Friday orchid blogging

Paph Charles Sladden (bellatulum 'Red Giant' x glaucophyllum v moquetteanum 'Eureka' AM/AOS

The thing you need to learn with growing orchids is the flowers are the cool thing you get once a year, maybe twice, per plant, and that's only if all goes well. So today you get no flowers, but you do get a flower in formation growing out of one of my paphs. It's been growing for a month now, and might have another month to open, maybe not. You can see there are several buds, which means another flower will probably open as the previous flower dies away, meaning the plant could be in flower for months. Time will tell.

You can see an example of what the flower could look like here. The neat thing about orchids, at least orchids that aren't one pure species but are rather crosses of different species, as in this case, is that you never quite know HOW the flower is going to come out. It's like siblings in a family, they can come out totally different, or at least very different. Thus it's a fun game waiting to see what you're going to get, whether it's even pretty at all, and if it is, whether it's good enough to win an award.

You can see another example of this plant here, scroll down to the 3d photo and description, and here, and here. The differences are slight, but they're there.

Enjoy. Read More......

Looks like Bill Frist is in BIG trouble

Remember, Martha Stewart went to jail for insider trading:

Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission have opened investigations of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's sales of stock in a hospital operating company founded by his family. Documents show Frist was updated several times about his investments in HCA Inc. and other transactions even though they were held in blind trusts.

Despite the updates, Frist insisted in public statements afterward that he didn't know what was in the trusts, specifically denying knowledge of his HCA holdings.

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA said Friday it had received a subpoena from prosecutors for the Southern District of New York, asking for documents the company believes are related to Frist's stock sale.

Prosecutors also have contacted the senator's office, Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said. He said neither the senator nor his office had received a subpoena.

Frist can have the cell next to Tom DeLay, one over from Karl Rove. Read More......

The elderly as cargo

Okay, how disturbing is this picture from the Washington Post? This is what we've come to in America? The caption reads, "Military members evacuate elderly and sick patients onto cargo aircrafts at Port Arthur Regional Airport in Texas." Read More......

Man, I love Chicago

I spoke this afternoon at a luncheon for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. It's a really good group with an amazing membership, people form the top gay and straight media outlets around the country. Anyway, the discussion was about blogging, we talked about JeffyJim (who I know understand is "bi" - uh huh) among other topics. Afterwards chatted wih a bunch of old friends, then walked around downtown and hit the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit at the Art Institute. Absolutely amazing. And was really fascinating to see the various styles he had (which are very reminescent of other painters of his era, including Degas, Van Gogh, and others). I've always loved Lautrec, probably my favorite painter since I was a kid. Anyway, was quite fun.

What a great town. I just had to share. Read More......

"Christian" School expels student for having two moms

Is this what Jesus would do?

A 14-year-old student was expelled from a Christian school because her parents are lesbians, the school's superintendent said in a letter.

Shay Clark was expelled from Ontario Christian School on Thursday.

"Your family does not meet the policies of admission," Superintendent Leonard Stob wrote to Tina Clark, the girl's biological mother.

Boy, you really showed them, Superintendent Stob. You should be very proud. What a bastard. Those right wingers just love bashing gays...and apparently, their kids, too. Read More......

Gas Rationing - George Bush has turned us into a Third World Country

Maybe if George Bush hadn't invaded Iraq and driven up gas to $2.40 a gallon already, a storm like Rita wouldn't turn us into a third world country. From AP:

HEADLINE: Georgia governor asks state's schools to close to save gas

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue asked the state's schools to take two "early snow days" and cancel classes Monday and Tuesday to help conserve gasoline as Hurricane Rita threatens the nation's fuel supply line.

If all of Georgia's schools close, the governor estimated about 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel would be saved each day by keeping buses off the road.

The governor also said an undetermined amount of regular gasoline also would be saved by allowing teachers, other school staff members and some parents to stay home those days. Electricity also would be conserved by keeping the schools closed.
...
Tim Callahan, spokesman for the 61,000-member Professional Association of Georgia Educators, said he worried Perdue's announcement would only prompt panic-buying at the pumps in the days ahead.

"I wonder if it's going to create the type of panic that we saw a few weeks back that drove prices over $3," said Callahan, referring to the long gas lines and record-high prices that came in the days following Hurricane Katrina.

Is this really what our country has come to? We don't even have enough gas to educate our children.

I guess ALL children will be left behind. Thank you George Bush.

I do have one question for the President: If you stayed at the White House, instead of trolling around for photo ops, do you think that the gas saved flying Air Force One could be used to help educate our children Mr. President? While jet fuel and diesel fuel aren't the same, I'm sure that you could do your part to keep down national demand for petroleum products by STAYING AT THE WHITE HOUSE AND DOING YOUR JOB. Read More......

Open Thread

Looks like it's going to be a busy news weekend between the anti-war march and Rita. Read More......

