Welcome to FL, where they attack bloggers before Ron DeSantis' presidential run

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

Maybe coming to the next session of the AZ Legislature or even to a striker this session; either way, expect the proposal to  be sponsored by State Sen. John Kavanagh or someone else who has been equally criticized by bloggers.

From WFLA -

Florida bill would require bloggers who write about governor to register with the state

Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register with the state or face fines.

Brodeur’s proposal, Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.

As a blogger, in the past I've written about DeSantis (more than once, actually). 

Selfish thought: Would a Florida law apply to me?

Less selfish thought: While the bill in question specifically states that it doesn't apply to a newspaper or other "similar" outlets, how long before they go after other journalists and publications? 

Changes

 Due to a conflict, I will no longer cross-post Arizona-specific material at Blog for Arizona.

Any such material will be posted here and tagged with "Arizona".

I learned a few things during my time as one of their writers and I hope they and their readers benefited from my voice, but things happen.

Blocked, The Sequel

Less than a year ago, I discovered that former legislator Jack Harper had blocked me from following him on Twitter.

During his time, Harper was known as one of the more colorful members of a pretty colorful bunch (OK - he was God's gift to wiseass writers.  Put him in the same ZIP code as a microphone, step back, and watch the verbal diarrhea ensue).

At the time, I took his action as a compliment. 

Still do. :) (It's nice to know that I've made a bit of an impact with this blog.)


Well, it's happened again. 

Only this time, the offended party is a sitting legislator, one who may be further "out there" than Harper - as bad as he was (and will be, if he ever runs for office again), to the best of my knowledge, Harper never used his position to give aid and comfort to someone trying to defraud the US government and the people of the United States (aka - Cliven Bundy).

Lookee what I came across today -

 

I had followed Thorpe in the aftermath of his pilgrimage to the Bundy ranch in Nevada (aka - sedition Mecca for Americans), but hadn't notice much from his Twitter feed in recent weeks, so I checked it out.

And smiled. 

Response and correction, with an observation

This week's "Coming Week" post on legislative committee activity brought forth a response, one that merits its own post.

The response to the original post -

Regarding your comments on the House Appropriations Committee agenda, nobody is being sued and most of SB1070 has been upheld. Factually, you are 0 for 2.

State Rep. John Kavanagh (Approps Chair)

The line relating to the SB1070 lawsuit that I used in the post -

- Appropriations, Wednesday 2 p.m., HHR1.  One item on the agenda: HB2366, appropriating funds for nativist legislators and former legislators who have been sued over their involvement in the infamous (and mostly overturned by court decisions) SB1070.

Well, both Rep. Kavanagh and I were in error here.

From KGUN9, written by Ina Ronquillo -

Republican leaders in the Arizona Legislature want taxpayers to pay for a legal fight against subpoenas seeking emails from nearly two dozen current and former lawmakers in a case stemming from a challenge to Arizona's anti-immigration law, SB1070.

That lawsuit, by the ACLU, doesn't actually name the current and former legislators.

Instead, their records are being subpoenaed as part of the lawsuit over a law that they were heavily involved in enacting.

My phrasing was unclear at best, and plainly incorrect at worst, and will be updated.  I apologize for any misconceptions caused by my poor choice of words.

However, there was nothing unclear about Kavanagh's statement in his comment - "...nobody is being sued..."

There is also nothing correct about it.

As for the other part, about me stating that SB1070 has been "mostly overturned" and Kavanagh stating that "most of SB1070 has been upheld".

The US Supreme Court has struck down three significant provisions of the law while upholding a fourth major one.

We can quibble about the meaning of "most" in this context, so while I won't call out Kavanagh on this part of his statement, I'm still going to stand by the original text of mine.

Now, I'm not one given to quoting the Bible, but there is one passage that fits perfectly here.

From Matthew 7:3-5 (New International Version) -

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Technical issues

Due to technical problems (i.e. - interruption of internet service at home), posting will be light to nonexistent for the next few days.

Which is disappointing when stories like President Obama finally coming around on immigration, and Russell Pearce, the anti-immigrant and anti-public education politician, having a fund-raising event thrown out of two Mexican restaurants and one public high school are breaking without my 2-cents' worth. 

