Season of the Witch.

Ghostly apparitions wafting into the room.Trying to take shape, Casper looks at the tripod

He's looking for the camera, wants to get his picture taken.

Another ghost? Casper has many friends,
I guess that's why they call him a friendly ghost.

Trick or Treat?

Halloween office party

Devil and Angel arguing
Over who gets to eat the meal on the table.

Temptress!

Steamy Cauldron
Very Nice Victuals

Happy Halloween
And Happy Birthday Kitina!

Who Do They Think They're Fooling?

The Republican talking points re the Libby indictments are a classic example of sophistry. Point # 1, Innocent until proven guilty. While it's true that Mr. Libby hasn't been convicted (mainly because he hasn't gone to trial yet) that line was used in response to a question about whether Rove should resign because of the political difficulties that his continued presence at the White House could cause. Some of these mouthpieces don't even try to pretend that they're answering the questions. Like candidates at the Presidential Debates, they know what they've been told to say and, by God, they'll say it no matter what the question.
The other, more ludicrous point was coming out of every Republican talking head on the Sunday morning talk show circuit. They all made the disingenious point that Mr. Fitzgerald was unable to prove that the crime which he was originally instructed to investigate was committed. From there they assert that the crime wasn't committed so Fitzgerald reached for something to charge the fine, upstanding, self-sacrificing Mr. Libby with.
The fact is that Libby, Rove, and company successfully obfuscated the facts with lies, delaying tactics and the power and prestige of the US government. The obstruction of justice charges refer to the obstruction in the investigation that prevented Mr. Fitzgerald from being able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the crime was committed. When Al Capone was sent to prison on income tax evasion charges it was because the government was unable to convict him on any other charges, that doesn't mean he was innocent. Maybe William Saffire still argues that Scarface should be considered innocent of racketeering because he was never convicted of murder and mayhem. Inability to convict does not mean innocence. In some cases it means skill in establishing plausible deniability.

Bring Back That Sunny Day

Sandra Day O'Connor should do the President and the rest of the country a favor and postpone her retirement until after GW Bush leaves office. Mr. Bush has shown that his judgement is seriously flawed and the Religious Right is itching for a fight and the Democrats are smelling blood. Even Solomon would have a hard time getting approved in the current political climate. With any luck, Bush will be impeached and found guilty by the newly Democratic Senate in '07. Cheney's clone will be in prison for perjury and President Dennis Hastert will be overwhelmed by the civil war within his party and incapable of picking toppings for a pizza. Please don't go Lady Day!
I should add that I'm holding my nose as I write this. It's the necessity of impeaching Bush that makes me want to see Democrats in power. They' ve been worshiping before the same corporate altar as the Republicans. Bush must go if we're to begin making amends to the eyes of the world. History might forgive us if we hold him responsible for the criminal behavior that led us into an immoral and illegal war.

Cloned Rib

I had another one of those headaches with pictures last night. Some people call them ideas but I call them a pain; now I have to write it down in hopes of exorcising that little devil.
For some reason I started thinking about the book of Genesis and the two different versions of the creation myth that are there on the same page. In one version Yahweh made Adam and Eve at the same time.
The second account of the creation is the more popular of the two. That’s the one in which Adam was made first, then Yahweh took one of Adam’s ribs and cloned him a partner.
If one stops to think about it, the kinkyness of the situation makes one wonder about the so-called morality that the Bible thumpers like to babble about. On the other hand, it adds a certain taste of reality to the poetry of “two bodies as one” during climactic coitus.
If God used Adam’s DNA to make a wife for him, why is it immoral to use cloning for the benefit of men and women all over the world? On what Biblical basis do the holier-than-thou crowd base their “moral” objections to cloning?

Sonoran Skies

"Out of the Night

When the Full Moon is Bright..."

"The Moon was a Ghostly Galleon
Tossed Upon Cloudy Seas..."

Sunshine Rebounding
Giving Shapes to Hopes and Fears
Lights the Clouds and Moon

There, Across the Street
In the Early Morning Light
A Neighbor's House Yawns

Wilma Pauses as Cosmic Choreographer Fine Tunes Timing.

