Like you, we leave a lot of the week’s fast living stacked near the sink to deal with later. The dish washer works fine for most day-to-day stuff, but some dishes need a special Sunday morning kind of attention. 

Even though it’s the mess we’d never let my mother see, we still broadcast it on the LIVE! channel above. She’s on dial-up anyway.

I’ve added a new video channel above where I’m testing live video streaming. Ideally, this is where I will feature live video content from the home studio, work or remote locations. It will be a mess for a while as I figure it all out in my spare time.

Gobbled.

Guzzled. And other Thanksgiving 2008 pics.

Who isn’t thankful for their family and loved ones this Thanksgiving? I will be tomorrow. Who doesn’t have a thoughtful Thanksgiving post all about it? Try me. I’m saving all of that for grandma’s pinto beans. I don’t even want to think about tonight, probably because I couldn’t find parking at Publix on the way home to get the stupid pumpkin pie stuffs and left without it.

But then it happened. On the slow drive home, as I was mentally calculating how much money those telephone pole Christmas light decorations must be costing the taxpayer (30 lights x .5 watt bulbs x 24hours x 40 days and nights x $.08 per KwH x 1000 displays = ?), I started getting all Thanksgivingy inside. Taxpayers don’t care how much we spend to celebrate the birth of Jesus for the next 40 days and nights. What was I thinking? Besides, we practically run this place on sales taxes.

And that’s why I’m greatful for taxpayers.

I’m thankful our country pays enough in taxes to make sure emergency vehicles have flashing lights on them. Have you seen these emergency vehicles in India? They are not safe, folks. Not safe. I’m thankful we have Americans willing to give their lives in service to our country considering what the American taxpayer is willing to pay them. I can’t imagine making the level of sacrifice some families have made only to watch America carry on as though we are not a nation at war.

I’m thankful for the teachers that do what they can with what the taxpayers are willing to pay. I’m thankful for every teacher that’s ever disciplined me when I was a bad boy. It must have been tough, but I needed and deserved a lot more.

I’m greatful the American tax payer still feels roads should be paved and relatively well lit at night where necessary. Thank you to whoever keeps the lines on the road and road signs up to date. There is nothing worse than driving around lost. I hope we’re paying you enough.

I’m thankful taxpayers still pay for the administration of elections and licensing the use of automobiles and motorized vehicles over a certain fuel capacity or speed. I’m greatful we pay what we do for the administration and licensing of fire arms. Thank God for lawyers, especially the ones that can smell the blood in the water. Those are the ones you want on your side.

Thanks for whoever changes the bulbs in traffic lights. Thank God for traffic lights and traffic cameras and for the taxpayers keeping them coming without much complaint. They save lives, and so do police. I’m greatful for police and for the law they uphold. They make a lot of sacrifices out there for what we pay them. Do they really have everything they need? I’m thankful for leaders who don’t shortchange the things I find myself thankful for this Thanksgiving, including those ridiculous christmas lights on the telephone poles if that’s what you want.

The power was off when I drove into the neighborhood tonight. I drove slower and imagined living without power.

How to make candles might not be a bad thing to know if this were to become a way of life for a couple of years.

Do you think it could come to that? Do you think we’ve seen the worst of how the past seven years of conservative fiscal policy ends? Where do I buy blocks of wax?

One thing I’m greatful for this Thanksgiving is having at least a few more days to consider what staple food items to stock up on before our economy collapses.

I did a little research and found a good list showing the shelf life of staple foods. The last thing I want to do if the Bush Economy makes a spectacular crash landing is to be standing in grocery lines for government rations, but it could come to that.

If you don’t want to be left planning your meals from a government rations menu, consider slowly stocking up on the following staple foods while they are still in supply. The list below should get most of you through months without needing much more.

You will want to store this stuff separate from your pantry and mark the date of purchase. When you approach the end of its shelf life, eat it or donate it to charity. Then repeat the process until the results of the past seven years of conservative fiscal policy finally blows over.

Things like sugar, salt, Crisco, Bisquick, and salted ham can last indefinitely. Don’t forget the Spam.

Here are some other tips for surviving the Bush Economy:

• Recessionista Spam
• Human Powered
• Recessionista Pie
• Making Butter
• Recessionistas

 

Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune had a national circulation on the eve of the Civil War of 300,000. According to his Wikipedia entry, “His New York Tribune was America’s most influential newspaper from the 1840s to the 1870s and ‘established Greeley’s reputation as the greatest editor of his day.’” The paper’s administration was nimble. It was privately financed, and it was true to Greeley’s voice as a passionate citizen of a troubled country.

When the new Republican Party was founded in 1854, Greeley made the Tribune its unofficial national organ, and fought slavery extension and the slave power on many pages. On the eve of the Civil War circulation nationwide approached 300,000. In 1860 he supported the ex-Whig Edward Bates of Missouri for the Republican nomination for president, an action that weakened Greeley’s old ally Seward.[Van Dusen 241-44]

Greeley made the Tribune the leading newspaper opposing the Slave Power, that is, what he considered the conspiracy by slave owners to seize control of the federal government and block the progress of liberty. In the secession crisis of 1861 he took a hard line against the Confederacy. Theoretically, he agreed, the South could declare independence; but in reality he said there was “a violent, unscrupulous, desperate minority, who have conspired to clutch power” –secession was an illegitimate conspiracy that had to be crushed by federal power. He took a Radical Republican position during the war, in opposition to Lincoln’s moderation. In the summer of 1862, he wrote a famous editorial entitled “The Prayer of Twenty Millions” demanding a more aggressive attack on the Confederacy and faster emancipation of the slaves. A month later he hailed Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. 

Is blogging the new Tribune?

In the national survey of adults, 72% said they were dissatisfied with the quality of American journalism today. A majority of conference–goers who were polled on the subject agreed – 55% said they were dissatisfied, and 61% said they believed traditional journalism is out of touch with what Americans want from their news.

Nearly nine out of 10 media insiders (86%) said they believe bloggers will play an important part in journalism’s future.

“We are now seeing mainstream acceptance of what we call the Power of Us - the value, credibility, and vital expression of citizen and collaborative media,” said Dale Peskin, a managing director of iFOCOS, the organization that conducts the annual We Media conference. “We’ve arrived at a tipping point. A new definition of democratic media is emerging in our society.”