And you know how important my 2-cents' worth is. :))

Talk to you in a few days...

Technical issues

FIve years is barely the beginning in human years, young adulthood in dog years, and maybe a week in tortoise years.

In laptop years it's at least two, perhaps three, complete generations.

Due to some technical issues*, it will be a few more days until the blog gets back up to speed.

* = The screen on my five-year old laptop finally gave up the ghost.  While it stood me in good stead during the joyous 2008 election season, and the not-so-joyous 2010 election season, and dozens of legislative, government, and public meetings. 

It's time to gratefully let it retire.

See you in a week or so.

...And I so wanted to write about Herman Cain, Jan Brewer, Lori "Cain couldn't have cheated on his wife because he didn't make a pass at me" Klein, and more... :)

Short Attention Span Musing - housekeeping edition

Just a quick hit...

Spent some time on Saturday talking to Ted McLaughlin, a blogger and friend from Texas.  I was doing some research into a possible piece.  It didn't work out for that piece, but it was great to talk to someone whose blog I've read for years.

Oh, and he's from a state where the politics and politicians are as crazy as they are in Arizona (though I think we've got Texas beat on a "crazy per capita" basis :) ),  It's kind of hard to explain the politics here (and in TX) to someone who hasn't experienced them directly.  People in other parts of the country hear about the "high points" (SB1070, Russell Pearce, Rick Perry) but have no clue what life out here is like on a day-to-day basis.

Anyway, while the conversation was easy - even though we had never actually spoken directly before, we didn't have to explain a lot to each other - the story I was going for just wasn't there.  Hey, it happens.

However, the conversation was far from a total loss.  I learned a couple of things.

1.  Ted is as big a fan of the writing of the late Molly Ivins as I am.  (Good taste, Ted!)  Ivins blended humor, facts, and bluntness into a mix that tickled her readers' funny bones while stoking their outrage at injustice.  Her voice is missed.

2.  Per his recommendation, I checked out the Texas blog Juanita Jean's | The World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc.  It's Texas-centered, but not exclusively so, and most importantly, when he said that Juanita Jean's was the closest thing to Molly that could be found, he was right.  The site has been added to the blogroll at the right, and I recommend checking it out.

Later...

Light posting for the next few days...

Due to the fact that there aren't 48 hours in a day (meaning that I've had a busy schedule for the last few days and will be busy tomorrow night), posting will be light to nonexistent until Friday night or maybe even Saturday.  :((

Until then, here's a little light reading -

...The Republicans in AZ's Congressional delegation are looking to use the Grand Canyon, one of the country's national treasures (and Arizona's crown jewel) to help mining companies socialize costs and risks while privatizing profits and benefits by opening up the Grand Canyon area to uranium mining.  The Cronkite News Service has the story here.

...The New York Times published an editorial exposing the Republicans myth of "voter fraud."  Definitely worth a read.

...Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times lends some insight into the shenanigans of some of Russell Pearce's supporters/paid consultants here.

...In non-political news, Theo Epstein, GM of the Boston Red Sox, is taking a position with the Chicago Cubs.  He worked miracles in Boston (first World Series championship in 86 years!!!) but if he can right the ship at Wrigley, he should be named Secretary of the Treasury. 

It's getting to the point where only a miracle worker of the first class will be able to fix the mess that is the American economy.

Later...

Love letters...

I write here to inform, educate, vent, gripe, celebrate, commiserate, and more.  I hope that what I write causes people to think about the things going on in Arizona and engage in civil discussions on the best ways to address the issues facing the state.

Yes, there's more than a bit of ego involved in blogging. :)

However, I'm not naive.  I fully realize that not everyone feels that way, and they usually let me hear about it in a comment here.  On rare occasions however, I receive a direct message from a reader.

From a reader email, unedited and in its entirety-

New Englander, GO HOME

Massachusetts... that tiny blue state where Ted Kennedy, in a drunken stupor abandoned a woman to drown and Mitt Romney brought the state to near bankruptcy with his Pre-Obama Health Care for all. New Englander, why don't you return? Seems the politics in MA are more to your liking. Return to the land from which you came for its obvious you do not wish to become an Arizonian but hope to make our home more to your liking -

V.
--

“Privacy is a major element of freedom, without which people and nations cannot remain free.” – George Orwell, 1984

My response wasn't eloquent, but since eloquence isn't exactly my stock-in-trade, that's not a big deal.  :)

Mr. V,

Just a few points -

1. I *am* home, and have been for nearly 17 years.

2. I *am* an Arizonan. I love my state, in spite of (and occasionally because of) its imperfections. Because of that love, I want the state to be a better place for everybody, and am willing to work toward that goal.

3. I *do* occasionally miss New England. Like on Opening Day at Fenway, and the first weekend in the fall when you can drive into the mountains of New Hampshire to view the absolutely spectacular foliage. Other than those times, my perspective on the subject can be summed up in four words - "Ya don't shovel sunshine."

4. Arizona is a lot closer to bankruptcy than Massachusetts, and one party has been running the show here for a couple of generations now. And it isn't the Democrats.

Thank you for writing.

The writer used a pseudonym, but since that pseudonym is known within the AZ blogosphere and I don't know that the person who wrote the note is also the person who posts and comments on posts under that name, I've decided not to publicize the pseudonym.
BTW - a couple of points that I didn't make in the reply to the note -

1.  One of the reasons that I love Arizona is that it provides would-be political commentators like me *oodles* of material to work with.  While Massachusetts' political scene has some parallels to Arizona's (it's certainly no less corrupt, unfortunately), it offers nowhere near the level of utter insanity that Arizona does.

2.  It doesn't speak well of me, but while I derive great joy (and yes, a little pride, too) when someone learns something new from one of my posts, I also derive great joy (and yes, a little pride, too) when I simply get under someone's skin.

I'm feeling great joy right now.  :))

Good night!

2011 Netroots Nation: scholarship help needed

Netroots Nation, the biggest event of the year for progressive activists, is taking place June 16 - 19 in Minneapolis.  Thousands of grassroots activists from all over the country will gather to teach and learn from each other.  They will exchange ideas and knowledge and simply network with other activists who are dedicated using online work to influence public debate and effect change in the offline world.

One of the sponsors of the gathering, Democracy for America, is offering a number of scholarships to the event to assist activists who want to attend but may not enough personal resources available for the trip.

Two of my friends, local activists Diane Palmer and Lauren Kuby, honored me by nominating me for a scholarship, and I have been humbled by the outpouring of support and votes by friends, family and even people that I've never met but who are regular readers.

I've been saying "WOW" a lot today.

Even if the scholarship doesn't happen (and there are a lot of worthy candidates for just a few scholarships), I've learned that what I've observed and studied and communicated and, on more than one occasion, just simply vented, is appreciated and respected by people who I appreciate and respect.

That's truly the most humbling aspect of this, and regardless of the results of this, I am incredibly grateful to Diane, Lauren, and everyone else who has supported and voted for my application.

Now for the "shameless begging" part -

They and I need your help too.  The voting closes at 11:59 p.m. (EDT) and as many votes as possible are needed.  Please go to my DFA application page and cast a vote for my candidacy.

While this has been a humbling experience (in a very good way), a trip to Minneapolis will be even more humbling -

A couple of friends live live in MN, and I *may* have, on occasion (not more than one or two..OK...one or two *dozen* times), in totally respectful and harmless jest, have mentioned something about MN being a place that has two seasons - "Winter" and "Road Repair."  And about how "Road Repair" season lasts less than a month.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to hear about this whole "working to visit Minnesota" thing.  Loudly.  :)


Thanks everyone!

Quick hit...

Or more precisely, "Quick Hits..."


Last night, after  the State of the Union speech, I posted the text of the speech here. 

Perhaps illustrating this president's broad appeal, not only did the post get hits from readers all over the country - Maine, Texas, Oregon, D.C. (of course!), California, Florida, and pretty much every state in between - it received hits from *all* over the world.