As if waiting for Patrick Fitzgerald to make his move, Hurricane Wilma is cooling her jets over Yucatan. It's almost as if the storm is making an effort to become a metaphor. The political storm that is about to engulf the nation could inexorably alter the political landscape in much the same way that Katrina rearranged New Orleans.
Tom DeLay demanded that the judge in his case recuse himself, thus pushing the drama into next week.
The good news is that democracy is taking root in Iraq. So Americanized is their electoral process that they're voting Chicago style, early and often. Reports are that some districts had more votes than registered voters. Martha Raddatz of ABC News reported that her cameraman taped many instances of voters casting multiple votes, one she described as handing seven yes votes to the poll worker who cheerfully put them in to be counted.
Among the many cliff-hanging questions that may be answered next week is a possible indictment of Dick Cheney. But that pales in the light of the rumors that were aired on Hard Ball today. Discussing the report that Fitzgerald had asked for copies of Italian documents that proved that forgeries were used to try to prove that Saddam tried to acquire so-called "yellowcake," Chris Matthews and his guests speculated about indictments alleging a "conspiracy to lead us to war." At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I have to say that I gasped audibly when I heard that. Many of us have known for many months that Bush lied to lead us to war in Iraq. Will that conviction be proven to be true? Will that truth lead to convictions?
Can a Special Prosecutor initiate an impeachment of the President? Can Bush be indicted? I'm thinking that we'll have to wait for a Democratic majority in Congress for Bush to be impeached in '07. But if the President were to be indicted would Republicans refuse to impeach him? Are they that unpatriotic? If you ask me, he should be impeached if Rove, Libby, and Cheney are indicted; he deserves to be impeached for lying to us and the Congress to get his dirty little war.
Maybe Gee Dubya will be named as an unindicted co-conspirator. There may be a law that protects a sitting President from being indicted - Bush's lawyers would certainly try to claim "Executive Privilege." What would Republicans do in that scenario? I doubt that they would do the right thing, they're already putting out talking points in case of indictments. Like Marvin Gaye said..."(It) makes me wanna holler, throw up both my hands..." Those scumbags will overlook treason in favor of partisan politics.

Christmas in October: Bush's Dick is in the wringer!

Santa Claus has given us a warrant for Tom Delay's arrest just as rumors of Dick Cheney's indictment are hitting the proverbial fan! The Law of Karma is hitting the Bush League with all the ferocity of a twenty-first century hurricane. As if things weren't bad enough, the administration now finds itself mired in the Miers fiasco. And then along comes Wilma ready to blow into the limp penis state that brother Jeb governs. Is this an example of Intelligent Design? What exactly is the alleged Intelligent Designer trying to tell the world with this grandiose melodrama that is playing out before the eyes of the world? But I digress.
The incompetent malevolence of the Bush League is teetering on the brink of collapsing from the weight of its own hubris.
Chris Matthews' Hardball is about to explode in a climax of anticipation. I don't know if he'll be able to bear the wait. Rumor has it that Cheney has made contingency plans in case he's indicted next week. How delicious is that?
I'm looking forward to seeing "The Hammer" do the "perp walk" with his hands cuffed behind his back. Dante had a special place in Hell for conniving scum like Messrs. Bush, DeLay, Rove, Cheney, et al.
Cook up some popcorn cause the next few weeks are going to be a great show. The Bush League is praying that another catastrophic storm will distract the TV news networks into obsessing on the weather to the exclusion of all other news, as usual.
Gee Dubya's words will come back on him with an ironic twist; they can hide but they can't run.

By the Sea

A High Flying Bird
Soaring in the Salty Air
I'm a Rooted Tree

So the Seagull Says
Surf the Tsunami of Love
Let Bushes be Damned

The Tunnel of Love
Coney Island of My Mind's
Roller Coaster Surf

Groovin' on the Beach
An Orgy of Corpulence
Bevy of Blubber

Hit the Road

Highway Turbulence!
Steel Behemoths Hurtling By
Like Massive SlingshotsThe Rosy Fingers
Dawn As Homer Described It
And I'm Seeing It

Land of Enchantment!
The Long Distance Solitude
The Desert Endures

Going Down the Road
With This View Who Could Feel Bad?
Mountains, Road, And Sky

Guthrie Fantasies
Kerouac, The Railroad Earth
They're Bound For Glory

White Mountain Journey
Soft Shoulder, Dangerous Curve
Blue Sky And Sunshine

Snow Blurs The Landscape
Pointalistic Monochrome

In the Driving Snow

Sleeper Cells

Hey Karl Rove, you might want to check out these digs. If we truly are a nation of laws you'll be doing your sleeping in one of these in the not too distant future.

There are plenty of empty cells in Alcatraz,
enough to accomodate the entire Bush League.

Looking out through a bullet hole in the thick glass of a prison window.

This cell should be reserved for the man
who sits at the desk where the buck stops,
the Prevaricator-In-Chief, G.W. Bush.

Nice and cozy, huh, Karl?

Hobbits Lived?

'Offbeat News
Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005
More bones of hobbit-sized humans discovered

LONDON (Reuters) - Australian scientists said on Tuesday they have discovered more remains of hobbit-sized humans which belong to a previously unknown species that lived at the end of the last Ice Age.

