Tuesday's Song

A goldfinch in German Village has a song for you.




In other news:





(Cross-posted at Whiskey Fire. Mouse over pics for captions, and click them for larger versions.
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Monday Morning Blues

Thers tells me that he and the family are high and dry, but powerless. I'm also powerless here in Ohio, but I do have electricity.





In other news, God told One L that the hurricane and the earthquake are signs that God wants us to cut spending. Maybe She just wants you to shut the hell up, Shelley?

And Ross Douthat is an enormous hypocrite.

(Cross-posted at Whiskey Fire. Mouse over pics for captions, and click them for larger versions.)

UPDATE: Doghouse Riley's take on Douthat.
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Ohio Gooper Roundup

Ohio's Wingnut Cobag of the Week


This award goes to Ohio State Representative Tim Grendell.

Ohio state Rep. Tim Grendell (R) said today that he will introduce legislation requiring Ohioans in need of unemployment benefits, welfare, or other government aid to take a drug test first. Patterned on Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) new law, the bill, Grendell says, will force those seeking state aid “to pay for the drug tests” upfront — a payment that would only be repaid “if they pass.” If anyone fails the test two times, they will be banned from receiving aid for three years.

Meanwhile, in Florida Rick Scott's assertion that people on welfare are more likely to use drugs has been proven false: since the state began testing welfare applicants for drugs in July, about 2 percent have tested positive.

Of course, this isn't about saving the state money. It's about demonizing the poor and the unemployed: "Those people who are taking our tax dollars."

In other recent Ohio Statehouse news, a bar is proposed for the basement.

Former Ohio State Representative Robert Mecklenbourg pleaded guilty to DWI in Indiana on Thursday. Bob resigned August 2, below is a summary of his body of work.


1) Ohio ‘heartbeat bill’ would ban most abortions

The Plain Dealer noted that the "heartbeat bill" is only one of five anti-abortion measures put forward in the Ohio state legislature since the start of the new session.
...
Legislators from Georgia and Texas have already asked for copies of Ohio's bill so they can introduce similar bills in their own states, the Plain Dealer reported.

"Let's just remember when 50 million lives are snuffed out - plus-50 million - think of all the artists, think of all the musicians, think of all the athletes, all the surgeons, all the science, all of the gifted children that we have lost because of this," he said. "What do we hear now? We hear statements such as there's not enough workers, there's not enough people working to support our Social Security, we don't have enough people working to support our pension systems. I guess that's what 50 million people lost will do to you."

2) Debate continues on bill requiring photo ID at polls

Rep. Robert Mecklenborg, R-Cincinnati, said it is now his expectation that the Senate will vote on the House-passed photo-ID bill when it returns to session on July 13. Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, said there is an agreement with the Senate to move the bill.

So what else was Bob up to this summer besides lady-parts regulatin' and voter disenfranchisin'?

3) State Rep Mecklenborg likely arrested with a stripper

WLWT has been working to confirm reports that the woman works as a stripper at a club in Lawrenceburg. No one at the club would confirm her employment, but an employee at the club told WLWT they would pass along a message to her.

The dashboard cam video below is presented for your amusement. While Bob was not heard saying "I know someone who can get me off (and she's in my car!), I believe it's implied.



Finally, in not resigning from the Ohio Statehouse news, we have Ohio State Representative Jarrod Martin.



Martin is a conservative Republican. He is a member of the Ohio Gun Collectors Association, the Greene County Fish and Game Association, and the National Rifle Association. He is an active advocate for gun rights and has supported multiple bills which would make their purchase, usage, and carriage easier. Martin is also a staunch supporter of States' Rights and supported resolutions declaring this to the federal government.

What else?


Maybe putting that bar in the basement of the Statehouse is a good idea, after all.
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Friday Butterflies

Same old, same old.

In the news, there's a little hurry-cane thing happening, but Eric Cantor doesn't want the Federal government paying for it because he's a man with a principle (the rich must get richer, and eff everybody else).

Obama loves tar sand pollution.

And that B.P. gulfie-thinghie we don't care about anymore, because Obama solved it all? Right.

On the other hand, we still have butterflies (for now):







(Cross-posted at Whiskey Fire. Mouse over pics for captions, and click them for larger versions.)
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Cardinals

I heard a lot of cardinal commotion on the way home from the store on Monday. I suspected shenanigans, as I saw there was at least two males and one lady involved. Later on, I noticed that the issue was that a little cardinal (too young to fly) was out of the nest.




I considered trying to catch the youngster, but I didn't think there was a chance I'd be successful at rearing it. So all I'd do was give mom and dad heart attacks while confirming all of their worst suspicions re: humans.

The picture below is one I took earlier in the month (unfortunately, the beak/forehead area is a little out of focus).