Some of the countries of origin for the ISPs of world readers -

Pakistan


Ghana

Indonesia

Saudi Arabia

Nigeria

Thailand

Cambodia

Canada

Kenya

Belgium

Korea

Slovenia
Germany

Austria

U.S. State Department (not a non-US reader per se, but still an interesting hit )

Hong Kong

Commission Europeenne (not a country, but still interesting)

Italy

Singapore

India

United Arab Emirates

Israel

Australia

Philippines

France

Monaco

Zambia

Palestinian Territory


Still, while it was gratifying to see the world's interest in what our President had to say, one of the U.S.-based hits was the most intriguing. 

At 12:45 a.m. (Arizona time), a reader, using the internet service provider Matanuska Telephone Association, found this blog.

That reader's location?


Wasilla, Alaska. 


I don't know that Wasilla's most famous resident was the reader, but since her "reality" TV show was recently cancelled and she doesn't have a day job since she quit on Alaskans almost a year-and-a-half ago, she now has the time for a little late night 'net surfing.

Just sayin'...  :)

Odds and ends...

..."Welcome to the worst state of the union" was the headline (but not the quote)



You are now reading the blog of an internationally-known "Democratic commentator."  Take a moment to appreciate your good fortune.  Ahhhhhhh....

Seriously, reporter Andrew Purcell, writing for the Sunday Herald (Scotland), contacted me earlier this week for a piece he was putting together on the fiscal crises facing the various states and the federal government here in the U.S.  One of the states featured in his article was Arizona, and he spoke to both Rep. John Kavanagh and me.  In the published piece, I was quoted as "Democratic commentator Craig McDermott."

It's a solid piece of journalism, and before any R readers jump to conclusions, it's fair and even-handed.  Arizona is only a small part of the piece.  The focus is mostly divided between the federal goverment, New Jersey, with mentions of some other states.  Arizona seems to have received the most attention of the "other states."

I recommend the piece (and not just because I'm quoted in it :) ).  Being so close to our own fiscal problems, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that Arizona isn't the only state in a deep fiscal crisis.

Purcell has posted the article as he wrote it and with a headline more of his choosing (the editors at the Herald chose one that is a little more eye-catching, as editors are wont to do :) ) on his own website, here.

I'm grateful to Purcell for two things.

1. Reaching out and interviewing folks here (yes, even for interviewing Kavanagh).

2. Not making me sound like the babbling idiot that I felt like during the interview. :)

...Apparently, Sen. Linda Gray believes that she and the other people who run the state do so with a divine mandate.

At the beginning of the Special Session Senate floor session on Wednesday, she gave the prayer.  Her prayer was a recitation of one listed in George Washington's Prayer Journal, one with the line (emphasis mine) "...bless O Lord, all the people of this land, from the highest to the lowest, particularly those whom thou has appointed to rule over us in church & state..."

The video archive of the session can be found on this page.  The line is uttered at approximately the 1:03 mark of the video for "01/19/2011 - Senate Floor - Special Session" (approximately halfway down the page right now).

...On the other hand, that may fit in with the Republican theme of the week - their biennial reorganization meeting was held in a mega-church in north Phoenix.

...This week marked the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's 1960 Inaugural address, the one with the immortal line "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

Today, a President uttering such a line would be decried as a "raving socialist" or something else equally false or worse.  However, it's a line that anyone who truly considers him- or herself a patriot should take to heart.



...Of course, this week marked another anniversary, one that the screamers probably celebrated far more enthusiastically than they honored JFK's inauguration.

The decision in Citizens United vs. FEC was handed down one year ago, ushering in an age of corporate domination of American elections.

Later...

Light blogging for the foreseeable future...

Due to a couple of self-assigned research projects, blogging activity will be light over the next few weeks, though not nonexistent.  Expect coverage of the process to constitute the next redistricting commission and the upcoming session of the legislature. 

And if any of AZ's electeds lodges one of his feet in his mouth (not that such a thing could *ever* happen ;) )...

The MSM isn't getting it...

Last weekend, Josh Brodesky wrote a piece for the Arizona Daily Star that excoriated blogs, particularly political blogs like Blog for Arizona (full disclosure: I'm a guest writer at BfA), for being biased and unprofessional.