Bush cancels Texas photo op

Bummer.

CNN reported that Bush had to cancel his trip to Texas. Apparently, they figured out that his presence causes major disruptions. Hmmm. Took them five years to figure that out?

Reuters puts it this way:

President George W. Bush canceled his trip to Texas on Friday to avoid interfering with the move of a search-and-rescue team closer to the area where Hurricane Rita was to hit, the White House said.

Instead of traveling to San Antonio, Bush will go straight to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he will visit the U.S. Northern Command.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Federal Emergency Management Agency decided to reposition the search-and-rescue teams from San Antonio closer to the storm, "and we didn't want to slow that decision up in any way. So we made the decision that we would go straight to Colorado."

The White House hates missing a photo op. But, don't worry. He is on his way to Colorado to monitor the storm. Read More......

Froomkin asks: How can you marginalize a majority?

Good question. It's exactly what the White House is trying to do. And the majorities against Bush and his policies have been increasing:

In a move to preempt the antiwar protesters converging on Washington this weekend, President Bush yesterday put forth the following equation: Withdrawing from Iraq equals letting the terrorists win equals more 9/11s.

The White House's goal is to cast anybody who supports a pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq as sadly delusional, reckless and not to be taken seriously.

But Bush may be in trouble here, because he's trying to marginalize a majority.

A recent Gallup Poll , for instance, found that 63 percent of Americans -- almost two out of three -- support the immediate partial or complete withdrawal of U.S. troops. Fewer than one in three Americans support Bush's handling of the war.

Bush has screwed up Iraq and cost the ruined the lives of thousands of Americans, let alone the tens of thousands of Iraqis. He's lost the support of the nation because his administration has been built on a lie. And now he's trashing the majority of his constituents. Good work, W.

UPDATE: Just saw the ad from Gold Star Families for Peace on CNN. It's good. Read More......

Rove Heads to Texas North Dakota

Hey, Category 4 hurricanes cannot stop the White House political operation. The country may be falling apart, but Rove is on the campaign trail. Senator Lautenberg wants to know why:

The assignment of your Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl C. Rove, as the lead White House official for disaster coordination and recovery efforts raises troubling questions given his partisan political background.

As all know, Hurricane Rita is bearing down on the Gulf Coast even as the nation reels from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It would be expected that Mr. Rove would be at his post "24/7" during this crisis.

However, as unlikely as it might seem, we have learned that Mr. Rove will be traveling to North Dakota to engage in political fundraising activities. When this fearsome hurricane makes landfall on Saturday, Mr. Rove will be delivering a political speech to the North Dakota Republican Party, and will be featured as a special guest at a fundraising dinner.

Read More......

New Orleans is flooding again

This is really not good:

The outer edge of Hurricane Rita pushed fast-rising water over a freshly patched levee in New Orleans on Friday and flooded a section of the already devastated city.

Waters from the industrial canal, where the levee breached during Hurricane Katrina three weeks ago and flooded the city, was submerging houses in the particularly hard-hit Ninth Ward section.

I wonder if Bush can "monitor" this from the US Northern Command, or is he only "monitoring" what happens in Texas? That might be too much to put on his plate. Read More......

Bush heading to Texas, then US Northern Command

Yes, your Commander in Chief wants you to know he is in charge....so pay attention to the photo ops:

President Bush was to fly Friday afternoon to his home state of Texas, where highways were jammed with people trying to escape Rita's expected landfall early Saturday. The president was to review preparations and thank first responders who were among the hundreds of emergency personnel dispatched to expected disaster areas.

Later Friday, Bush was expected to monitor Rita's approach from the U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs, Colo. "Officials at every level of government are preparing for the worst," he said.

Maybe Bush can have Air Force One fly over the jammed highways so he can wave to all his fellow Texans.

And, is it me, or does it just seem bizarre that the President has to "monitor" the storm from the U.S. Northern Command? Maybe, because he stayed on vacation during Katrina, he doesn't know that he could monitor Rita from the White House. Read More......

Open thread

I'm off to talk about blogging at a journalist conference in Chicago. Joe will keep you amused while I'm gone. Read More......

Even Saudi Prince Warning US about Iraq

This isn't good:

Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said Thursday that he had been warning the Bush administration in recent days that Iraq was hurtling toward disintegration, a development that he said could drag the region into war.

"There is no dynamic now pulling the nation together," he said in a meeting with reporters at the Saudi Embassy here. "All the dynamics are pulling the country apart." He said he was so concerned that he was carrying this message "to everyone who will listen" in the Bush administration.

Good luck trying to get one of the Bush people to listen to reality. It's bad if they aren't even hearing it from their best pals in Saudi Arabia.

How much uglier can Iraq get? Read More......

