“Selective Service Is Sued by Quaker.”

(Washington Post) July 30 – A Washington state Quaker filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the U.S. government is discriminating against him because it will not recognize his status as a conscientious objector on military draft forms.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of Tobin D. Jacobrown, 21, in the District’s [...]

Here we go again…

Good grief.
Obama’s military spying on U.S. peace groups
by Amy Goodman
(TruthDig) July 28 - Anti-war activists in Olympia, Wash., have exposed Army spying and infiltration of their groups, as well as intelligence gathering by the Air Force, the federal Capitol Police and the Coast Guard.
The infiltration appears to be in direct violation of the Posse Comitatus [...]

Happy birthday, Kate!

Happy birthday to my all-time favorite female musical artist, the amazing Kate Bush, born 30 July, 1958.
My favorite Kate video, a mini-movie featuring someone you’ll recognize:

Kate Bush: “Cloudbusting”

This isn’t a football blog, but…

So, Michael Vick has been reinstated by the National Football League.  Meaning he’s clear to play if some team will have him.
We heard this on the network news the other night, and Mrs. Agitator, who usually ignores most of the news broadcast, turned to me and asked, “What team in the league would risk signing [...]

Passing the hat for education?

Curious as to your responses to this:
Parents pass the hat to make up for school cuts
SEATTLE (AP) July 24 – Rachael Bouma calculated the cost of keeping rambunctious kindergartners under control at her son’s school at exactly $227.

That was the amount she and other parents in the Tacoma district figured every family with kids in [...]

This isn’t a baseball blog, but…

Hmmmm…
Can an asterisk save baseball’s Hall of Fame?
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y (USA Today) July 27 – Reggie Jackson and other Baseball Hall of Famers were elated with Hank Aaron’s pronouncement that he would accept players linked to performance-enhancing drugs into the Hall of Fame only if there is an asterisk on their plaque.
“I’m thrilled that Henry spoke,” [...]

Say the words.

Now spread the word.

Poem.

Herb Garden
“And these, small, unobserved . . . ” – Janet Lewis
The lizard, an exemplar of the small,
Spreads fine, adhesive digits to perform
Vertical push-ups on a sunny wall;
Bees grapple spikes of lavender, or swarm
The dill’s gold umbels and low clumps of thyme.
Bored with its trellis, a resourceful rose
Has found a nearby cedar tree to climb
And [...]

Cool Saturday sounds.

Bat for Lashes: “Daniel”

“Mr. to Miss, now teacher is resigning.”

Sad.
Mr. to Miss, now teacher is resigning
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Philadelphia Inquirer July 23 – When word got out that Mr. McBeth, a popular substitute teacher at two South Jersey school districts was about to come back to class as Miss McBeth, it caused an uproar.
William McBeth had undergone sex reassignment surgery [...]

I love Emma Thompson.

If you know me, you know I have these… dreams.
They frequently involve Emma Thompson.
I’m not quite sure entirely as to why that is.
Maybe stories about her like this one are part of the reason…
(MailOnline) July 23 – Six years ago she saved him from a life of unimaginable hardship, as a child soldier in [...]

What a “radical” idea!

That Tyler Perry  What a “radical” he must be!
Tyler Perry Gives the Gift of Disney World to Philadelphia Campers
(Philadelphia Inquirer) July 21 – Six-year-old Creative Steps camper Dajuan Tucker doesn’t remember much about his last trip to Walt Disney World. He was only 4 years old and has vague memories of water slides and meeting [...]

“Youth of Color Resist Military Recruiting.”

(Dollars & Sense)  In 2006, high school senior Stephanie Hoang started working with Better Alternatives for Youth—Peace (BAYPeace), educating her peers about the potential risks of joining the military and helping to build alternative education and employment opportunities. For Hoang, her truth-in-recruitment work is more than just an internship. “It’s my peers being affected. [Recruiters] [...]

Missing the wonder.

Today is the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Geez, FORTY YEARS?  Earlier this summer, I was just feeling middled-aged.  Now I just feel old.
If you’re around my age or older, you remember this moment.  It’s one of the defining historical moments of our generation.  It’s one of those “I remember where I was [...]

Poem.

From An Astronaut’s Spouse
I could have sought by wit or wile
Your bright dream to dim. And yet
If I’d swayed you with a smile
My reward would be regret.
So, for once, you shall not hear
Of the tears, unbidden, welling;
Or the nighttime stabs of fear.
These, this time, are not for telling.
Take my silence, though intended;
Fill it with the [...]

Cool Skaturday sounds.

Rancid: “Under the Red Hot Moon”
No more posting today: International soccer double-header at the Linc in Philly today!  Oy!  Hopefully, only minor faux hooliganism will ensue.

Dear Pat Buchanan:

The other night on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, you went off on yet another long-winded rant about affirmative action and  Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court and the death of white male privilege in America.
As part of that rant, you mentioned the idea that “white people [mainly white MEN] built this [...]

Yet another reason why I am no longer a Democrat.

Democrats Drop Key Part of Bill to Assist Unions
(NY Times) July 16 – A half-dozen senators friendly to labor have decided to drop a central provision of a bill that would have made it easier to organize workers.
The so-called card-check provision — which senators decided to scrap to help secure a filibuster-proof 60 votes — [...]

Why I find it hard to take The Huffington Post seriously these days…

Today’s “headlines” at HuffPost:
“Jon Gosselini’s Girlfriend in Party Pictures (PHOTOS)” Whose what?
“Michelle Obama’s Outfits Abroad: Which Did She Wear Best?” C’mon now.
“Jared Kushner, Ivanka Tump Engaged.” WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE???
“WATCH: UFO Flies Off Wind Turbine – What the Heck Is It?” Well, it wasn’t a flying saucer, that’s for sure, if that was where you [...]

Dispatches from Planet Autism: 7/16/09.

Who says Asperger’s sufferers are unemployable?
(Telegraph UK) July 13 – When customers step into the Broughton Street Book Shop in Edinburgh, a high-ceilinged, wood-panelled room enticingly crammed with shelves of second-hand books, the rather gangly young man behind the counter hands them a pamphlet, without making eye contact.
The leaflet explains that his [...]