Yoo and Addington - Disgusting Beings

Talk about giving public servants a bad name! Look at the arrogant, FU expressions on the faces of these two....well, I'm not sure there are words adequate to describe these two scumballs (human beings certainly doesn't apply) "testifying" before a congressional committee.

The guys involved in the Watergate break-in 35 years were saints when compared with these two assholes - and to think they are being paid with our tax dollars.

Surprisingly Supportive Editorials Today

The first editorial was in todays Plattsburgh Press Republican. The title was "A Store That's Good For All".

We're pulling in a big way for the success of the Saranac Lake Community Store. This is a project that can make the village a beneficiary of its own hard work and sacrifice.

The entire editorial is very supportive of the Saranac Lake Community Store.

The second editorial is in our own Adirondack Daily Enterprise. The title is "Looking forward to new NCCC campus". It is supportive of the proposed new North Country Community College campus.

North Country Community College is an essential part of this region’s infrastructure and economy, but its main campus in Saranac Lake needs some major upgrading to live up to that importance. That’s why we support, in general, plans to completely redevelop the campus, despite the surprisingly high $61 million cost estimate revealed to Essex and Franklin county lawmakers Monday.

Karl Rove - Peckerwood

Karl Rove wrote:

“Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He’s the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by.”

When I read that I wondered if Rove in using that description to describe his buddy G.W. Bush was going the way of Scott McClellen. Then I realized that he was talking about Barack Obama. Yep, those people of moderate means like G.W. and Karl (peckerwood) Rove know an elitist when they see one. I'm still trying to figure out just what makes Obama an elitist. Is it because he is smart? Is it because he can string a few sentences together without sounding like an imbecile? Maybe the last 8 years of listening to President Bush speak have made almost everyone else sound like an elitist.

Does John McHugh Believe in Term Limits?

Did John McHugh sign the Contract with America back in 1994. You remember that document that enabled Republicans to gain control of the House of Representatives during the 1994 Congressional election campaign?

The short answer is YES he did. Thus, I think John McHugh's constituents deserve an answer to this question.

Mr. McHugh, by signing the Contract With America 14 years ago, you supported the Citizen Legislature Act. That Act proposed that members of the House of Representatives serve no more than 12 years (6 terms). Then, along with fellow hypocrit Tom Delay, you voted against H.J. Resolution 73 which subsequently failed to pass.

So Did you, Mr. McHugh, simply sign the Contract With America as a political ploy to get elected back in 1994 or are you going back on your "Contract" with your constituents in running for more than 6 terms? I think voters deserve an answer.

John McHugh Energy Plan

Rep. McHugh unveiled his energy plan this week. You can read about it here at the Plattsburgh Press Republican or I can save you time and summarize it for you.

Drill more.

That is a really novel energy plan. Kind of like the same energy plan that has been proposed for the last 35 years or so. When will we get politicians that are willing to tell Americans that we use too much energy.

Liberal Attorneys Need Not Apply to DOJ

Guess who has been breaking the law for the last 6 years. The Bush Department of Justice of course.

Justice Department officials over the last six years illegally used “political or ideological” factors to hire new lawyers into an elite recruitment program, tapping law school graduates with conservative credentials over those with liberal-sounding resumes, a new report found Tuesday.

No one will really pay attention to this because laws being broke by the Bush administration is just standard operating procedure. The reason Bush has gotten away with breaking the law with impunity is that he has yet to break any really serious laws - such as lying about having consensual sex with someone other than his wife.

Mike Oot - A Day in Saranac Lake

For the first time in my memory a person running for Congress spent the day in Saranac Lake just to learn about the community and the issues that affect the community. Mike Oot arrived at the Blue Moon Cafe a little after 10 AM yesterday morning. Mike spent the first hour learning about the community from photographer and activist Mark Kurtz and Village Trustee Christina Fontana. At 11 AM he spent almost an hour and one half being questioned (interviewed) by Peter Crowley, editor of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and a news reporter from local radio station WNBZ. Prior to his two scheduled tours and meetings Mike and his group visited the Mark Kurtz Studio. This impressed me because after talking with Mark Kurtz, Mike said that he would stop down to see the studio. We didn't really have much time in the schedule but Mike pointed out that he told Mark he would visit the studio and that is what we should do. This small courtesy indicated to me that Mike Oot's word actually means something to him.

On the way back to the parking lot we stopped very briefly to meet local artist Tim Fortune of Small Fortune Studio. Our first scheduled visit was to the Adirondack Medical Center, the largest acute care general hospital in the Adirondack Park. Mike discussed several health care related issues with CEO Chandler Ralph including the problems with attracting physicians to rural areas, problems with government reimbursments and of course the rapidly escalating cost of health care.

Upon leaving the AMC we had a few minutes for an unscheduled visit with interim President Fred Smith at North Country Community College. After a brief tour of some of the campus buildings, we were off to a visit to Trudeau Institute.

Below is a photo of Mike being filled in, by scientist Brandon Sells, on the basics of fluorescent activated cell sorting. After a brief tour of the facility, Mike spent one and one-half hours discussing basic medical research issues with Trudeau Institute President Dr. David Woodland. One very important issue was the flat funding of the National Institutes of Health by the current administration and the effects that has on keeping research programs viable. One effect has been the loss of scientific talent from research communities.



Below is a picture of Mike, his wife Ann and Kristin Meadows of TI standing near the bronz Gutzon Borglum statue of the Institute founder Dr. E.L. Trudeau.


This was a very productive visit for Mike to learn about issues that affect the largest 'city' in the Adirondack Park - Saranac Lake and at the same time learn about health care and medical research issues that affect the entire country. I could see that Mike really enjoyed his visit and had a great time discussing issues that he care deeply about. Mike has promised to return to Saranac Lake and that next visit is in the process of being arranged.

RIP George Carlin - Champion of Free Speech

"It's a big club and you ain't in it".

Plastic from Plants Not Oil

[graphic from here]

If we run out of oil where will our plastic come from? From plants, using biotechnology of course.

Scientists have discovered the most effective method yet to convert glucose, found in plants worldwide and nature's most abundant sugar, to Hydroxymethylfurfural - HMF, a chemical that can be broken into components for products now made from petroleum.

So glucose can be fermented into alcohol for fuel as well as HMF to make plastics. The big deal here is that researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has found a method that produces HMF in a very cost effective manner [original reference here].

Zhang and his colleagues have developed a catalysis process to transform the sugars into an organic compound called hydroxymethylfurfural, or HMF, which can be converted into polyester and a diesel-like fuel. The technique, which the researchers describe in last week's Science, yields almost 90 percent of HMF from fructose and 70 percent from glucose.

There goes the conservative argument that we need oil to make plastic.