Professor Mike Morwood, of the University of New England, in Armidale, Australia, stunned the science world last year when he and his team announced the discovery of 18,000-year-old remains of a new human species called Homo floresiensis.

The partial skeleton discovered in a limestone cave on the remote Indonesian island of Flores in 2003 was of a tiny adult hominid, or early human, only one meter (3 feet tall), that would have walked upright and had a chimpanzee-sized brain.

Morwood and his team said it represented a unique species of early humans that evolved to a naturally small size because of environmental conditions and the isolation of the island, which was also home to exotic creatures such as miniature elephants and Komodo dragons.

But critics suggested the small hominid was not a new species and was more likely a pygmy human or a creature that suffered from a form of microcephaly, a condition that causes an unusually small brain.

"The finds further demonstrate ...(it) is not just an aberrant or pathological individual but is representative of a long-term population," Morwood and his team said in a report in the science journal Nature.

CHINLESS WONDERS

The newly found remains, dug up in 2004, consist of a jaw, as well as arm and other bones which the researchers believe were from at least nine individuals.

A jaw bone reported last year and the latest one were probably from the same species, according to the scientists. Both share similar dental features and lacked chins.

The new species, dubbed "Flores man," is thought to be a descendent of Homo erectus, which had a large brain, was full-sized and spread from Africa to Asia about 2 million years ago.

"Although the original skeleton is estimated to be 18,000 years old, a child's radius (arm bone) was found in deposits estimated to be 12,000 years old," Daniel Lieberman, of Harvard University in Massachusetts, said in a commentary in the journal.

He added that if the remains were from a population of short microcephalic humans they would have had to survive a long time or been susceptible to a high frequency of dwarfism.

"Such possibilities strain credulity," Lieberman added.

CAT scans of the inside of the skull found in 2003 suggested it was a normal adult and not a diseased or mutant species. The brain could have been advanced enough for tool-making.

But Robert Martin, provost and vice president of academic affairs at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois is unconvinced.

"Whatever else is true, that brain is simply too small for an 18,000 year-old hominid," he told Reuters.'

Well I'll be!

WIN ONE FOR THE GEEZER

Kudos to Vinnie and the Jets!
Vinnie Testaverde got up from his rocking chair and shook off impending geezerhood to lead the NY Jets to an unlikely victory over Tampa Bay; an ugly 14 to 12 victory, but a victory nonetheless. Even though Vinnie was more than adequate in completing passes thus stretching the defense - giving the running game a chance to develop against a formidable defense, it was the Jets' defense that won the game. Led by Dewayne Robertson, the defensive unit out-played the much hyped Bucaneer defense. The other big difference was the play of the Jets' O line; Vinnie was well protected.

Twilight Time

Cotton Candy Clouds
Evening Star Meets Crescent Moon
Venus In Blue Jeans?

A Time To Gloat?

"Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, plans to make a fourth appearance before the grand jury next week and prosecutors have told him they can make no guarantees he won't be indicted.
The outcome could shake up an administration reeling from criticism over its response to Hurricane Katrina and the indictment of House of Representatives Republican leader Tom DeLay of Texas on charges related to campaign financing."
And then there's the matter of his latest supreme court nomination...
The wacko right is revolting (this pun was intended), threatening to destroy what's left of Bush's presidency because this nominee may not be "conservative" enough to suit the Holier-Than-Thou crowd. Right on! Sic 'em!
One of the really hysterical aspects of this comedy of errors is the administration's attempts to mollify the religious right by pointing to Ms. Miers' religiosity. Not so long ago the Bush League was scolding anybody who had the temerity to ask whether John Roberts' Catholicism would affect how he ruled on abortion or the death penalty. The Catholic Church officially condemns both. Methinks Mr. Bush is once again speaking out of both sides of his mouth with a forked tongue.
One thing that you have to grudgingly admire about him is his chutzpah. They say that a good quarterback has to have a bad memory when it comes to interceptions; don't let your memory of an interception kill your confidence. Bush stood up there and urged us to trust his judgement and accept a nominee that very few people know very little about. What example of good judgement can he point to in order to justify trust in his judgement? His initial assesment of Vadimir Putin, after looking into his eyes, is something that they would prefer we forgot. His great friendship with Vicente Fox is pretty strained due to misunderstandings and unmet expectations.
Some yahoo from Texas tells us that he's prayed with her; and that qualifies her to serve on a secular court where her job would be to uphold freedom of and from religion

Rattlesnake Trail

Morning Reflection
On An Open Window Pane
A Breath of Fresh AirBlue Beauty in Carport
I'm Headed For the Highway
Opportunity