Rove's tied to Abramoff

This Abramoff scandal is getting really interesting:

Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff bragged two years ago that he was in contact with White House political aide Karl Rove on behalf of a large, Bermuda-based corporation that wanted to avoid incurring some taxes and continue receiving federal contracts, according to a written statement by President Bush's nominee to be deputy attorney general.

They really are a dirty crowd, we all know that. But there seems to be growing evidence of very strong connections between Rove, Abramoff and Grover Norquist. Josh Marshall takes a closer look at their relationship over at TPM. One key link is Rove's assistant, Susan Ralston:

Rove's personal assistant at the time, Susan Ralston, formerly worked as Abramoff's secretary.

She's the person who would allegedly screen Rove's calls through Norquist. Read More......

Houston area still a parking lot

Watching CNN it's pretty clear that traffic still isn't moving out of the Houston area -- it's a 100 mile jam according to Miles O'Brien. Houston Chronicle says the same thing:

Thousands of furious evacuees sweltering for hours on traffic-choked freeways Thursday put a stain on what had been a generally successful response by state and local governments faced with back-to-back weather emergencies in Texas.

"This was not in the plan," County Judge Robert Eckels said, turning away from the lectern after a news briefing dominated by questions about the gridlock that resulted from the evacuation ahead of Hurricane Rita.

Hmm. Who would have thought that evacuating over a million people would have caused a major traffic jam? Apparently not the head of Texas emergency services:

Jack Colley, coordinator of the state emergency operations center, said the state evacuation plan included getting fuel to stranded motorists, but that the number of people coming out of Houston was a surprise.

"The number of people, the amount of cars, the amount of compliance with this (evacuation order), there's some things you can predict and some things you can't, that are unpredictable," Colley said. "We are compensating. They may run out of gas, but we're going to get them gas."

Colley said it is too early to tell if mistakes were made in the planning and execution of the evacuation.

Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Let's get it started. Read More......

Super hurricanes the result of global warming according to leading UK scientist

What will it take for the American Taliban to accept that there is a problem?

The growing violence of storms such as Katrina, which wrecked New Orleans, and Rita, now threatening Texas, is very probably caused by climate change, said Sir John Lawton, chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. Hurricanes were getting more intense, just as computer models predicted they would, because of the rising temperature of the sea, he said. "The increased intensity of these kinds of extreme storms is very likely to be due to global warming."

Referring to the arrival of Hurricane Rita he said: "If this makes the climate loonies in the States realise we've got a problem, some good will come out of a truly awful situation."

Asked what conclusion the Bush administration should draw from two hurricanes of such high intensity hitting the US in quick succession, Sir John said: "If what looks like is going to be a horrible mess causes the extreme sceptics about climate change in the US to reconsider their opinion, that would be an extremely valuable outcome."

"I'd liken them to the people who denied that smoking causes lung cancer."

Sir John's comments follow and support recent research, much of it from America itself, showing that hurricanes are getting more violent and suggesting climate change is the cause.

Read More......

$100M in stock unloaded by Frist hospital insiders

Impressive numbers indeed. What's really interesting here about the timing is that this group of insiders (not including Frist, that I can see at least) is that the last time they dumped so much stock was in 2002 just before the stock tanked by 30%. The local coverage is really giving a lot of leeway to the insiders and Frist when it comes to the "just by chance they sold" type of reporting. Sure, we can't get inside the head of people for knowing the reasons why they sold but let's be honest about this. When insiders dump $100,000,000 of stock in a short period of time there is something very suspicious happening. Frist gave the order to sell everything he owned in the middle of this sell off.

It's clear that Frist's so-called blind trust was not quite as blind as they would like us to believe and Frist has family on the board and it's a hospital that was started by his family. Now where are all of those that wanted to see Martha burned at the stake? We should expect them to be jumping up and down every night on TV as they did during her investigation and trial. Read More......

Why does the GOP want to promote discrimination? Why do they hate America?

The GOP had so much free time on their hands, now that they are trying to avoid going on record about their position on the Davis-Bacon Act, so they shoved through a little more love for the hate crowd that dominates the party. The federal government has often been at the forefront of leading the nation in bringing change but now the GOP congress has passed a bill that will allow discrimination for organizations that are receiving federal tax dollars. Wow, a new low and a dangerous turn of events. A real uniter in action here, not a divider, right?

The Republican-led House approved a bill that lets churches and other faith-based preschool centers hire only people who share their religion, yet still receive federal tax dollars.

GOP lawmakers, with backing from the White House, contend that preschool centers should not have to give up their religious autonomy in order to receive federal grants.

The Republican plan would, for example, let a Catholic church that provides Head Start services employ only Catholic child-care workers.

"Congress should not be in the business of supporting state-sponsored discrimination," said Rep. Alcee Hastings , D-Fla. Said Rep. Lynn Woolsey , D-Calif.: "The (Republican) majority has decided to choose religious discrimination over what could have been a rare bipartisan agreement."

Read More......