Hat tip to Michael Winship for his article, What Patriotism Is.  He highlights an example of what standing and speaking truth to power is – Major David J.R. Frakt exemplifies it in his defense of a Guantanamo Bay inmate, a suicidal young boy who was tortured by lengthy sleep deprivation.

From the closing argument of Major David J.R. Frakt in favor of dismissal of the case against Mohammad Jawad (but please read it all):

Holding my laptop is not quite the same as holding a newspaper – but it is my newspaper.  Nothing like perusing the paper with your coffee on a lazy summer day.

Here’s some articles of interest.  From the Washington Post, an interview with Danielle Allen, a political theorist with the Institute for Advanced Study, who has been analyzing the origins of the email “whisper” campaign that falsely spread the notion that Obama is a Muslim.  To me, it is heartening to know that bright minds are focusing on this because although the “zombie lies that will not die” are not coming from a place of great intelligence or integrity they are pernicious and toxic to public political discourse.  The article goes on to say that Obama is really writing the book on countering email slurs – this is pretty new territory.

Let’s flip the page.

Promoted until after the Vigil

We meet at 5pm pacific, 6 mountain, 7 central, 8 eastern time to focus on something positive.  Synchrony is nice but not necessary – so feel free to join in whenever is convenient for you!

I was touched by Rabbi Brian’s diary about the late George Carlin’s routine on “stuff” – and was thinking how attached one can get to one’s own viewpoint sometimes – and how unhelpful that can be.

Tomorrow, there is going to be a bake sale in our neighborhood -- to benefit the Obama campaign.

I kid you not.

My sister and I will not be there -- we have another place to be -- but I said I will contribute something.

I don't know what yet.  What to bake?   A bundt cake?  A bunch of oatmeal cookies?

Homemade marshmallows, perhaps?  (But they are not baked.)

Come share some coffee or tea with me while I shuffle through cookbooks.  How is your weekend?  Any special plans?  And what are you planning to cook?

We meet at 5pm Pacific (6pm Mountain, 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern) to turn our thoughts to something positive.

Tonight, let's think about the friends that we have -- give thanks for their presence in our lives and the gifts they have given us -- of time, of a willing ear, of needed help on really rainy days.

Let us also think on the acts of friendship that we do -- and how we are helpful to people in our lives, what we plan to do in future.

Hold your friends in your heart tonight...

The candles are lit for tonight -- we won't need them in the day -- but why not keep a few lit for ambiance once the sun is up?

You know how this works by now, dear regulars.  Come with silly questions.  I or any other gypsy-for-a-day will give you an entertaining answer -- and charge you a fee that fits the nature of your question.  It might be to give someone a smile, to give a small donation to the charity of your choice, or to do something kind for yourself.

Although this tent is here for entertainment, if you have something weighing on your mind or heart that you would like to share with friends we will listen attentively and put our arms around you.  We also have lots of tea and cookies to go with the sympathy -- and if ogre is around to fire up the grill we might manage to offer you something salty with the sweet.

Oh -- we have some specialized gypsies, too.  Madame Loggersbrat interprets dreams.  Madam Shakti has a table of fascinating snake oil cures for all sorts of malaises.  And Madame One Bite can scry anything.  I kid you not.  Madame Alexandra reads cards -- as do I when I am not exploring the ether by other means.

So, let me shuffle these cards, dust off this crystal ball and give my Magic 8 ball a good shake.  The tent is open.  Welcome!

This caught my eye on Huffington Post this morning, from the New York Times:   Plan Would Lift Saudi Oil Output:

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is planning to increase its output next month by about a half-million barrels a day, according to analysts and oil traders who have been briefed by Saudi officials.

The increase could bring Saudi output to a production level of 10 million barrels a day, which, if sustained, would be the kingdom’s highest ever. The move was seen as a sign that the Saudis are becoming increasingly nervous about both the political and economic effect of high oil prices. In recent weeks, soaring fuel costs have incited demonstrations and protests from Italy to Indonesia.

Saudi Arabia is currently pumping 9.45 million barrels a day, which is an increase of about 300,000 barrels from last month.

While they are reaping record profits, the Saudis are concerned that today’s record prices might eventually damp economic growth and lead to lower oil demand, as is already happening in the United States and other developed countries. The current prices are also making alternative fuels more viable, threatening the long-term prospects of the oil-based economy.

But wait – wasn’t our President just over there doing some “jawboning” – and wasn’t there a carrot of some kind?  According to Harretz, there was -- see Bush offers Saudis nuclear power in exchange for more oil.  Are we seeing a cause and effect here?  I find it curious that today’s NYT piece makes no mention of such a quid pro quo.

Watch and learn how a real reporter (that would be Bill Moyers) can turn a Fox News attack on its head.

And I, too, would like Rupert Murdoch to explain why we don’t have $20/barrel oil today.  Personally, I would like to know what part of the current price rise is due to jitters over a possible attack on Iran (which isn’t being discussed in oil price analyses at this time – an elephant in the room).

It's the quilt show weekend for us -- my sister and I volunteered to work there yesterday.  Today is the fashion show where Ann will show off her entry (which is a butterfly cloak).  It's going to be a busy day for us, therefor!

It is an interesting show -- some incredible work has been entered that really defies description.  We have a member named Tony Haas (yes, a man) whose two entries fall squarely in the "defies description" category -- one is a three dimensional quilted depiction of a primitive mask, the other a sort of rose window composition with gargoyles and a hand-painted labyrinth on the back! I'm sorry I did not take pictures -- but I'll see about fixing that situation later.

What is keeping you busy this weekend?  And what will be on the stove or grill tonight?

Spring is in the air -- and in my lungs.  Lovely as it is outside, for some reason I've been hit hard with hay fever this year.  And I sorta wanna curl up with a book.

I just finished City of Falling Angels by John Berendt  (the man who wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil -- which I never read but the movie of which I love).  It's about Venice -- and the interesting, quirky -- sometimes utterly eccentric-- people and mores that have made it what it is.

Right now, I have just begun a novel of ancient Egypt by Wilber Smith, River God.  It had been on my late father's shelves -- and I saved it out from going to the huge library donation of books we made when clearing out our parents' house.  Dad liked his historical swashbucklers -- and I have a fondness for them, as well.

What books are on your nightstand or by your favorite chair?  Help yourself to your favorite brew and share what's going on in your life this weekend.

It seems like just a moment of time since I wrote about our baby chicks.  Now they have most of their big girl feathers and are developing their combs.  They are about ready to go out into the yard to be with the adult chickens.

Signs of life and growth are all around.

I was out at Caples House a couple times this week and saw the small beginnings of apples on the trees – tiny fruit no bigger than my little fingernail.

My roses are beginning to flower in front of my house.  Their fragrance is divine.

Take a cup and help yourself to the brew of your choice.  What’s growing in your life?  Any special plans for the long weekend?

This is an open thread.

Ann Miller in Kiss Me Kate -- well, it's never too hot for Cole Porter.