Dog-eared page

From Lex.

This is what I’m listening to:

… and …

… and …

This blog is dedicated to the voters of Guilford County and my soon-to-graduate brother, Walter. 

How would you plan for retirement from the White House? Hire those guys, and they can finish the job, or not. Or just keep the war dragging on and on.

It’s Primary Day in N.C.

… and M, I’ll get to your comment later today.

It was political. So you know what that means:

More on this later. I need beer. And pizza. You folks will get a little more meat this weekend, promise.

The money shot, as always, is the last one in the set.

Some might call it irrelevant. In fact, I heard someone call it that. Cynics.

As long as it starts the conversation, we can get a little better understanding and gosh, maybe even learn somthing.

Slate this week is interviewing people like Newt Gingrich, Edward Norton and others about what they’re doing. Kinda cool.

Norton doesn’t ride in limos, which is refreshing. I guess:

I haven’t ridden in a stretch limo in years. I can’t stand them. I’ve used only a company in LA called Evo Limo that has a full fleet of low-emission vehicles, including CNG SUV’s… there are two good companies in NY too…a bunch of us have pushed the studios to use only these companies and the pressure has apparently made some of the big commercial companies like CLS and BLS start buying efficient cars. It’s a drop in the bucket but it’s a step in the right direction.

The middle one. It’s just a scratch, really.

And yep, that’s my new toy behind it.

Maybe:

OTTAWA — The Canadian government is said to be ready to declare as toxic a chemical widely used in plastics for baby bottles, beverage and food containers as well as linings in food cans.

A person with knowledge of the government’s chemical review program spoke on the condition he not be named because of a confidentiality agreement. He said the staff work to list the compound, called bisphenol-a, or B.P.A., as a toxic chemical was complete and was recently endorsed by a panel of outside scientists. …

A Nalgene brand bottle, which is made with bisphenol-a.

… B.P.A. is widely used to make polycarbonate plastics, which are rigid and transparent like glass but very unlikely to shatter. Polycarbonates have many uses that pose no risk, like the cases of some iPod models. Because animal tests have shown that even small amounts of the chemical may cause changes in the body, however, researchers have focused on food- and drink-related applications of B.P.A., like the popular Nalgene brand beverage bottles.

“If the government issues a finding of toxic, no parent in their right mind will be using products made with this chemical,” said Rick Smith, the executive director of Environmental Defence, a Canadian group that has been campaigning against B.P.A. “We will be arguing strongly for a ban on the use of this chemical in food and beverage containers.”

Dang. So maybe that’s why me and my friends are all crazy.

Here’s what some other folks are doing.

Here’s a little playlist for you while you handle the last odds and ends of this most glorious of days. If you find yourself a little late, here’s a suggestion of what to do:

… get out and tell the rest of the world to sod off. And eat a lot of peaches.

Or you can buckle down, put on the blue work pants and get behind the mule:

… cause if you don’t this guy will come after you, with ‘ol Slowhand:

… and what do all those bucks go to, anyway?

… truth is, we have no idea what the hell the money goes to. At least, The Pentagon doesn’t. - Thanks, Lex.

NPR had a seven-minute conversation with the Dalai Lama this morning. He says that he’s but a simple man, a monk.

Now, I’m definitely no authority on the history between Tibet and China. Though the conversation and protests are happening. Who really has claim over the land has, like may similar disputes, much to do with history.

I’m feeling less excited about this round of the Olympics than I ever have.

Though it’s not like this is the only Olympics that’s been marked with controversy or protest. Again, from the NYTimes:

In 1968, in what became known as the Tlatelolco massacre, government troops fired on thousands of student protesters in Mexico City 10 days before the Summer Games. Nobody knows exactly how many were killed, but the best estimate is 200 to 300.

Four years later in 1972, members of the pro-Palestinian group Black September took members of the Israeli team hostage from its quarters in the Olympic village in Munich; 11 died.

In 1976, the East German women’s swim team won 11 of 13 gold medals, a performance that was stunning — too stunning, since it was later revealed that hundreds of East German athletes had been using steroids for years to enhance performance.

In 1980, the United States and roughly 60 other nations boycotted the Games in Moscow because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. …

Nice detail. “Scenic drive” made it into the frame above.

In some ancillary way, I’m reminded of this: