DEPARTMENT at Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley is closed.

In an odd way, it was fitting that the last study done was an abdominal  and chest study.

I did the exam, my first exams I did there as a new radiographer twenty years ago were chest and abdominal studies.

That is all.

LISTENING TO NPR this morning, with various talking heads debating whether or not corporations have First Amendment rights, the intent of Congress, et cetera ...

I thought about it for a bit. Here goes:

1) Corporations are structures, constructs, if you will, of a state. They exist on paper.

2) Their purpose, originally, was to protect investors should the corporation fail, i.e., go bankrupt. The individual stockholders are not held personally liable for the corporation's debts. The private assets are not in danger of seizure by creditors.

3) Corporations cannot register to vote, they are an artificial construct.

4) As such, why should a corporation have First Amendment rights? Stockholders may exercise their First Amendment rights (presuming they are citizens and registered to vote), hence a corporation has no need for any rights other than protection of investors.

5) As a corporation (or a union, or any other group of individuals) can not vote, why should they be allowed to make campaign contributions? Their stockholders may make such, as voters. A corporation's board of directors may, indeed, even encourage such, but should not be allowed to directly contribute to a campaign or office holder. [Of note, under IRS regulations regarding tax-exempt organisations, such as churches, THEY may not indulge in political speech. Depending on who is in power where, this is, it seems, selectively enforced by the IRS and the Federal Elections people.]

Frankly, I'd like to see campaign contributions and advertising (a form of contribution) restricted to registered voters. If you haven't bothered to register, or are not legally able to register, you shouldn't be allowed to donate money, time or resources.

This opinion will probably raise a howl from people whose children are active in campaigns. They will whinge that their childrens' rights have been limited. Well, they ARE limited simply by not having achieved their majority. Immigrant groups. Unions. Trade groups, such as the AMA and ABA.

I believe that the Founders' intents did not include any of those groups.

This is the Curmudgeon's 2¢ worth — what's yours?

"SIXTY VOTES"  is the phrase one sees or hears everywhere these days. 

Our media — such as it is — is obsessed with the idea that legislation requires sixty votes to pass the Senate.

Section 7 - Revenue Bills, Legislative Process, Presidential Veto

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

See, people? Not in the Constitution at all.

"Sixty votes" is what is required by Senate rules to invoke cloture.

Not to pass legislation.

Read the Constitution. Learn what any high school graduate my age knew to get out of high school. And for the sake of anything decent and good, SHUT THE FUCK UP if you don't know what you're talking (or writing) about.

"His balls are just starting to look prettier, more of a spiral" ... "He's still putting it in the places it needs to go. ... Now he's always leading you, he's got his timing right."

You can get your minds out of the gutter now, the above was excerpted from an article on Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the University of Florida's football team.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/09/02/ST2009090201635.html?hpid=artslot

I'VE BEEN TINKERING with CorelDraw's Photo-Paint, it allows me direct access to NEF images from my Nikon. (One of these days, when the dibs are in tune, I'll pick up a newer version of Adobe's Photo Shop.)

The image below was taken at the Roanoke City Market on a quiet Saturday earlier this summer.The fruit in the little sun spot caught my eye and I took a pic of it.

The original is rather disappointing, it's mostly shadow and kind of dull. So I took it through some contrast and colour enhancement in Photo-Paint, tinkered with it a bit more in Photo Shop and saved it as a JPG (of minor note, LJ's client doesn't take TIFF or RAW images, hence the JPG files, which are more compressed than TIFF or RAW).

Click on the image, it will open in the gallery and you can click on the gallery preview to see it full size.

For what it's worth, my inspiration for posteriziation and manipulation of photos came from an artist I'd done lab work for many years ago, Craig English. Craig makes seriagraphs (silk screen prints) using elements of photos he's taken and art he draws. I stick with what I can do with photos, I'm no where near as good at illustration and art.

Enjoy -- lwj

Iran purges Intelligence Ministry officials

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI

The Associated Press
Monday, August 10, 2009; 3:37 PM

TEHRAN, Iran -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tightened his grip on Iran's powerful intelligence services, ousting four senior officials in a widening purge against authorities who challenged the harsh crackdowns after June's disputed elections, lawmakers and media said Monday.

The shake-up at the Intelligence Ministry - the nation's main spy agency - deepened the rifts straining Iran's conservative ranks over Ahmadinejad's strong-arm political tactics and the crushing response to the pro-reform opposition since the June 12 election.

It also sought to bolster Ahmadinejad allies in the Revolutionary Guard, which led the assaults and arrests against protesters who claimed the election was rigged. But now officials from other groups, including the police and judiciary, say abuses occurred and have called for investigations into the deaths and alleged torture.

The latest purge was reportedly linked to the refusal of some top officials to back the government's claims that the wave of protests were part of a "velvet revolution" aimed at overthrowing the Islamic leadership. Some in the ministry also had reportedly opposed broadcasting confessions by detainees that the opposition says were obtained by abuse.

The increasingly public disagreements have shattered the perception of high-level unity in the face of the postelection crisis and suggest Ahmadinejad's political capital is shrinking as he moves to form his second-term government this week.

The Intelligence Ministry sweep came less than two weeks after Ahmadinejad angered conservatives by firing the intelligence minister, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, in an apparent dispute that reportedly included the handling of the clampdown on the unrest.

It left Ahmadinejad as de facto head of the Intelligence Ministry until the new government is formed as early as next week.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/10/AR2009081000661.html?hpid=moreheadlines

The last British survivor of the World War I trenches, Harry Patch, has died at the age of 111.

Mr Patch was conscripted into the Army aged 18 and fought in the Battle of Passchendaele at Ypres in 1917 in which more than 70,000 British soldiers died.

He was raised in Combe Down, near Bath, and had been living at a care home in Wells, Somerset.

The sole British survivor of the war is former seaman Claude Choules, who is aged 108 and lives in Perth, Australia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8168691.stm
 

Let us raise a glass in honour of Mr. Patch and his companions.

Slainte!