Blogs? Biased and unprofessional? 

Blogs????


No sh!t, Sherlock.


To its credit, the Star has published the insightful response of Michael Bryan, the blog "owner" of BfA.

David Safier of Blog for Arizona has an equally insightful, and more direct, rebuttal of Brodesky's diatribe.

My take:

I started writing my own insightful and sharp response.  It was also long and boring, even pedantic.

That response has been deleted.

The bottom line is that blogs are exactly what the writers want them to be - outlets for partisan commentary, observations on life (or just a part of it), places to rant (this blog was started as a vent for all of the frustration that had built up from watching the insanity that is the Arizona political scene) or outlets for cooking tips or whatever.

While some, like this one, make occasional forays into areas that used to be the exclusive territory of "professional" media (covering public meetings and legislative developments), nearly all of us are more like columnists than street-level reporters.

Mr. Brodesky criticizes blogs, which he admits he doesn't read often, for not being like his newspaper, yet he doesn't even allude to the fact that many blogs break stories that MSM reporters don't want to touch (like David Safier's coverage of the misuse of tuition tax credit $), many times because of their own biases or even because they're afraid that writing something that could offend one of the people they need as a source.

Anyway, I can see that I'm already getting pedantic again, so let me close this with an open question for Mr. Brodesky and anyone else who cares to answer:

If the "traditional" media should be held up as an example of integrity and professionalism that all bloggers should aspire to (and be ashamed for not achieving), why is it that ABC News, ostensibly a mainstream media organization, has brought Andrew Breitbart on board to be part of their election coverage?

You know, the same Breitbart who selectively edited video to smear Shirley Sherrod, a career employee of the Department of Agriculture?

You know, the same Breitbart who seems to have done the same thing in Alaska over the weekend, editing a garbled recording of some reporters into a conspiracy against tea party/GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller?


I'm openly partisan, as are the other writers at BfA, as are the writers of the other political bloggers in AZ (left and right).

Most of us do NOT play with the facts.

Unlike folks like Andrew Breitbart, who is about to become part of Mr. Brodesky's mainstream media.

GOTV time...

Due to there only being 24 hours in a day, blogging will be intermittent through the elections on Tuesday.

Some posts will go up, but no guarantees on the scheduling.

Stay updated on the latest AZ political news at Blog for Arizona, Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion, Democratic Diva, Dry Heat Democrat, or any of the blogs listed on the sidebar.

After you catch up on your reading, sign up for GOTV efforts at your nearest Democratic Party office here.

Hope to see you out canvassing!

Lies, more lies, and the truth...

My friend and fellow blogger, Texan Jobsanger, has been citing and complimenting some of my posts recently.  It's time to return the favor.

His post, "8 Lies Republicans Want Us To Believe" is worth of a look, so worthy in fact that it rises to the level of being worthy of stealing reposting. :)

Here it is:

During this election campaign the American public has been inundated with lies from the Republican Party. Some of these lies have been told and repeated for so long that they have assumed the proportions of myth, and are accepted by a great many Americans. But they are still just Republican lies.


I have been trying to attack these lies one at a time, and have written several posts about them. But Dave Johnson over at Campaign for America's Future has combined them into one very good post. He cuts through all the BS and exposes these mythic lies, and then tells the truth about them. Here are those 8 lies:

1) President Obama tripled the deficit.


Reality: Bush's last budget had a $1.416 trillion deficit. Obama's first budget reduced that to $1.29 trillion.


2) President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy.


Reality: Obama cut taxes. 40% of the "stimulus" was wasted on tax cuts which only create debt, which is why it was so much less effective than it could have been.


3) President Obama bailed out the banks.


Reality: While many people conflate the "stimulus" with the bank bailouts, the bank bailouts were requested by President Bush and his Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. (Paulson also wanted the bailouts to be "non-reviewable by any court or any agency.") The bailouts passed and began before the 2008 election of President Obama.


4) The stimulus didn't work.


Reality: The stimulus worked, but was not enough. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus raised employment by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs.


5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts.


