Poor Barry . . .

. . . when can he talk?

September 7?

Sure, why not?

Uhhh . . . we didn't know it was opposite the Republican debate. 

Well, let's move it to the next day.

You mean it's opposite the NFL opener?  Who knew?

Object lesson to Barry and staff:  Stupidity is not an excuse for incompetence.

"When the debate is lost . . .
. . . slander becomes the tool of the loser."

"The interesting question is: What is it about this president that has stripped away the veneer of respect that normally accompanies the Office of the President? Why do Republicans think this president is unpresidential and should dare to request this kind of thing? It strikes me that it could be the economic times, it could be that he won so big in 2008 or it could be, let's face it, the color of his skin. This is an extraordinary reaction to a normal sequence of events," MSNBC contributor Richard Wolffe said on "The Last Word."

Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), the CBC whip, told attendees at a recent CBC jobs event that Tea Party lawmakers "would love to see you and me ... hanging on a tree."

Point made, I believe, without further evidence.

Naples has a couple of problems . . .

. . . one is trash.

The Camorrah can't seem to get their act together.  This is where I have to go to dump my household trash.  Thankfully, it's a few miles from where we live.  This view isn't all of it.  I'm parked near the middle.

This is looking forward.

 This is looking to the rear.

Oh, and those "ladies" back there.  They are not working for the trash hauler.  That's their appointed spot to work, if you get my drift.  In the old west, they called them "soiled doves."  Working out of a dump site gives new meaning to the term.

Gino . . .

. . . died yesterday in his sleep.  He was only 50.

Last Wednesday, my commander and I visited Gino and his family in the hospital.  That night, his heart stopped for 30 seconds.  He died peacefully in his sleep Saturday evening.

Protest . . .

. . . not me.

Sixty-six years ago, the United States rained hell on Hiroshima.  People argue about the necessity of the atomic bomb, and the horrible effect on the civilian population.  Unfortunately, the citizen populations of most of the countries in the world were already affected, and none were more responsible for those atrocities than the Japanese Empire.  The good Book says something abut sowing and reaping, and this was the crop they gathered.

Activists will mark the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan with a protest near Vandenberg Air Force Base's main gate today.  Approximately two dozen people will gather about 1 p.m. in front of the base.

Let them gather.  Their right to do so was in no small way guaranteed by that event on August 6, 1945.  I will ignore the protests, as I always do, and I will post this photo every year on this day as long as I can punch a keyboard.

Gino . . .

. . . is back in intensive care. 

Damage from the heart attack was severe, and his heart is operating at about 20%.  His blood oxygen level is depressed, and he has fluid in his lungs. He also may have also had either a stroke or blood deprivation to his brain.

It does not look good.

Hello, George . . .

. . . Orwell, that is

Under the guise of protection, a House committee has approved the “Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011.”

Internet providers would be forced to keep logs of their customers' activities for one year--in case police want to review them in the future--under legislation that a U.S. House of Representatives committee approved today.

A last-minute rewrite of the bill expands the information that commercial Internet providers are required to store to include customers' names, addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and temporarily-assigned IP addresses, some committee members suggested. By a 7-16 vote, the panel rejected an amendment that would have clarified that only IP addresses must be stored.

Apparently, the title was chosen specifically to discourage opposition.  After all, who could vote against a bill with THAT title?

Of course, all data will be securely protected so that it cannot be used for untoward purposes.

Right!

What are we becoming?