Here we go again.

First I got a tweet that drew me to Grift. OK. The newspaper discussion. Maybe we can get beyond "blogs bad papers good" this time. Alas.

I guess that whole "you get more with honey than you do with vinegar" thing is passe. Sad really, because most of the bloggers I know are news hounds with great respect for the role and traditions of journalism.

Meanwhile, The Seattle Post Intelligencer prints its last issue today. It will now be a web-only paper.

The Sixth Sense

I'm probably way behind everyone on this. A friend sent me a link to this presentation by Pattie Maes & Pranav Mistry at last month's TED. Take the eight minutes to watch the video and come back and tell us what you think. Wicked cool? Techno scary? So passe?

h/t: Steve.

Rumor has it that Speaker Richardon, Rep. Fleming and Rep. Ehrhart are seeking to amend SB 13 aka Life Without Parole Bill to add the non-unanimous death penalty provision, meaning only 9 jurors - opposed to 12 - would be needed to impose the death penalty. Please contact your state Representatives to express your disappointment, outrage or shame. If you need a conservative talking point: PAC, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council, opposes this change.

So it's been six years this week.

What's the consensus? Was it worth the lives lost in Iraq? Was it worth the untold amounts of suffering by families here and there? Was it worth the expense? When was the last time you thought about it?

As voters it really is up to us to decide the "worth" since we're the ones who put the people in power who make these decisions. I'd be curious to know looking back, what you all think.

Six years.. it's a long time

What happens when a musician and producer samples various amateur musicians from YouTube? A beautiful thing called Thru You.

Not only did he admit that he was responsible for adding the language to the stimulus bill that is preserving the AIG bonuses, he apparently started off by claiming he wasn't:

On Tuesday, Dodd denied to CNN that he had anything to do with adding the language, which has been used by officials at AIG to justify paying millions of dollars in bonuses to executives after receiving federal money.

Details coming in.

Today the Georgia General Assembly voted to deny President Obama honorary membership to the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus. Yeah. They voted it down.

And in other news, yesterday we learned that Governor Perdue has signed on to a Texas case seeking an end to Department of Justice review of Georgia voting activities.

"Congress' insistence that Georgia has 'a continuing legacy of racism' ... is nonsensical when an African-American candidate for president receives a greater percentage of the vote than his white predecessor candidates," Perdue argued in the brief.

Really?

edited-

The Press Conf is in response to the vote of HR673.

Sen Keith Heard( HR673 author) is speaking now about the vote today ( Can't link to it now-they pulled from site) This vote was to make President Barack Obama a honorary member of the GLBC.

The vote was 68 yeas to 70 neas. A PDF will be posted later with the votes.

Georgia is the first to make the President a honorary member, since Rep Smyre is the President of National Black Caucus of State Legislators so that's why it was initiated here.

Rep. Austin Scott (R-153) objected and had it pulled from the rest of the calendar and asked for it to be voted on sep. A motion to reconsider was placed, they need 91 votes.

A member of the press is asking if a white person had won would they have objected. Sen Jones is trying to answer tactfully.

The GLBC is also commenting on the fact that Perdue signed on with Texas about removing the section 7 ( not sure about this one) I will link to this later.

4:49: Rep Symre is speaking now-he feels it's very disrespectful and tomorrow is headed to DC for meeting with President Obama. -Good grief the man is going to have to "apologize for Georgia"

Sen Fort is commenting now- He also feels this was very disrespectful, is outraged and pointed out that this was passed in the senate no issues.

5:05 They have ended to press conf and adjourned to the GLBC meeting, which was orginally scheduled for 4:30. I expect this meeting to be quite lively.

Press here and here.

Note: from the author- I've been working as a Legislative aide this session and have been loath to publicly comment much about this session. However today's antics with the Privileged Resolutions is just the latest in a long string of hateful, nasty and obviously racially biased attacks on the President and his supporters. A few weeks ago we had preacher go off about the President and having the "answer to God" ( alluding to the President's position on a women's right to choose) you hear "those people" all the time.

It's also been the anti-Obama agenda all day long here. The same week the President signed stem cell bill, we voted it down.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Ebenezer Baptist Church
407 Auburn Avenue Atlanta, GA
Free and Open to the Public

Then, Wednesday am join Ms. Davis and SPARK! Reproductive Justice NOW as they lobby at the capitol. Then they will head across the street to meet with legislators.

When: Wednesday March 25th
Where: Trinity Methodist Church
265 Washington Street Atlanta GA
Time: 9:00 am.