Reality: A business hires the right number of employees to meet demand. Having extra cash does not cause a business to hire, but a business that has a demand for what it does will find the money to hire. Businesses want customers, not tax cuts.


6) Health care reform costs $1 trillion.


Reality: The health care reform reduces government deficits by $138 billion.


7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc.


Reality: Social Security has run a surplus since it began, has a trust fund in the trillions, is completely sound for at least 25 more years and cannot legally borrow so cannot contribute to the deficit (compare that to the military budget!) Life expectancy is only longer because fewer babies die; people who reach 65 live about the same number of years as they used to.


8) Government spending takes money out of the economy.

Reality: Government is We, the People and the money it spends is on We, the People. Many people do not know that it is government that builds the roads, airports, ports, courts, schools and other things that are the soil in which business thrives. Many people think that all government spending is on "welfare" and "foreign aid" when that is only a small part of the government's budget.

Don't believe the lies being told by Republicans. They just want to return to power, and they'll say anything to do that.  If the American people fall for this nonsense and return them to power, the recession will continue unabated and the country will be damaged for many more years. Remember when you go to the polls this November, it was the Republican policies that put the American economy in the mess it is in right now and those policies have not changed.

Later...

Time to open the mailbag...

I don't often get *fan* mail sent to me directly on stuff that I've written, or on this blog generally, but it happens once in a while.  Today was just such a "once in a while."

Here is the email, with the name of the writer edited out so that he doesn't think that I'm mocking him -

Craig,

My name is XYZ,

I have lived here for over 50 years and prefer a Conservative form of government. You say that want more MA people to move out here to change the Lege to Dem.

I say to you, as I say to the Illegals that come to America and want to change our form of government--- Go back home and enjoy

Your form of government that you had there, and leave us to our form of government that works quite well.

Respectfully

XYZ

My response -

XYZ,

Arizona has one of the worst education systems in the country.

Arizona has a crumbling infrastructure.

Arizona has one of the weakest economies in the country.

Arizona has the highest (or nearly the highest) per capita budget deficit in the country.

There is no light at the end of the tunnel for Arizona.

With all due respect, what is working "so well" with Arizona's conservative government?

Regards,

Craig McDermott

I took it easy too, to avoid looking like I was mocking him - I could have pointed out that not only can't we see the light at the end of the tunnel, but that the "conservative" government that he reveres so ardently has probably sold off the tunnel the same way that it sold off state properties like the buildings of the legislature.

Later...

Maybe it's a *little* too early to pronounce "apathy" as the winner in the elections

A week and a half ago, I wrote a post bemoaning the fact that apathy seems to be the ascendant political ideology among Arizona's electorate, based on the fact that a large number of school board races were cancelled to due a lack of competition or even candidates in some cases.

Well, on Friday and Saturday, I found evidence that some people *do* care.

Site traffic on this blog has spiked with the arrival of early ballots in mailboxes across the county, today rising 800% over last Saturday's traffic (which was already elevated slightly due to normal election-year activity).  The vast majority of the traffic was from internet searches looking for information regarding the race for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD).

That race may be one of the lowest profile races on Maricopa County ballots this year, but it is heartening to see that some people care enough to research it before casting their ballots.

Apathy may be ascendant right now, but it isn't victorious yet.

A previous post regarding the Arizona Republic's endorsements in the race is here; a more general post on all of the candidates is here.  Note: one candidate, Joe Hobbs, has withdrawn from the race.

Light blogging for a few days...

Due to an ankle issue (hopefully not more than a bad sprain), the next few days will be focused on medical care.  Will resume regular blogging ASAP...

4 p.m. update:  It is a bad sprain, which is actually good news since I was worried about my Achilles tendon.  Still sucks.  Just not as bad as it could have.  See you in a couple of days...

Light posting will continue for the next couple of days

Due to time constraints - helping out a campaign, helping to set up a voter registration booth at the Tempe fireworks show on Sunday - posting has been sparse for the last five days, and will continue to be sparse for the next couple of days.

My apologies to visitors in need of a fix of perceptive sarcasm, but by Wednesday evening, posting should be back to normal.

Hang in there.  :)

Later!