Bird of Paradise
Flying Up Your Nose
Just Pollen Baby

Phoenix Hotel Room
New Job Opportunity
Brightens My Future

Sabino Canyon
Saguaros Climb the Mountain
My Spirit Soaring

My Dear Saguaro
Looking At You Look At Me
But I Still Don't See

Two Eyes Looking Out
Wind-blown Clouds Chasing the Wind
You See What You Will

Cactus Is Blooming
Arizona Is Heaven
October To May

Dark Clouds Are Looming
Hurricane Otis Brings Us
Promises Of Rain

This Great Mountainscape
Beneath Cloudy Formations
A Welcoming SignRattlesnake trail,

That sounds like a place to avoid!

But Up In the Sky
Pink Clouds And A Waxing Moon
Best of All, No Snakes!

Streaks of Setting Sun
Dappled By the Floating Clouds
Dusty Trail Unwinds

Angles of Sunshine
Mesquite and Saguaros
Now That Is Awesome!
Lower and Lower
Helios Now Goes to His Rest
The Clouds Luminesce
Above the Shadows
Vapors Refracting the Light
Help Paint the Pictures

The Silver Lining
Shining Behind the Dark Clouds
Silhouettes Desert Flora

Parting Shot
Goodnight and Good Luck!

Hey George Will!

If you're so smart, why did it take you so long to understand what has been painfully evident for almost five years now?
"He has neither the inclination nor the ability to make sophisticated judgments..." That much was clear when Bush named Dick Cheney to be his vice president; the man was a massive coronary waiting to happen. For all we know, the VP might be an animatronic duplicate that replaced Cheney after he died from the excitement of 9/11. The truth might be that the "bunker" that he was allegedly hiding in was actually his grave. Maybe not.
'In addition, the president has forfeited his right to be trusted as a custodian of the Constitution. The forfeiture occurred March 27, 2002, when, in a private act betokening an uneasy conscience, he signed the McCain-Feingold law expanding government regulation of the timing, quantity and content of political speech. The day before the 2000 Iowa caucuses he was asked -- to insure a considered response from him, he had been told in advance he would be asked -- whether McCain-Feingold's core purposes are unconstitutional. He unhesitatingly said, ``I agree.'' Asked if he thought presidents have a duty, pursuant to their oath to defend the Constitution, to make an independent judgment about the constitutionality of bills and to veto those he thinks unconstitutional, he briskly said, "I do.'''
When The Prez hears the word "constitutional" he thinks of a brisk after-dinner walk. Is it because you share first names with him that you cut him so much slack? His bumbling, inarticulate speech patterns reflect a mind that lacks clarity and discipline. That much has been obvious since before he was appointed as President.
His disregard for the US Constitution became obvious when he populated his administration with evil-doers from the Reagan Administration. When he hired Eliot Abrams, of Iran-Contra infamy, he made it clear that he valued results in terms of getting his way, above respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. Then there's the so-called Patriot Act. A president who understands and respects the US Constitution would have vetoed that bill.
What I find especially satisfying is this next thought that you published:
"...the presumption -- perhaps rebuttable but certainly in need of rebutting -- should be that her nomination is not a defensible exercise of presidential discretion to which senatorial deference is due. "
When Democrats want to examine how defensible the exercise of presidential discretion is, you and your ilk codemn them as obstructionist. Now that your ox is being gored you suddenly realize that malignant presidencies need to be checked and chastised. Congratulations; you're beginning to see the tip of the iceberg that is the Bush League's legacy of lies, corruption and naked imperialism.
Now that I've said "I told you so" to the unpatriotic right I want to take patriotic pleasure in watching the developing schism in the Republican Party.
The law of Karma is catching up with the masters of war. The Rovak affair should be hitting the fan any day now. There are rumblings that the result of the investigation will be a number of criminal conspiracy indictments. If that were to happen, as the Republican party continues to break in two, then impeachment would be much more likely. It is essential that Republicans lose control of both houses of Congress. Bush must be impeached!
I'll wrap by quoting Bob Dylan's message to the Masters of War:
"I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I'll follow your casket
On a pale afternoon
I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your death bed
Then I'll stand over your grave
Til I'm sure that you're dead."

Some More Shots From the Land of Enchantment.

Buddha has Come Back
Like the Sun Bringing Daylight
Bouncing Back, Moonlight

A Baby Cactus
Amid Lichen Covered Rocks
Hard and Sharp, This Land

Twins! How Cute They Are
Make You Want to Hug Them
But, On Second Thought

Purple Cloud Twilight
Crossing The Rio Grande
Monochromatic

Watermelon Mountain Sunset
As seen From Rio Rancho, NM