The civil rights and women's rights icon Angela Davis will speak about women, privilege, and prisons in honor of Emory University Women's History Month and in conjunction with the Atlanta Consortium of Colleges and Universities. This event is free and open to the public, and a book signing will follow the lecture.

Davis's talk is also the culminating event of the series "Motherhood at the Intersection of Race and Class," which opened in January with two traveling art exhibitions by historian and curator Rickie Solinger.

Presented by the Center for Women at Emory and the Emory Department of Women's Studies. Cosponsored by the Jessica Glasser Memorial Lecture Fund, Ali P. Crown Endowment on Women's Roles in Culture and Society, SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW, Atlanta Consortium of Colleges and Universities, and the following from Emory: Hightower Lecture Fund, Race and Difference Initiative, the Office of Community and Diversity, the Law School, The Presidents Commission on the Status of Women, Feminists in Action, and Emory Alumnae and Women of Emory.

For more information on this event, go to www.womenscenter.emory.edu or contact Sasha Smith, 404.727.2001.

Davis's long-standing commitment to prisoners rights dates back to her involvement in the campaign to free the Soledad Brothers, which led to her own arrest and imprisonment in 1970. Her eighteen months in jail sparked an international "Free Angela Davis" campaign, and both John Lennon and the Rolling Stones recorded songs protesting her arrest. She was acquitted in 1972.

I really hate to say it, but it sounds like the Tim Geithner naysayers might have been right. If Paul Krugman can sum up the situation as "an awful mess", where does that leave us? Consider also that one of the few people defending him these days is John McCain, of all people. Am I missing some reason to believe that Geithner is eventually going to get it together and make the public, investors, and us, the rank and filers who indirectly put him where he is, happy again?

You won't regret it.

If you're not reading Nate Silver (you should be), you might find this discussion of Zogby's poll showing Obama at 50-50 approval to be informative. Honestly, I've always thought Zogby was no better or worse a pollster than average, but Nate builds a pretty clear case that Zogby's internet polling is completely bogus. The problem is that these numbers are making the rounds, with the Boston Herald story getting significant attention. If they're bogus, and the news media doesn't care, where does that leave the news media? And when did I miss Zogby's fall from grace?

Dear Precious Internet Friends,

When you are visiting BfD, please use polite words in a cordial way!

The Life Without Parole bill has passed the House unanimously. I can't help but agree with both arguments:

Some criminal defense attorneys opposed SB 13, fearing prosecutors will be led to seek life without parole in increasing numbers.

Other defense lawyers supported the bill, saying it will help ensure the death penalty is administered less arbitrarily and reserved only for the most heinous killers.

Ultimately, this will cut down on death cases and save the State tons of money. Money they should use to fully fund indigent defense.

Here are Tim's questions/concerns:

"It's about summer clothing like Khaki (sp?)" Yes, this is the correct spelling and so far he understands that some clothing is seasonal yay! We love Tim!

So in some part of the country it's major faux pas to wear anything summer-ish before Memorial Day." Absolutely! Tim, I am troubled by the phrase "some parts of the country " unless you live in Key West, which has tried to secede,  it's fashion dogma- no white after Labor Day no white before Memorial Day! More below, but really no means no-right?

"At what point in Georgia Climate is it perfectly ok to wear:
Khakis for dress" (NEVER!-good grief who is Tim hanging out with?)

"Or casual" (see below for more-thank God Tim asked this. Sheesh I was getting very alarmed)

"Flip-Flops" -I avoid this for now, as I'm not really sure where this is headed, and frankly the khaki discussion is enough for one post.

Seriously this is a great set of topics, and it prompts me to begin the discussion about what clothing & fabrics are seasonal and appropriate as we transition from winter to early spring.

I use the word transition on purpose, because rarely does one season just "change" into the next... Here in the Atlanta metro, one day can be sunny and nearly 80 and the next cold and rainy. Just like this week. Some are judgment calls  (except WHITE don't make me say it again)

Khaki is like the old joke from the 70's SN&L; it's a floor wax and a dessert topping. Khaki is a fabric type and color, which is not necessarily understood well. There is a rich dignified history of khaki and then there is the confusing misunderstood current application.

The name comes from the Persian word khâk (dust/ashes), which came to English from India, specifically via the British Indian Army. Regardless of its precise etymology, "khaki" refers to the color of uniforms introduced by the army regiments in the 1880s.

More accurately, the correct shade of "khaki" is the color of "Multani Mitti", meaning "the mud of Multan". Multan was a well-known military cantonment of British India (now in Pakistan).

