the 941

Charlie Crist, once thought to be the good guardian of Florida’s swampy kingdom, now says he’s prepared to fight a legal battle to open our shores to oil companies.

If you asked us, Charlie, we’d say we’d rather ride our bikes to the beach than drive out to the west-Florida slime shelf. Like many Americans, we’re driving less. And our poor struggling government is consequently losing money on the federal gas tax, causing a big deficit in funds for highway projects.

Why don’t they just borrow more money from China? We already owe them at least half a trillion, and it looks like “American” companies are cheerleading for the Red Giant anyway. Just direct evidence that any corporation, once it gets big enough, ignores national borders.

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Is it shameless self-promotion if you still feel a little ashamed for doing it? Of course not. So, with a little bit of shame, I’d like to direct you to a book that a friend and I self-published this spring.

Photographer Mike Patterson and I traveled through Thailand, Laos and southern China last fall. We eschewed tour groups, “trekking” trips, and all things insular. Our livin’ was mean, ugly and stupid.

Between his photos and my writing, we kept a carefully composed blog. When we got back, Mike transformed it into a book. He downloaded the book-making software from Blurb.com, then uploaded our product to the site, where an unlimited number of paperback copies can now be ordered.

I know that lots of 20-somethings travel through southeast Asia, but we did that shit right. It was the only real adventure I’ve ever had and I’ve dreamt about it every night since. The book is full of danger and sex and ecstasies both high and low.

Check out the blog (any heading on this post is a good place to start) if you want to gauge your interest in the print product. Mike is an excellent photographer, and the book has even better photos that are missing from the blog. Other travel books are boring.

Here are a couple excerpts: (more…)

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The New York Times got 13 (!) people to write why. They are all right to some degree as they break down how the inevitable became just another footnote in the history books.

• It was the money.

• It was the loss of key voting constituencies.

• It was her behind-the-times world view.

• It was her sense of entitlement and just plain hubris.

• She was too much like Hermione Grainger.

• Barack Obama was just too good a candidate.

• By having to act tough because she was a woman, she alienated key Democratic voting blocs.

• When faced with moments that called for character, Bill and Hillary all too often took the low road.

• In a year about change, Obama trumped everything Clinton could muster.

• It was her vote to go to war with Iraq.

• It was sexism.

• The shiftiness of Bill Clinton rubbed off on her.

Here’s a few more headlines for a slow Sunday evening:

• Did an accidental nuclear explosion cause the 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan, China? Some Chinese think so.

• Ron Paul’s supporters have thrown down the gauntlet and are actively lobbying the GOP establishment to get John McCain off the ticket. Sign the petition here.

• What is the Bilderberg Group and why should we be concerned? And why were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama meeting with them last week?

Here’s a little more:

And there’s plenty more on youtube for the conspiracy obsessed…

• And finally, Obama may be the Democratic nominee, but he has already capitulated — to the Israel lobby.

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• This week in the military-industrial complex — Part 1 and Part 2.

• The GOP is finally beginning to acknowledge that it’s not a good year to be a Republican and that the November election could be a bloodbath.

• Of course, being a Republican may not be such a crutch if Hillary Clinton decides to go nuclear and destroy her own party if she can’t be president. Why does it seem that Bill and Hillary just can’t let go?

• Through a combination of political interference and supression of science, the Bush administration has trashed the EPA. But hey, they only care for the air you breathe and the water you drink.

• In a survey taken in other countries, the USA ranked dead last in terms of how we are perceived as environmentalists. We were even behind China, where the air is so foul, London bookies are now taking bets on how many Olympic athletes will die this August.

• Ready to let Sarasota become the next city in the world’s police state of closed circuit television cameras? Think the 2 million cameras in London’s “Ring of Steel” prevent crime? Think again.

• Want to grow your own garden? Especially in these lean times? You need less space than you think to grow all the food you need, even in an urban environment.

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“You stay away from me!”

• Tampa is mentioned on the Today show! Too bad the subject was a Hillsborough County Sheriff caught on tape dumping a disabled man out of his wheelchair and onto the floor.
• Obama and McCain pile up the wins.
• A reporter asks Hillary why she hasn’t released her tax returns and she responds: “Sen. Obama has some questions to answer about his dealings with one of his largest contributors Exelon, a big nuclear power company; apparently he cut some deals behind closed doors to protect them from full disclosure of the nuclear industry.” Does this answer mean that a) Hillary believes that if she released her tax returns any questionable dealings Obama has had will pale in comparison; b) It’s nothing but negative attacks from from here on out; c) the reporter took the quote out of context, or d) this is the sound of the Clinton campaign imploding?
• Poetic justice? Secretary of Defense Robert Gates slips, falls, breaks his shoulder and is taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
• Roger Clemens goes before congress, probably lying his injected ass off in the process.
• Spielberg quits his gig as artistic adviser to the 2008 Beijing Olympics after complaints about China by human rights groups.
• From blow-hard to blowback: Rush Limbaugh battles the right.
• The Force is strong with these animators.

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