Month: September 2008
Reviewing the troops
Posted by miri On 30 September, 2008
Violations Reported at 94% of Nursing Homes
Posted by miri On 29 September, 2008
Hope I die before I get old. (Oh wait…too late.)
More than 90 percent of nursing homes were cited for violations of federal health and safety standards last year, and for-profit homes were more likely to have problems than other types of nursing homes, federal investigators say in a report issued on Monday.
Independence Hall
Posted by miri On 29 September, 2008
At the window
Posted by miri On 28 September, 2008
I had to brighten this a lot and this made the ISO noise truly awful. So, I then did way too much noise reduction on it. I don’t care, I loved this moment and I’m posting the darn photo!
FactChecking Debate No. 1
Posted by miri On 27 September, 2008
McCain and Obama contradicted each other repeatedly during their first debate, and each volunteered some factual misstatements as well. Here’s how we sort them out:
Jenny and I enjoy the air vent
Posted by miri On 27 September, 2008
What? It was freaking hot out! That air vent was a bit of heaven. Besides, we have a tradition to keep up.
The Whoppers of 2008
Posted by miri On 26 September, 2008
Normally we post a “Whoppers” compilation the week before Election Day. This time we’ve already seen such a large number of twisted facts, misleading claims and outright falsehoods that we are doing that now.
Palin talks to Couric — and if she’s lucky, few are listening
Posted by miri On 26 September, 2008
She fit all the political buzzwords into one nonsensical paragraph. That’s got to be some kind of accomplishment.
“That’s why I say I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in . . .” Palin began, before meandering off in fruitless pursuit of coherence.
But I’ll let the governor speak for herself:
” . . . where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh — it’s got to be all about job creation too. Shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade, we’ve got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, um, scary thing, but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today. We’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.”
Or, as a co-worker said, kind of reminds me of this.
City hall at dusk
Posted by miri On 26 September, 2008
McCain Leaps Into a Thicket
Posted by miri On 26 September, 2008
If it was so important for him to go there and take part in shaping the plan, why did he just sit there? Was his presence needed at all?
At the bipartisan White House meeting that Mr. McCain had called for a day earlier, he sat silently for more than 40 minutes, more observer than leader, and then offered only a vague sense of where he stood, said people in the meeting.
He’s not on the finance committee and said just a few days ago that he hadn’t even read Paulson’s plan (all 3 pages of it). But suddenly, after Obama calls him privately to say that they should issue a joint statement about the pending proposal, McCain publicly decides to go into emergency panic mode, drop everything he’s doing and run to Washington, DC. Well, kind of. He still managed a few network TV interviews and didn’t actually go to DC until the following day. (Just ask Letterman.) Personally, I’d prefer my president to be able to multi-task.
Oh, and then there’s this:
“What I’ve found, and I think it was confirmed today, is that when you inject presidential politics into delicate negotiations, it’s not necessarily as helpful as it needs to be,†Mr. Obama told reporters Thursday evening. “Just because there is a lot of glare of the spotlight, there’s the potential for posturing or suspicions.â€
“When you’re not worrying about who’s getting credit, or who’s getting blamed, then things tend to move forward a little more constructively,†he said.