Cardinals don't like letting you take their picture.


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Monday Pics

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Saturday Butterflies

Nothing much happened this week.

1) The stock market fluctuated, as they say.

2) Our President reaffirmed his desire to save Social Security by cutting it.

3) Our corporate media continued to fulfill its mission to keep Americans fully informed by following Sarah Palin around.

So it goes. Here are some butterflies.






Umbrella Girl lives in Schiller Park.




Another bee video? Why not! I'll just keep getting closer until I get stung.



To Me!

(Cross-posted at Whiskey Fire. Mouse over pics for captions, and click them for larger versions)
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News You Can't Use

First, unindicted criminal and GOP money man Karl Rove is worried about the teabaggers:



Too bad, Karl! You and your fellow Southern Strategists have raised and fed this monster all your life. It's yours!

Meanwhile, alleged Democratic President Obama is worried about appearing to care about his constituents.

Memo to Jay Carney: putting forth half-assed, small beer proposals that you know will accomplish little because you think, cynically, that’s what “independents” want is a stunt. It’s the definition of a stunt. It’s also craven and cowardly when we’ve still got over 9% of the country unemployed.

And Obama is even going on a bus tour!

Finally, from the Bush's 3rd Term file, today's feature is the Obama DOJ (courtesy of Scott Horton):

The prosecution showed Justice to be firmly aligned with Alabama’s then-governor, Republican Bob Riley, who had leveled the initial vote-buying accusations during a heated election-time political debate over gambling issues.
…
Riley initially launched the politically charged bingo investigation; it was then picked up by a U.S. Attorney’s office headed by Leura Canary, the wife of Riley’s campaign adviser. Local political figures cried foul, but Breuer insisted that the matter was being handled entirely by the main branch of the Justice Department.
...
The suppression of the Alabama bingo gambling industry, and the Justice Department’s prosecution of those associated with it, greatly benefited Mississippi’s Indian casino gambling operations by putting their principal competition out of business. In a sense, therefore, the bingo prosecution forms a coda to the tale of “Casino Jack” Abramoff, with the Justice Department playing a murky and controversial ongoing role.

Yes, this is the same Leura Canary who was appointed by G.W. Bush and went after Don Siegelman. And this is Lanny A. Breuer, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Market, Politics, Butterflies

Shall I post my expert market analysis? Trenchant observations on American politics and our continued descent into plutocracy? Or, more butterflies?





How about a carpenter bee?


The goldfinches keep eluding me. This one flew up to the telephone wires just before I could take his picture. Then he spent some time up there laughing.


Thanks to Smut Clyde, I know now that okra and hibiscus are both members of the mallow family.


And now for your market and political analysis:



(Cross-posted at Whiskey Fire. Mouse over pics for captions, and click them for larger versions)
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A Song For Wisconsin

Recall elections are being held tonight in Wisconsin.



A certain zombie and friend from Milwaukee blogs here. And at First Draft, another collection of links for news junkies.

In other news, more details regarding "Super Congress" are emerging. No one should be surprised when it decides that the way to pay for wars, tax cuts, and bailouts for plutocrats is with cuts to Social Security and Medicare. That's been the plan all along.

I'd also like to link this post from Yves Smith, one of the bloggers filling in for Glenn Greenwald at Salon this week. The people who ruined our economy are doing just fine better than ever, thank you. And they think the rest of us are far too comfortable.

(Cross-posted at Whiskey Fire)

UPDATE: The effort to retake the Senate fell one seat short, with two of six Republicans losing. Over at Fred Hiatt's wretched hive of scum and villainy, torture fan and former Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen scribbled:

Last fall, when Republicans wrested 20 state legislative chambers and 10 governorships from the Democrats, some on the left refused to accept the results.

Remember after the 2008 elections, when Republicans accepted the results instead of filibustering every single thing?

Me neither!

Instead of accepting the results and pitching in to help repair the country that Bush and Cheney had left a smoking crater, Senator Mitch McConnell said, ""The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

So tell us Marc, you pathetic, torture-loving hypocrite, why do you Republicans hate America?
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Skunked!

Monday evening skunks, presented for your approval.




And by popular demand, a spider.


(Cross-posted at Whiskey Fire)
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Butterflies and Bees, etc.

First, a bit of politics. Rick Perry, having unsuccessfully tried to pray away the drought in Texas, held a day of prayer in seek of divine help for our government. Or else for money and power, aka the usual stuff politicans seek from American Jesus.

The event was Perry's idea but was financed by the American Family Association, a Tupelo, Miss.-based group that opposes abortion and gay rights and believes that the First Amendment freedom of religion applies only to Christians.

Second, someone once said this blog does not have enough butterfly pictures.











(Cross-posted at Whiskey Fire)
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