The original khaki fabric was a closely twilled cloth of linen *or cotton. The British Army adopted khaki for the campaign dress in 1897, and it was used in the Second Boer War (1899-1902). A darker shade of khaki serge was adopted for home service dress in 1902.

The United States Army adopted khaki during the Spanish American War (1898). It has become de rigueur for military uniforms of militaries the world over. It has also spread to civilian clothing, where "khakis" since the 1950s has meant tan cotton twill pants/trousers.

Today, civilian "khakis" come in all ranges of colors and the term refers more to the particular design or cut of the pants/trousers. In this context, "Khakis" have become popular as business casual pants/trousers, and includes other cuts and fabric types (such as chinos).

 Ah ha, and here in lies our problem. Chinos are not in fact khaki; they are yea you guessed it something else entirely in my book.

But, what I think Tim really wants to know is; do khaki's ever really have a season?

In the southeast I'm going to say yes, with a caveat.  That caveat being- they must in fact be khaki, and not cotton poplin or chino, they must be dark beige and a heavier weight than simply cotton pants.

As with most clothing, there are appropriate seasons to wear most everything. More on this later.

Here is a handy and simple rule of thumb:

Light colored chinos and tan cotton pants should probably be put away from Halloween to St. Patrick's Day.

Heavier weight dark khaki's (cotton) ideally are worn from October, early November NEVER December and are you kidding me-khakis are NOT ever formal. You can wear them February through mid April. With some "judgment calling" done in those transition seasons.

Of course all this advice goes completely out the window if you combine your appropriately chosen khaki style with the wrong shirt or jacket.  See PSP for more.

Linen no mater what color even "khaki" is limited to late spring -Easter through the summer and should probably not be seen after mid September.  Memorial Day rules are strictly applied to white pants and white shoes. I've heard some say in the "south" it's ok after Easter- I disagree strongly;  and is a slippery slope if you will.


As to flip-flops...oy that is something else entirely and I will address as separate topic with open toe shoe s and sandal etiquette.

Kids, it's Friday after 7:00 pm and I want a cocktail... all for now!

Is she in or out? I am confused.

Tonight 8:30... it's Earth Hour

You think the rain is bad here...well it could be worse.

Jim Martins bff TI gets government housing.

Apparently some genius decided that the federal stimulus money can't be used to fund operational costs for transit authorities, so a disabled couple in St. Louis is losing their bus route. This is the same genius logic that is forcing MARTA to consider service cuts while money is languishing in capital improvement accounts that never go anywhere because the assclowns in outlying counties would still rather sit in traffic than get on a train. Doesn't preserving routes save jobs, both the drivers' and the people who ride them? This is why I can't think about the stimulus and bailouts and whatever the heck else we're doing without becoming furious.

Seriously.

Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style (Tim Gunn's Guide to Style)  Tim Gunn

The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own  by Nina Garcia

The Little Dictionary of Fashion: A Guide to Dress Sense for Every Woman (Hardcover) by Christian Dior

Please purchase these locally at an independent bookseller.

Than to figure out who will announce they are running in 2010 for whatnot after the session ends. Friday is the last day of the session-and we all need to buy Grift a frosty chilly at the end of session, he's done an amazing job re-capping each day.

We might get SOS back, but only if we don't load up a church bus of candidates first. I'm not even bothering with the clown car imagery on this one. I will make one prediction: we lose at least two constitutional state officers before it's all over.

What do you say?

Young Democrats have a couple of cool events coming up in April featuring some of our more prominent Democrats.

Wednesday April 1st the YDs are hosting our 2nd Annual Murphy Awards. These are the gold-statued Legislative Awards honoring, and poking a little fun, at the hard, and sometimes unnoticed, work our Democrats do under the Gold Dome. Our featured guest this year is State Representative Calvin Smyre. Join the YDs, Rep. Smyre, and our friends and allies as we toast and roast the 2009 Legislative Session - Wednesday April 1st at the event space above Trois Restaurant, 1180 Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Click here for all the info.

As if that were enough for April, Young Democrats are also bringing Senator Max Cleland to our Annual State Convention which runs April 17-19th. On Saturday April 18th, the YDs hold our Awards Dinner at Convention at Unicoi State Park in Helen, Georgia. Max Cleland is our speaker and Democratic Party Chair, Jane Kidd, is one of our honored guests. Click here for information about the dinner with Max Cleland. Go here for info on on our State Convention at Unicoi.